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Van Cortlandt Lake

Making a Healthier Connection between Van Cortlandt Lake and the Harlem River

Article by Harlem River BOA Interns: Megan Joskow and Sebastian Valcarcel Before the American Revolution, Jacobus Van Cortlandt (purchaser of most of the land that is now Van Cortlandt Park), created the Van Cortlandt Lake in the 1690’s for a gristmill. As time passed and technology changed, the mill closed down and along with the lake was taken over by the local native fauna. By 1961, the lake had become polluted due to leakage upstream and killing thousands of fishes. Many years later, efforts to restore the lake were undertaken. Including restocking the lake’s fish population, dredging the lake, installing...

Press Release: Creating a Bridge to Re-Unite Neighbors 3.29.14

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release* Creating A Pedestrian Bridge to Re-Unite Neighbors:A Broken Promise that We Will Make RightSaturday, March 29th, 2014Van Cortlandt Park Pictured above: General location of where the Pedestrian Bridge (green line with black bars) would be located over the Major Deegan- taken from the Master Plan for Van Cortlandt Park. The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park and Bronx Community Board 8 are hosting a Rally to highlight a broken link and a broken promise in Van Cortlandt Park: the Pedestrian Bridge over the Major Deegan Expressway that connects its eastern and western halves and connects the...

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