Tibbetts Brook (New York)
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Tibbetts Brook, originally Tippett's Brook or Tibbitt's Brook, is a stream in the southern portion of mainland
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, flowing north to south from the city of
Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
in
Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...
into the
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
of
the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
within
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Originally emptying into
Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from ...
as part of the
Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York City, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the United States mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyten Duyvi ...
system, the stream is now partially
subterranean Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to: * Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made Literature * ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins * ''Subterranean Magazine'', an American fa ...
, ending above ground at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake within
Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a urban park, park located in the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Al ...
. There it proceeds into city sewers, draining into either the northern end of the Harlem River or the
Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.
. The brook provides significant watershed to both Van Cortlandt Park at its south end and
Tibbetts Brook Park Tibbetts Brook Park is a park located in the Lincoln Park section of Yonkers in Westchester County, New York. Opened in 1927, it was one of the first developed parks in Westchester County and is accessible only to County residents, with activitie ...
at its north end. There have been modern proposals to
daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunlig ...
the southern portion of the brook back onto the surface.


Course

Tibbetts Brook originates at H.F. Redmond Junior Memorial Park just north of
Yonkers Avenue Yonkers Avenue is an east–west street in the city of Yonkers, New York, Yonkers in Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It is one of four major east–west through routes in the city. The western terminus of the street is at Ne ...
in
Dunwoodie, Yonkers Dunwoodie is a neighborhood in Yonkers, New York, noted for being the home of St. Joseph's Seminary and College on Valentine Hill. Dunwoodie (proper) is located north of the Seminary, while Dunwoodie Heights includes the seminary and what is so ...
. It proceeds south through two artificial lakes in
Tibbetts Brook Park Tibbetts Brook Park is a park located in the Lincoln Park section of Yonkers in Westchester County, New York. Opened in 1927, it was one of the first developed parks in Westchester County and is accessible only to County residents, with activitie ...
, on a course parallel and adjacent to the
Saw Mill River Parkway The Saw Mill River Parkway (also known as the Saw Mill Parkway or the Saw Mill) is a limited-access road, limited-access Parkways in New York, parkway that extends for through Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It begins at the ...
and the former
New York and Putnam Railroad The New York and Putnam Railroad, nicknamed the Old Put, was a railroad line that opened in 1881 between the Bronx and Brewster in New York State. In 1894, it was acquired by the New York Central system along with the nearby Hudson River Ra ...
(now a park trail). South of the park the brook runs in a channel directly adjacent to the northbound side of the parkway, then crosses the Yonkers/Bronx border into
Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a urban park, park located in the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Al ...
. It runs through the center of the Van Cortlandt Golf Course, then empties into Van Cortlandt Lake, an artificial lake created in 1699 by damming the stream. The brook currently ends at the south edge of the lake, at approximately West 242nd Street. Several
storm drain A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), highway drain, surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from i ...
s feed excess rainwater into the brook within Yonkers. At the brook's mouth, the water from the brook proceeds into a brick sewer tunnel, which later merges with the major
combined sewer A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and surface runoff, urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the se ...
underneath
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
that carries rainwater, household wastewater, and industrial sewage. The tunnel primarily drains into the
Wards Island Water Pollution Control Plant Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.
where city sewage is treated. During rainy conditions the sewer overflows into the north end of the
Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York City, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the United States mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyten Duyvi ...
, via a drain pipe at about West 192nd Street (Heath Avenue). Due to modern development, the brook runs through underpasses and
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...
s at various points along its course. As recently as the early 20th Century, Tibbets Brook had two northern tributaries which merged at the north end of modern Tibbets Brook Park. The easternmost began in Redmond Park, while the western stream extended as far as Runyon Heights. The two streams originally merged at Peckham's Lake, later converging at the lakes of Tibbets Brook Park following the completion of the park. The Saw Mill Parkway was built over the western stream in the late 1920s. Until the end of the 19th century, the brook extended past the south end of Van Cortlandt Park. It ran southwest through the site of the current Van Cortlandt Stadium, crossed Broadway at around West 240th Street, then continued southwest through the
Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population ...
neighborhood, running a twisty course along the right-of-way of modern Tibbett Avenue. At approximately West 230th Street, just north of the current site of John F. Kennedy High School, the brook drained into
Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from ...
, which at the time separated the Bronx from
Marble Hill, Manhattan Marble Hill is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Although once part of Manhattan Island, a large modern shipping canal was dug to its south over a small earlier canal in the late 19th century. The neighbor ...
. Until the 1700s, Tibbets Brook split into two smaller streams at around West 237th Street, the westernmost and primary stream along modern Tibbett Avenue feeding into the Spuyten Duyvil, and the easternmost along the right-of-ways of the Putnam Railroad and current
Major Deegan Expressway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...
feeding into the Harlem River. The two streams formed a triangular island called ''Paparinemo'' that constitutes much of today's Kingsbridge neighborhood. The brook had numerous
tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
, including several within modern Van Cortlandt Park. The north end of the brook within Yonkers and the park is entirely fresh water, while south of the park it was a
tidal estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
lined with
salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...
es. The
watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...
from the brook created
wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
surrounding the stream, and formed a northern extension of the Harlem River valley. The original Spuyten Duyvil Creek course has since been filled in, replaced by the
Harlem River Ship Canal Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...
.


