Bronx River Watershed Initiative

September 2, 2010: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced that he is dedicating an additional $2.5 million from the Bronx River Watershed Initiative to join local efforts in reducing water pollution in the river. The funding will be combined with $2.5 million in matching and leveraged funds, bringing the total to $5 million, which will go to 11 local entities and for green infrastructure projects to clean up the river.

Green infrastructure projects rely on natural systems, like wetlands, or engineered systems that mimic them to intercept and treat polluted storm water before it reaches the river. These projects, in contrast to traditional infrastructure such as water treatment plants, use innovative approaches to control storm water runoff, such as permeable pavement, rooftop gardens and street planters that intercept or reduce rainwater runoff. Because green infrastructure relies on more natural systems, it can be more cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally-friendly than traditional infrastructure.

Last year, the Attorney General dedicated more than $1.8 million and more than $1.9 million in matching funds to seven green infrastructure projects in Bronx and Westchester County. This funding, combined with that announced today, brings the total investment in Bronx River restoration efforts to nearly $9 million.

The Bronx River flows for roughly 23 miles through southern Westchester and the Bronx and has a long history of pollution. While considerable progress has been made in recent years toward reclaiming the river, these efforts are still hampered by a number of lingering problems, including poor water quality. A principal cause of the Bronx River’s water quality problems is storm water runoff -- rainwater and snowmelt that flows over impervious surfaces and into waters, picking up raw sewage, litter, gas and oil, pesticides, fertilizers and other harmful pollutants along its path.

The funding announced today will be dedicated to 12 projects to reduce the amount and improve the quality of storm water flowing into the Bronx River. The recipients are:

Rocking the Boat, Inc., a Bronx-based non-profit that serves economically, educationally and socially disadvantaged youths through boatbuilding and on-water education programs, will $350,000, plus $154,500 in matching funds, to design and create wetlands on the eastern bank of the Bronx River at 1055 Bronx River Avenue. In addition to capturing and cleaning storm water and creating a critical wildlife habitat, the project will provide public access to the river though a pathway and boat launch. The organization will also receive $57,000, plus $4,000 in matching funds, to redirect storm water runoff to two permeable rain gardens located at its main facility in the Bronx. The project will reduce the volume and improve the quality of storm water discharges to the river and serve as an educational tool in Rocking the Boat’s existing youth and community development programs.
New York Botanical Garden will receive $295,320, plus $699,000 in matching funds, for permeable surfaces and innovative structural upgrades at its Horticulture Operations Center to reduce and treat discharges that are currently conveyed directly to the river. The project abuts a similar storm water management project funded by the Bronx River Water Initiative at the Garden last year.
Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation will receive $263,375 to install a 10,000 square foot green roof at 1055 Bronx River Avenue in the Bronx. The roof will eliminate roughly 150,000 gallons of storm water discharges to the river each year.
The Gaia Institute, a Bronx-based non-profit specializing in ecological engineering and restoration, will receive $199,232, plus $134,400 in matching funds, to create one acre of habitat for mussels and other filter-feeding animals to reduce water pollution in the river by filtering up to 100 million gallons of water each day. This project includes $1.09 million in federal contributions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Trees New York, an environmental and urban forestry non-profit organization that partners with local community-based organizations will receive $137,200, plus $7,250 in matching funds, for trees and vegetation to replace impervious surfaces along the western sidewalk of Bronx River Avenue. The project will capture and treat more than 2 million gallons of storm water annually and serve as a prototype for the use of this approach in other areas of the watershed.
GrowNYC will receive $61,700, plus $16,420 in matching funds, to implement rainwater collection systems at five Bronx community gardens. The systems will capture more than 15,000 gallons of storm water that currently flows to the river each year and serve as irrigation systems for the gardens.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s GreenApple Corps, a public service program that provides participants with technical skills, practical knowledge and personal development opportunities will receive $350,000, plus $238,712 in matching funds, to replace a 7,200 square foot portion of the Department’s Bronx Borough Headquarters with a green roof. In addition to other environmental and cost-saving benefits, the roof will eliminate 100,000 gallons of storm water discharges to the river annually.
New York City Department of Environmental Protection will receive $318,371, plus $44,040 in matching funds, to capture roughly 400,000 gallons annually of runoff originating on the street, sidewalk and adjacent roof surfaces along 226th Street and divert it to a rain garden for treatment. This project augments the Bronx River Watershed Initiative’s funding provided to the New York City Parks and Recreation Department last year to create vegetated catch basins to intercept and treat polluted storm water that would otherwise flow directly into the river.
Town of Greenburgh will receive $317,641, plus $60,000 in matching funds, to use constructed wetlands and permeable pavement to capture and treat roughly 250,000 gallons of storm water each year from parking areas of the Greenburgh Nature Center. The project will provide an extra benefit of demonstrating the use of green infrastructure solutions for visitors to the center.
Village of Tuckahoe will receive $60,000, plus $10,000 in matching funds, to treat storm water discharges that currently enter the river from its municipal public works yard. The project, which was identified as a high priority in the Westchester County Bronx River Watershed Management Plan, is designed to capture all runoff generated by the site and ensure its proper treatment and disposal.
Village of Bronxville will receive $53,425, plus $14,000 to construct a catchment system at its municipal maintenance yard. The system will collect and filter storm water that currently discharges untreated to the river. This project was identified as a high priority in the Westchester County Bronx River Watershed Management Plan.

The funding dedicated today is a portion of the more than $7 million that the Attorney General’s Office obtained as part of its Bronx River Watershed Initiative. In 2007, Attorney General Cuomo announced a settlement with the City of Yonkers to end its discharges of untreated sewage into the Bronx. The initiative had previously yielded settlements with the Yonkers Raceway Corporation, the City of White Plains, the Village of Scarsdale, the City of Mt. Vernon and the Town of Greenburgh, all of which had also been polluting the river with raw sewage. The Attorney General’s office has contracted with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to administer settlement funds. The NFWF solicited applications for projects, which were selected with advice of an expert panel convened by the Foundation and in consultation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.