New-York tribune., 1908-10-09
SAVING BRONX RIVER
Park5edy Commission disks $50 900
for Preliminary York.

Application for an appropriation of $4,000 has
been made to the Board of Estimate by the Bronx
River Parkway Commission. appointed by Governor
Hughes to preserve the waters OF the Bronx River
from pollution and to create reservation of the
lands either side Of the river 1t is estimated
that the present cost of taking the lands needed
would be about s1.7O0000, whereas In few years
the cost would probably be several times as mucn
In their application to the Board of Estimate the
commissioners. Madison Grant. William W. Niles
and James G. Cannon say:
The pollution of the Bronx River has increased
SO largely in the last few years mat the river Is
community and something must oe ; done; done "lthout
1t has been proposed to fll up the river, but
the cost of doing would be as great as the
the parkway. An examination of the Bronx
watershed has also established that this project
would be physically impossible without the CON
strucuon OF a large sewer to carry or the sur
1t has also been proposed that the river should
be turned practically into a sewer by covering u
times the cost Of the proposed parkway and all
the attractive features of the latter plan would
The present appropriation is asked merely for
nreIiipa ot PTepafg b re MiiaC as basis
for future action especially for any accurate
ing year is follows: Procuring the survey
ana preparing the map and plans required Szo,-
goo; salaries of the commissioners office expenses
salary of chief engineer and secretary for the
commission, $4,000. making total of s35OOO
l ne commission mas spent oNer+a year IN tIle
endeavor to obtain information and in securing
been done at the personal expense OF the com
misSionerS. The commission has obtained as
free gift to ii strip Of land about three miles
long forming continuous tract along the Bronx
River and including the river itself. anS from
the parties a further offer at extremely
low value per acre Of an additional thirty acres
of land in its acquisition is desirable.
The commission has also obtained a promise
from the New ! ork, New Haven {. Hartford Rail-
road to turn to the commission as soon
as 1t can pay for it so much of the railroads
lands from Bronx Park TO the city limits as the
commission may require. This includes the major
part of the land needed for the parkway in that
territory. and the value forms q large. fraction
of the cost of the entire parkway. The price at
which the railroad has offered to sell is sub
StantialIy the it, with interest and carry
ing charges.
The New York Central G Hudson River Rail
road Harlem division. which owns large amount
of land which would be required for the parkway
from Bronx Park north to White Plains, has
also offered to cooperate with the commission,
can be spared at reasonable figure
Sooner or later, something must be done with
the Bronx River to protect it from becoming an
open sewer ana menace to the health of the
construction by the county of Westchester will
provide relief from the sewage Of only the upper
portion Of the river. The destruction Of the river
means the destruction of the most beautiful feat
ure of the Botanical Gardens, Bronx Park and
the Geological Park and scheme be de-
vised which viii not require the purchase Of the
lands along the bottom of the river.
These lands can be acquired by the city now
at far less expense by the commission than by
any other mode of procedure. They be left
the parkway. and the acquisition of the lands
as proposed and the development Of the park
way as such will cost the city far less than
any other possible solution Of the problem