By Jay Hauben
I was walking tonight as I do every night in New York City's Van
Cortlandt Park. It is wonderful in a city to have such a natural refuge
where city people can get back to nature. I came upon a small group with
posters and a leaflet. They were in the park to call attention to a new
Master Plan being considered by the Parks Department. The group feared
not without reason that the proposed Master Plan was a plan to
commercialize and privatize more and more of the this wonderful natural
park.
Video by Rafael Martínez Alequín
Thursday, October 24, 2013
3 comments:
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Anonymous said...
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The leaflet handed out in the park had this content:
THEY WANT TO STEAL A NEIGHBORHOOD JEWEL
The Parks Dept. plans to destroy the Putnam Nature Trail, a unique wetland nature habitat in Van Cortlandt Park near Broadway, by turning it into a wide asphalt bike speedway. The Trail allows working people and local school groups to get close to hawks, herons, muskrats, frogs, turtles and other creatures. It is used by strollers, joggers, and runners — especially older users who prize its soft surface — as well as bicyclists.
The paving plan will remove hundreds of trees and surrounding undergrowth. These provide a cooling canopy to trail users and shelter and food for animals. Speeding bicycles will chase away the wildlife, making the road useless for nature observing and unsafe for walkers and runners of all ages.
The Parks Dept. calls this “multi-use access.” They say there are no funds to repair and maintain the Trail with crushed gravel that would make the Trail ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL USERS. So how would they maintain asphalt? They refuse to rule out bike rental kiosks (Citibank?) on their “Putnam Road.”
DEFEND OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES!
Across the City and across society, corporations are being given pieces of parks and other open spaces such as Flushing Meadows and Jamaica Bay because there are supposedly “no funds.” Public schools are replaced by charters, the open areas in NYC Housing projects are being privatized for luxury housing, and the Post Office is under threat of privatizing.
It’s time to say NO to the defunding and privatization of public services. The Putnam Trail fight represents the environmental rights of working people, our right to nature, and our right to publicly-funded services. Let public officials know we will defend these rights!
DEMONSTRATE
PUBLIC FUNDING FOR NATURE AREAS: NO PRIVATIZATION
Wed., Oct. 23, 6:30 PM, Community Bd. 8
Van Cortlandt Park South at Bailey Ave.
RALLY
PUTNAM TRAIL: SAVE IT, DON’T PAVE IT!
Sun., Oct. 27, 1 PM, Broadway at 250th.
To help build these actions contact: freeds@lycos.com OR PutnamTrailRally@gmail.com -
October 24, 2013 at 1:44 PM
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Anonymous said...
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The leaflet handed out in the park had this content:
THEY WANT TO STEAL A NEIGHBORHOOD JEWEL
The Parks Dept. plans to destroy the Putnam Nature Trail, a unique wetland nature habitat in Van Cortlandt Park near Broadway, by turning it into a wide asphalt bike speedway. The Trail allows working people and local school groups to get close to hawks, herons, muskrats, frogs, turtles and other creatures. It is used by strollers, joggers, and runners — especially older users who prize its soft surface — as well as bicyclists.
The paving plan will remove hundreds of trees and surrounding undergrowth. These provide a cooling canopy to trail users and shelter and food for animals. Speeding bicycles will chase away the wildlife, making the road useless for nature observing and unsafe for walkers and runners of all ages.
The Parks Dept. calls this “multi-use access.” They say there are no funds to repair and maintain the Trail with crushed gravel that would make the Trail ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL USERS. So how would they maintain asphalt? They refuse to rule out bike rental kiosks (Citibank?) on their “Putnam Road.”
DEFEND OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES!
Across the City and across society, corporations are being given pieces of parks and other open spaces such as Flushing Meadows and Jamaica Bay because there are supposedly “no funds.” Public schools are replaced by charters, the open areas in NYC Housing projects are being privatized for luxury housing, and the Post Office is under threat of privatizing.
It’s time to say NO to the defunding and privatization of public services. The Putnam Trail fight represents the environmental rights of working people, our right to nature, and our right to publicly-funded services. Let public officials know we will defend these rights!
DEMONSTRATE
PUBLIC FUNDING FOR NATURE AREAS: NO PRIVATIZATION
Wed., Oct. 23, 6:30 PM, Community Bd. 8
Van Cortlandt Park South at Bailey Ave.
RALLY
PUTNAM TRAIL: SAVE IT, DON’T PAVE IT!
Sun., Oct. 27, 1 PM, Broadway at 250th.
To help build these actions contact: freeds@lycos.com OR PutnamTrailRally@gmail.com -
October 24, 2013 at 1:44 PM
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Anonymous said...
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The Riverdale Pres had an article about the question of the future of Van Cortlandt Park in its April 25, 2012 edition:
Master plan for park starts with markers on maps
By Adam Wisnieski
Posted 4/25/12
What will Van Cortlandt Park look like in 20 years?
That’s a question the Department of Parks and Recreation hopes to figure out with help from the surrounding community over the next year.
Parks, along with the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy, launched its two-decade initiative on Monday night at the Mosholu Golf House in Vannie, where representatives from local organizations, politicians, community board members and residents gathered to start the conversation.
