MAYOR BLOOMBERG BREAKS GROUND TO RESTORE THE HIGH BRIDGE OVER HARLEM RIVER

$61 Million Restoration of New York City’s Oldest Bridge – Closed For Decades – Is Part of PlaNYC Vision for Eight Transformed Regional Parks

            Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today broke ground on the restoration of the High Bridge, one of the eight regional parks being transformed under PlaNYC, the City’s long-term plan for a greener, greater New York. The $61 million rehabilitation of the High Bridge will reopen it for pedestrians and bicyclists, while providing a crucial link between Manhattan and the Bronx over the Harlem River. By 2014, the High Bridge will be rehabilitated and reopened for pedestrians and bicyclists, providing an essential link in New York City’s expanding waterfront Greenway. It will allow Bronx residents to reach the Highbridge Pool and Recreation Center, and Manhattan residents to reach the Harlem River waterfront. Regional parks address the need for open space for New York City’s growing population. There are currently 6.3 million New Yorkers who live within a ten-minute walk of a park or playground, an increase of 600,000 since PlaNYC was implemented in 2007. This project is an inter-agency collaboration by the Departments of Parks, Environmental Protection, Design and Construction  and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Mayor was joined at the groundbreaking by First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White, Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David J. Burney, and Congressman José E. Serrano.

     “Bringing the High Bridge up to modern standards while preserving its historic character is a challenging bit of civil engineering – but one that will pay dividends for generations to come,” said DDC Commissioner David J. Burney.  “I thank Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner White and her team at the Parks Department, and Congressman Serrano for their dedication to improving our city’s green spaces and built environment.  In giving this underused structure a new lease on life and by reopening a key link between neighborhoods, we hope the restored High Bridge will become a ‘High Line’ for upper Manhattan and the Bronx.” 

     “Today’s groundbreaking represents a remarkable milestone in our evolution into a greener, greater city,” said DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland. “The High Bridge was an important feat of engineering in the history of our water supply, and today demonstrates once again Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership in laying the foundation for an even brighter future for New York City. DEP is proud to have contributed financial and structural support to this landmark undertaking.” 

      “Though it has been a while coming, the start of this project is particularly gratifying,” said Congressman José E. Serrano, who provided more than $5 million in federal funding for the project in 2005 and 2006.  “The City and neighborhood groups deserve special praise for taking the seed money that we were able to pull together more than seven years ago, and adding to it and bringing us to today’s groundbreaking.  Our borough has often been symbolically disconnected from the rest of the City, and so the High Bridge will rebuild a great connection.

    The High Bridge is the oldest remaining bridge in New York City.  The bridge spans the Harlem River, connecting the neighborhoods of Highbridge in the Bronx and Washington Heights in Manhattan.  First opened in 1848 as part of the Old Croton Aqueduct, the 1,200–foot–long, 116-foot-tall High Bridge walkway first brought fresh water to New York City from Westchester County and fueled the city’s northward expansion. It was closed to regular public use around 1970.