Etymology

Tibbetts Brook was originally referred to as ''Mosholu'' by local
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
Native Americans, an
Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...
word meaning "smooth stones" or "small stones". The Mosholu name was later given to
Mosholu Parkway Mosholu Parkway is a parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The roadway extends between the New York Botanical Garden (where its southeast end meets the Bronx River Parkway) and Van Cortlandt Park (where its northwest end meets ...
. The label ''Tibbetts Brook'' was applied by European settlers, named after George Tippett who held property between the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
and
Bronx River The Bronx River (), is a river that is approximately long, and flows through southeastern New York (state), New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. It originally rose in what is no ...
in the late 17th Century, with the brook running through the center. Although often considered a corruption of the name Tippett, the label may be a combination of the name of Tippett and that of his father-in-law William Betts, who owned the land along with him. The brook has also been referred to as the Yonkers River or Yonkers Creek in the past, previously written as ''Jonckers'' or ''Uncas''.


History


Geological formation and precolonial use

During at least three
glacial period A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
s, including the
Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...
around 20,000 years ago, ice sheets advanced south across
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
carving
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
s, valleys, and hills across present-day Bronx and Westchester. As the glacial ice melted, rivers and creeks were formed within valleys, including Tibbetts Brook. Prior to European colonization, the local Lenape population utilized the brook for drinking water and fishing.
Trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
swam up the Harlem River in order to use the freshwater portion of the brook as a
spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...
site. The salt marshes along the stream housed fish and migratory birds, along with mussels, oysters, and crabs.


