New York City promised the South Bronx $2.75 million to bring back waterfront access to its southernmost neighborhoods, but is letting it sit unused in city coffers.  Since 2016 that funding has been held up, while the community continues to face health and quality of life crises associated with the absence of adequate green space. 

As stated by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, “The ability to live a long and healthy life is not equally available to all New Yorkers.  A baby born to a family that lives in the Upper East Side will live 11 years longer than a baby born to a family in Brownsville.”  South Bronx neighborhoods face that same 11-year diminished life expectancy.  When the city recognizes that “[t]he denial of resources and opportunities that support good health contributes to the differences in life expectancy we see today,” how can they continue to deny residents resources?  This hold-up on funding for open space is unacceptable, and we need friends and neighbors to demand the funds be released.

The Haven Project was borne of efforts of residents and advocates working for decades to address problems the South Bronx faces.  This community plan will design, build, and fund a new network of connected open spaces to improve quality of life and deliver measurable benefits for South Bronx residents.  Through partnerships with Bronx-based organizations like Montefiore Medical Center, The POINT CDC, Bronx Community Board 1, and BronxWorks, the waterfront park will bring reinvestment critical to the Mott Haven and Port Morris neighborhoods.

Three years ago the city heard the community’s request for access to open space and a waterfront park in their neighborhoods, and granted an initial $2.75 million for phase one of this project.  That funding was misallocated and is still being held up in agency administration today.  The city budget process is entering its final weeks, and the administration needs to take this step towards correcting injustices that have long shaped New York neighborhoods. 

SIGN NOW TO URGE THE CITY TO DELIVER ON ITS PROMISES.  The $2.75 million sitting unused belongs to South Bronx residents.  The Haven Project is funded and shovel ready, and the community has been waiting too long for the return of its own waterfront.