Parks says it will collect ideas online and at community board meetings and compile them into a 20-year master plan for Van Cortlandt Park that will serve as a guide for how money will be spent in the park.
“It’s easier to listen to people first than to convince them later,” said Charles McKinney, principal urban designer at Parks.
Attendees sat at tables with large park maps, penning their ideas in magic markers.
Resident Dart Westphal wrote that two lanes of traffic, one each way along the Major Deegan Expressway should be eliminated and reverted to parkland. He also wrote, “BAD!!” in red marker at the intersection of Bailey Avenue and Van Cortlandt Park South, because that’s where park users have to cross the Deegan exit ramp to enter the park.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz immediately wrote, “Add Pedestrian Bridge” over the Major Deegan Expressway, a promised piece of the Croton mitigation project, which has yet to be funded by the city.
Community Board 8 Parks and Recreation chair Bob Bender said the signage in the park could use an upgrade.
“I‘ve been at the Parade Ground and people ask me where is the Putnam Trail and they are 100 feet from it,” he said.
Friends of Van Cortlandt Park Executive Director Christina Taylor had dozens of ideas covering her map, including creating a youth farm stand and installing a new fence around the museum.
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October 26, 2013 at 11:52 PM
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THEY WANT TO STEAL A NEIGHBORHOOD JEWEL
The Parks Dept. plans to destroy the Putnam Nature Trail, a unique wetland nature habitat in Van Cortlandt Park near Broadway, by turning it into a wide asphalt bike speedway. The Trail allows working people and local school groups to get close to hawks, herons, muskrats, frogs, turtles and other creatures. It is used by strollers, joggers, and runners — especially older users who prize its soft surface — as well as bicyclists.
The paving plan will remove hundreds of trees and surrounding undergrowth. These provide a cooling canopy to trail users and shelter and food for animals. Speeding bicycles will chase away the wildlife, making the road useless for nature observing and unsafe for walkers and runners of all ages.
The Parks Dept. calls this “multi-use access.” They say there are no funds to repair and maintain the Trail with crushed gravel that would make the Trail ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL USERS. So how would they maintain asphalt? They refuse to rule out bike rental kiosks (Citibank?) on their “Putnam Road.”
DEFEND OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES!
Across the City and across society, corporations are being given pieces of parks and other open spaces such as Flushing Meadows and Jamaica Bay because there are supposedly “no funds.” Public schools are replaced by charters, the open areas in NYC Housing projects are being privatized for luxury housing, and the Post Office is under threat of privatizing.
It’s time to say NO to the defunding and privatization of public services. The Putnam Trail fight represents the environmental rights of working people, our right to nature, and our right to publicly-funded services. Let public officials know we will defend these rights!
DEMONSTRATE
PUBLIC FUNDING FOR NATURE AREAS: NO PRIVATIZATION
Wed., Oct. 23, 6:30 PM, Community Bd. 8
Van Cortlandt Park South at Bailey Ave.
RALLY
PUTNAM TRAIL: SAVE IT, DON’T PAVE IT!
Sun., Oct. 27, 1 PM, Broadway at 250th.
To help build these actions contact: freeds@lycos.com OR PutnamTrailRally@gmail.com
THEY WANT TO STEAL A NEIGHBORHOOD JEWEL
The Parks Dept. plans to destroy the Putnam Nature Trail, a unique wetland nature habitat in Van Cortlandt Park near Broadway, by turning it into a wide asphalt bike speedway. The Trail allows working people and local school groups to get close to hawks, herons, muskrats, frogs, turtles and other creatures. It is used by strollers, joggers, and runners — especially older users who prize its soft surface — as well as bicyclists.
The paving plan will remove hundreds of trees and surrounding undergrowth. These provide a cooling canopy to trail users and shelter and food for animals. Speeding bicycles will chase away the wildlife, making the road useless for nature observing and unsafe for walkers and runners of all ages.
The Parks Dept. calls this “multi-use access.” They say there are no funds to repair and maintain the Trail with crushed gravel that would make the Trail ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL USERS. So how would they maintain asphalt? They refuse to rule out bike rental kiosks (Citibank?) on their “Putnam Road.”
DEFEND OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES!
Across the City and across society, corporations are being given pieces of parks and other open spaces such as Flushing Meadows and Jamaica Bay because there are supposedly “no funds.” Public schools are replaced by charters, the open areas in NYC Housing projects are being privatized for luxury housing, and the Post Office is under threat of privatizing.
It’s time to say NO to the defunding and privatization of public services. The Putnam Trail fight represents the environmental rights of working people, our right to nature, and our right to publicly-funded services. Let public officials know we will defend these rights!
DEMONSTRATE
PUBLIC FUNDING FOR NATURE AREAS: NO PRIVATIZATION
Wed., Oct. 23, 6:30 PM, Community Bd. 8
Van Cortlandt Park South at Bailey Ave.
RALLY
PUTNAM TRAIL: SAVE IT, DON’T PAVE IT!
Sun., Oct. 27, 1 PM, Broadway at 250th.
To help build these actions contact: freeds@lycos.com OR PutnamTrailRally@gmail.com