Bronx River Alliance

Organization history

The Bronx River Restoration Project (BXRR), founded by Ruth Anderberg in 1974, grew into the Bronx River Working Group a group with the aim to be a "voice for the river." In 1997, the Bronx River Working Group expanded its efforts to include community groups including government agencies, businesses, and schools. In 2001, the Bronx River Working Group along with Bronx River Restoration headed by Nancy Wallace officially founded the Bronx River Alliance.

Bronx River House

In 2016, after sharing an office for many years with the Parks Department on the Bronx River Parkway, the alliance opened the Bronx River House, a riverfront home in Starlight Park near 174th Street. The Bronx River House, a parks department building, serves as a base for the Bronx River Alliance's 20-member staff. Additionally, the building stores canoes and kayaks, serves as a laboratory for studying the river environment, while also providing space and programming to school and community groups.

Conservation work

Since its founding in 2001, the alliance has led in the clean-up and transformation of the river from polluted and abandoned to a source of pride and recreation, providing public parks, hiking and bike trails. Additionally, the alliance assists in providing boats to the public so they can paddle in the river and experience it firsthand. Throughout its history, the alliance has partnered with other environmental organizations including the Natural Areas Conservancy to restore the environment and trails along the river.

References

References

1. Kimmelman, Michael. (2012-07-19). "River of Hope in the Bronx". The New York Times.
2. "Bronx River Alliance - American Trails".
3. "West Farms Rapids Highlights : NYC Parks".
4. Stapinski, Helene. (2016-07-08). "The Greenest Building in the South Bronx". The New York Times.
5. Hu, Winnie. (2016-08-11). "Getting New Yorkers Into the City's Wilderness. All 10,000 Acres of It.". The New York Times.