However, a planned NY State DOT reconstruction of Edgewater Road, a decrepit city street that borders the newly obtained land, is one of the few highway expansion projects in New York City. The State DOT has budgeted $11 million to turn it into an interim truck-only road from the Sheridan Expressway to the Hunts Point Market. (See MTR #250.)

The irony of obtaining land and funds for a waterside greenway while the State DOT plans to diminish its value with a truck route was not lost on the Parks Dept. or community groups, who want Edgewater Road turned over to Parks. The City DOT (which owns the property) agreed to demap the street if Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer endorsed the proposal.

Ferrer recently wrote to the State DOT stating that he does not support building the interim truck route. According staff, he is considering the transfer of the street to Parks. Unfortunately, Congressman Jose Serrano, who secured funding for the truck road, has also not yet decided to kill the truck project.

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