Bronx Supreme Court rules Against Harlem River Rail Yard Plan
In a decision issued Monday, A Bronx Supreme Court judge found "no credible support" in the record for NY State Dept. of Transportation's plan to turn the Harlem River Rail Yard over to a private developer. When purchased by the State, the site was intended to be used for rail freight, creating a transfer point for trains running south from Albany into New York City. The State bought the yard for $8 million in 1982, but when the original developer pulled out, the State re-bid it to an Albany-based truck and warehouse operator who proposed developing it into a mixed-use industrial park (with only a portion of the acreage devoted to freight operations). In 1982, the State's consultant prepared a report about rail market projections, based upon the assumption that the yard would be built and the industry would grow between 1986 and 2000. In 1993, NYS DOT hired another consultant, Transmode, whose report not only validated the earlier market projections, but deemed them conservative, since the intermodal freight market had tripled between 1982 and 1993, even without the rail yard in operation. In fact, Transmode estimated that even if the entire 96-acre site were used as an intermodal yard, it could only accommodate one-sixth of the projected intermodal demand in the region. Plaintiffs South Bronx Clean Air Coalition, other community groups and residents alleged that NYS DOT violated NY environmental review laws and abused its discretion by failing to adequately consider the Transmode report; in fact, the omission would have violated less-rigorous federal environmental review standards, Judge Jerry Crispino opined. The judge found "irrational" NYS DOT's plan to approve the mixed-use yard, which would have dumped 7,500 trucks per day on South Bronx local streets and required trailer parking where no space existed, while the environmentally "superior" rail yard plan would remove 485 trucks per day from the region's highways. The lease was annulled and the land use plan set aside. Rail freight advocates are now urging state officials to forego an appeal and plan the rail yard anew, in cooperation with the surrounding community.
