On October 30, 2003 Mayor Bloomberg joined Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and David Rivel, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation, to launch the new Catalyst Project, a four-year initiative. Read more about the launch by following the links below:

Official press release
Daily News: Money tree to shake for neighborhood parks
NY Sun: Effort to spruce up parks gets central coordination
NY 1: City launches initiative to improve 16 parks

Highbridge Parks, Manhattan and the Bronx

Connected by New York City's oldest standing bridge (currently closed), the Highbridge Parks have lagged in terms of community involvement and restoration efforts. Working in collaboration with the Highbridge Coalition, we will build a diverse constituency of park supporters, enrich the parks through arts and sports programming and help neighborhood residents realize their goal of re-opening the High Bridge. Take a tour of the High Bridge here!

To learn more about High Bridge please visit the following websites:

For more information and to join the campaign:

Astoria and Long Island City Waterfront Parks, Queens

We will bring life to a string of seven waterfront parks-DeMarco Park, Astoria Park, Queensbridge Park, Hellgate Field, Hallets Cove, Socrates Sculpture Park, and Rainey Park-along the East River in northwestern Queens. In collaboration with local leaders from the Friends of Socrates Sculpture Park, Astoria Residents Reclaiming Our World, the Friends of Queensbridge Park, and the Long Island City Business Development Corporation, we will tap into the area's fertile community, connect community members to the parks, and organize a common voice for park enrichment and waterfront access.

Historic Harlem Parks, Manhattan

To see the Spring Historic Harlem Parks Newsletter, click here. To sign up to be on the Historic Harlem Parks newsletter mailing list, email rebecca.scott@parks.nyc.gov.

Building on the success of our efforts at Marcus Garvey Park, we are expanding the scope of our project to enrich all four historic Harlem parks--Jackie Robinson, Marcus Garvey, Morningside and St. Nicholas Parks. We will work with the nascent Historic Harlem Parks Coalition, a partnership among local park groups, to leverage programming and resources that each park might not be able to secure on its own; to grow community awareness and involvement; and to increase the capacity and sustainability of the member organizations and Coalition.

Red Hook and Coffey Parks, Brooklyn

We will engage neighborhood youth in programs at two parks-cut off from adjacent neighborhoods by elevated highways-as a focal point for revitalizing the formerly industrial area of northwest Brooklyn. We plan to collaborate with local schools, the Red Hook Recreation Center, community groups such as Red Hook Community Justice Center and the Friends of Coffey Park, and corporations doing business in the area.

Past Catalyst Projects

The Bronx River

Like many urban rivers, the Bronx River, is fragmented. The River runs through two counties, four towns, four cities, three villages, five New York City council districts, seven New York City community boards, and four Federal Congressional districts. The River is lined and cris-crossed by railroads, highways, and industry. It is a border, a dividing line, a barrier, a political boundary and most widely known as a parkway. This fragmentation, isolation and lack of access results in a river abused and neglected. Garbage pours into the river from storm drains and streets. Combined sewer overflow outfalls pour raw sewage into the river each time it rains, and until recently illegal dumping of cars, tires, and, of course shopping carts went completely unaddressed.

The Bronx River flows for twenty-three miles, from suburban Westchester through the heart of the Bronx to Long Island Sound. The only freshwater river in New York City, the River creates some of the most beautiful landscapes in the City while also playing host to some of the most neglected. For much of the 20th century, the river was hidden and forgotten. People living literally right next to the river were unaware of the natural wonder in their backyards.

In 1997, Partnerships for Parks, the National Park Service-Rivers & Trails program and the Appalachian Mountain Club, convened the ad hoc Bronx River Working Group (now the Bronx River Alliance) to develop the critical mass of support neededfor the restoration and reclamation of the river. Together, they reached out to new people and organizations by publishing a colorful map and guide to encourage discovery of the river and hosted over 75 events including a river-long flotilla to get people out to and onto the River. Special events such as the Bronx River Golden Ball, where a 36-inch golden orb symbolizing the "sun, energy and spirit of the river" floats down the river, invited people to the river and united the communities along the river's length.

In addition, Partnerships for Parks created a small grants program, funded through the US Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service, to reach out to even more groups by providing resources that were customized to their needs. Grant projects ranged from pulling tires from the muck of the Soundview mudflats to training youth to be environmental justice organizers using the river as the basis for the curriculum.

The Bronx River Alliance, Inc. (The Alliance), launched in 2001, is the next step in restoring the river. The goal of the Bronx River Alliance is "to serve as a coordinated voice for the river and work in harmonious partnership to protect, improve, and restore the Bronx River corridor and greenway so that they can be healthy ecological, recreational, educational, and economic resources for the communities through which the river flows." The Alliance has four teams and programs: greenway development, outreach and community organizing, education, and ecological restoration. The Alliance has a dynamic structure prioritizing local leadership and environmental justice and consists of over 65 community groups, government agencies, schools and businesses. Partners include the City of New York/Parks & Recreation, Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice, Sustainable South Bronx, Mosholu Preservation Corporation, City Parks Foundation, National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration.

The partnering groups have worked tirelessly to reclaim sections of the river, and are now seeing results. On the ground, Alliance partners, including the City of New York/Parks & Recreation, have acquired over 40 acres of Bronx River waterfront, constructed over 1.5 miles of greenway and three canoe put ins and removed over 50 derelict cars from the depths of the river. The Alliance has grown a database to over 6000 supporters who receive quarterly newsletters and biweekly email updates. The collective political pressure of this focused constituency has secured over $113 million in city, state and Federal funds for the restoration of river access and ecology. Future projects include development of greenways along the length of the river, hiking and biking trails, construction and restoration of wetlands, and projects to contain the overflow of sewage and stormwater.

For more information, visit www.bronxriver.org.