Update – March 9, 2005

On February 22, Community Board 8 held a public informational meeting to present the results of a request for proposals by the New York City Economic Development Corporation for development of a large parcel north of West 230th Street between Broadway and the Putnam Line.

One of the proposals includes acquisition of a portion of the Putnam Line. Development of this portion would cut off a large segment of the rail corridor from public access and destroy the possibility of creating a continuous recreational trail along it.

The Preservancy has written to the Community Board opposing development. We believe that any development along the Putnam Line should consider and facilitate future development of a recreational trail along the corridor.

 

Background

An unused portion of the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad runs through Van Cortlandt Park and southward along the west side of the Major Deegan Expressway. Referred to as the Putnam Line, this abandoned corridor provides an excellent opportunity for development as a recreational hiker-biker trail.

In its October 1998 Report, the Bronx Advisory Committee to the Hudson River Valley Greenway considered a trail along the portion of the Putnam Line from the Westchester border to just south of West 225th Street. The report supported “a multi-use path along the Putnam Rail…” and recommended “that NYC Department of Parks and Recreation initiate a full study in cooperation with NYC Department of Environmental Protection” (DEP). The DEP was considering restoring Tibbetts Brook, which now runs out of Van Cortlandt Lake into the Broadway sewer, back to a surface stream, as part of its effort to reduce combined sewer overflows.

This trail would provide needed recreational facilities to Bronx neighborhoods that are presently underserved. It would intersect with local roads, providing access to communities and to on-road bike routes. It could also be a major segment of a much longer continuous trail stretching from lower Westchester, where portions of the Putnam Line have already been transformed into trails, to the South Bronx, where a revitalized Harlem River shoreline will offer a multitude of new recreational facilities.

Property ownership and rights along the Putnam Line are very complex. The New York City Departments of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Law have been working to reach a determination that will enable the DPR to acquire the Putnam Line from the Westchester County border to West 225th Street. A final determination is expected in the spring of 2005.

It is expected that the final determination will enable the State Department of Transportation to allow the city to request bids for construction.

Funding is available for acquisition, design, and construction of a significant part, if not all, of the Westchester to West 225th Street segment.