Tibbetts Brook daylighting project in Kingsbridge, Broadway communities clears major hurdle

It has been 25 years in the making, and now the $133 million Tibbetts Brook daylighting/Putnam greenway extension project is about a little more than 16 months away from breaking ground.

That’s because the city’s public design commission unanimously voted, 6-0, Aug. 14 to approve the project’s design to unearth the brook and extend the Putnam greenway from Van Cortlandt Park to Randall’s Island. Commission chair Deborah Marton even led a round of applause for the city parks and recreation and environmental protection departments’ joint presentation.

The approval marks the second major hurdle Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has passed in the past eight months. The first one was the $11.2 million purchase of the CSX Transportation rail line property by New York city in January. Since then CSX filed a notice of exemption to abandon the premises with the federal Surface Transportation Board in April and the city requested a notice of interim trail use with the STB in May.

A prime advocate for the daylighting/greenway plan is Karen Argenti, a board member of the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality. She led the chorus of those touting the benefits of the project.

“For more than a century, the water of the Tibbetts freshwater wetlands have been literally thrown down the sewer,” Argenti said during the Aug. 14 hearing. “Before you today, however, is a plan to fix that problem, and at the same time, return nature to our urban environment.”

She mentioned the eco-greenway will be the largest green infrastructure project in the city while also “recreating a nature trail amid a major commercial area, a federal highway (Major Deegan Expressway), an elevated subway and a greenway that will connect the Empire State Trail north to Canada and south to Staten Island and Long Island.”

The daylighting of Tibbetts will unearth a body of water that has been covered by concrete and pavement for more than 100 years when it was dammed over in the early 1900s. The brook begins in Yonkers and continues underground through Kingsbridge and into Spuyten Duyvil Creek.

The project, which is due to break ground in Winter 2025, is even being used an example of similar plans in Boston and Paris, Argenti said.

All that stands in the way for the daylighting/greenway expansion are approvals by the MTA to issue a uniform land use review procedure, or ULURP, and the STB’s approval of the interim trail use. The ULURP is necessary because engineers working on the daylighting would need access to water pipes on the Bronx North Yard owned by the MTA.

According to the project’s timeline, the ULURP certification is expected by September and the STB’s decision by August 2024. The STB has already approved the abandonment request by CSX, which has been effective since May 31, as posted in the Federal Register.

The parks and environmental protection departments’ list the following as the project’s goals:

• Restore the hydraulic connection between Tibbetts Brook and the Harlem River

• Significantly reduce combined sewer outflow into the Harlem River by 220 million gallons per year

• Extend the Putnam Greenway by 1.2 miles from Van Cortlandt Park to West 230th Street

• Expand and enhance wetland habitat

• Provide opportunities for education and interpretation about stream daylighting

Councilman Eric Dinowitz, who was among those at the hearing, was most concerned about the flooding along businesses and residences near the Major Deegan Expressway during and after storms.

“The issue of combined sewage overflow,” Dinowitz said. “You’ve heard it again and again about the flooding of water into nearby businesses during storms. With this (project), you certainly relieve the pressure on those homes and businesses that share the sewer.”

He pointed out the massive flooding only two years ago during Hurricane Ida.

“This daylighting project is along the Major Deegan, where two years ago there were entire cars swallowed up by the flooding where people had to abandon their cars,” he added.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, in written testimony to the design commission, added his thoughts on sewage overflow.

“The freshwater wetlands of Tibbetts Brook have been directed into the Broadway sewer for many years,” the Assemblyman wrote. “That sewer overflows on the roadway and even up in our neighbors’ bathroom.”

Laura Spalter, former Community Board 8 chair and current Broadway Community Alliance chair, expressed her thoughts on the impact the project would have on the communities her organization represents.

“The new line between Van Cortlandt Park South and West 230th Street will benefit the underserved Broadway and Kingsbridge communities enormously,” Spalter said. “The project reflects the planning by the department of environmental protection and parks. They have worked tirelessly to address myriad problems.”

She did point out three specific areas the daylighting/greenway project successfully addresses. “We asked for attention to a design that incorporated park features,” she said. “They did that.”

“We asked for a greenway design with access to Broadway and enhance economic development for merchants and businesses. They did that. For many years, the community advocated for the daylighting of Tibbetts Brook back to the surface. And they did that.”

When all is said and done, the new Putnam Greenway will include a 7-mile route from Van Cortlandt Park to Randall’s Island Park. It will include the merging of three sections: Van Cortlandt Park to University Heights bridge, University Heights bridge to Macombs Dam bridge and Macombs Dam bridge to Randall’s Island connector.

“It is a magnificent idea, beautifully designed for nature, to lower the heat island effect, capture carbon, clean the air and water and help us reach our climate goals,” Argenti wrote in testimony.