Restoration of Harlem River Looks Bright With New Study Funding
NEW YORK — Two Democratic New York lawmakers and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection secured $1 million to clean up the Harlem River, funding that will go towards an environmental study to explore ways to restore ecology, improve water quality and expand public access to the river.
Reps. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., secured $500,000 for the study through congressional appropriations. The rest of the study is being funded by New York’s Department of Environmental Protection.
“This study complements a series of projects already underway to revitalize the Harlem River and its watershed,” NYC Chief Climate Officer and DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala said.
“The results will further inform our efforts to improve water quality, restore ecology and expand public access. We’re grateful for this partnership with Congressmen Torres and Espaillat and their leadership in bringing much-needed federal resources to this study,” Aggarwala continued.
The study will be led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will work with the DEP to use green infrastructure that will aid in restoring the river and bolstering resilience against climate change.
The agencies also plan on working with local community groups to expand public access to the river.
The Army Corps of Engineers has attributed the Harlem River’s high rates of pollution to rapid industrialization and urbanization. Rapid development has led to the loss of forests, shoreline hardening and the burial of 24-25 streams that once fed into the river.
Communities near the Harlem River are predominantly African American and Latino. The study is a major step in addressing the pollution issues that contribute to public health disparities in the area, where 12% of residents report an asthma diagnosis.
Another public health threat posed by the Harlem River is combined sewer overflows, which contribute to dirty air and pose a risk of illness. These overflows are often exacerbated by rain.
Torres said in a written statement that the study is timely, as the Harlem River has “long suffered from environmental neglect and disinvestment.”
“By pledging the $500k local match and moving forward with the feasibility study alongside the Army Corps, the city is taking a critical first step toward restoring this vital waterway for the Bronx and Upper Manhattan,” he said, adding, “Congressman Espaillat and I will continue to work with our federal and local partners to ensure the Harlem River finally gets the attention and investment it deserves.”
Two environmental groups, the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality and the Harlem River Working Group, requested the study with the hopes of improving community health.
Making the Harlem River more accessible is a “key part” of the study, according to Karen Argenti, a spokesperson for the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality.
“This project will open up the water’s edge to a community shut out from access to and in the river,” Argenti said in a statement to The Well News. “It will provide a healthy nature-based living shoreline where most of the shoreline is hard scaped with scarce nature-based features in an effort to make the coastline more protective and productive. Along with nature-based solutions such as green infrastructure, this will increase habitat restoration and resiliency.”
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