Human development

In the 1690s,
Jacobus Van Cortlandt Jacobus van Cortlandt (1658–1739) was a wealthy New Amsterdam-born American merchant, slave owner, and politician who served as the 30th and 33rd Mayor of New York City from 1710 to 1711 and again from 1719 to 1720. Early life Jacobus Van ...
acquired property near Tibbetts Brook from his relative
Frederick Philipse Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen;Appleton, W.S. ''The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Amorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families'', Wiggen & Lunt, Boston, 1867 1626 in Bolsward, Netherlands – December 23, 1702), first Lord ...
, located in modern Van Cortlandt Park. This area was called "George's Point", where the brook turned west towards Broadway. In 1699, Van Cortlandt dammed the stream in order to power a
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...
and
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
, creating Van Cortlandt Lake as a
mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...
in the process. By the 19th Century, the eastern stream was filled in, connecting Kingsbridge to the rest of the Bronx. From 1872 to 1880, the
New York and Putnam Railroad The New York and Putnam Railroad, nicknamed the Old Put, was a railroad line that opened in 1881 between the Bronx and Brewster in New York State. In 1894, it was acquired by the New York Central system along with the nearby Hudson River Ra ...
was built along the Tibbetts Brook valley. The construction of the railroad altered the natural drainage pattern of the brook, leading new marshes to develop around it. In 1888, the
New York City Parks Department The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
acquired the land to create
Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a urban park, park located in the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Al ...
. The Parks Department began draining the brook wetlands for recreational areas, creating the park's parade ground in 1888 and the Van Cortlandt Golf Course in 1895. Between the late 1890s and the early 1910s, around the time the original course of
Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from ...
was filled in and replaced by the
Harlem River Ship Canal Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...
, the double-arched Broadway sewer was constructed, as was the tunnel at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake to funnel water from the brook into the sewer. The marshlands created by the brook and lake had drawn the ire of local residents and property owners, who believed them to be "unsightly and unsanitary". Of particular concern was the threat of the wetlands serving as breeding grounds for
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
-borne mosquitoes. The Broadway Outlet Sewer was completed in 1907. In conjunction with the sewer project, from 1903 to 1911 the Parks Department completed a cleaning and improvement project for the Van Cortlandt Lake. This involved removing the original
earthen dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...
and emptying the lake in order to
dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing ...
the lake bed to a lower depth. A new dam was installed to reform the lake. The drain pipe between the lake and Broadway sewer was constructed from 1911 to 1912. It was originally envisioned as cast-iron, but built using brick. Around this time, Tibbett Avenue was laid out and opened, while much of the marshland within the park and along the former river course was filled in. On June 25, 1927, Westchester County opened
Tibbetts Brook Park Tibbetts Brook Park is a park located in the Lincoln Park section of Yonkers in Westchester County, New York. Opened in 1927, it was one of the first developed parks in Westchester County and is accessible only to County residents, with activitie ...
near the northern end of the brook, on land previously confiscated from the Tippett estate. Much of the site had been a Yonkers city garbage dump located on the banks of the western brook tributary. The garbage and residential sewage seeped into the stream, which fed polluted water into Peckham's Lake. The lake had been used by residents as a swimming hole in spite of recommendations against it by health officials. The area immediately south of the lake had been a swamp which was a haven for mosquitoes. As part of the creation of the park, the original lake was filled in, while the swamp was dredged to form the current Tibbetts Lake. The brook, meanwhile, was diverted into a paved channel. The eastern tributary had been protected by fences and infrastructure from the nearby
Old Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fr ...
. At the time the park was constructed, the southern portion of the
Saw Mill River Parkway The Saw Mill River Parkway (also known as the Saw Mill Parkway or the Saw Mill) is a limited-access road, limited-access Parkways in New York, parkway that extends for through Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It begins at the ...
was built on top of the dump along the western tributary course. Between the 1930s and 1960s under the supervision of
Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...
, several highways including the
Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...
, Saw Mill and
Mosholu Parkway Mosholu Parkway is a parkway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The roadway extends between the New York Botanical Garden (where its southeast end meets the Bronx River Parkway) and Van Cortlandt Park (where its northwest end meets ...
s were constructed within Van Cortlandt Park, requiring Tibbetts Brook to be diverted into
culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...
s under the roadways. The creation of the sewer at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake and the construction of the highways induced
siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...
of the stream, leading to further creation of marshes. In addition, pollution from upstream and the highways, and spillover of chemicals used in the golf course led to the death of fish inhabiting the lake. In 1978, the fish population of the lake was restored. In 1979, four storm sewers along Midland Avenue in Yonkers (which forms the eastern boundary of Tibbetts Brook Park) were found to be illegally connected to the brook, pumping raw sewage into it which proceeded to enter Van Cortlandt Lake downstream. That year, another storm drain located at approximately Lawton Street and McLean Avenue near the Saw Mill Parkway, north of the Yonkers/Bronx border, was found to be leaking household sewage into the brook. In 1984, sewage from Yonkers was again found to be contaminating Van Cortlandt Lake, due to the crossing of raw sewage pipes and storm sewers which feed into Tibbetts Brook. This included water from the Lawton Street drain pipe. The same sewage pipe was found to be the cause of pollution of the lake in 2016. Beginning in 2015, the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, in collaboration with the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at
Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...
, monitor the Brook's water quality.


Daylighting

Since the 1990s, community groups have proposed
daylighting Daylighting can refer to: * Daylighting (architecture), use of windows for indirect lighting * Daylighting (intersections), improving road visibility at intersections * Daylighting (streams), restoration of a previously buried watercourse * Dayl ...
the southern portion of Tibbetts Brook back onto the surface, and to restore and defragment the portions of the stream within Van Cortlandt Park. Proposals to daylight the stream have existed since the 1990s. Around of fresh water from the brook enter the sewer system on a daily basis, a total of annually. The additional water from the brook also contributes to the further overflowing of raw sewage into the Harlem River during rainy conditions. Meanwhile, the lack of natural drainage points within Van Cortlandt Park leads to the flooding of recreational areas within the park. The proposed daylighting would divert up to away from the local sewer system annually. The
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
(NYC Parks) announced plans in 2014 to daylight the brook as part of their "Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan: 2030". The plan also proposes further dredging the lake and stream within the park, and rerouting the stream away from the highways and pedestrian paths to minimize the use of culverts, as well as restoring the natural wetlands created by the brook. The primary route proposed for bringing the brook above ground is the former Putnam Railroad right-of-way, which is currently owned by
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
but is largely abandoned between the park and the Harlem River. This portion of the Putnam Railroad is directly adjacent to the southbound lanes of the
Major Deegan Expressway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. I-87 is the main highway that connects New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New Yor ...
. The routing would provide a more natural drainage path for the brook into the Harlem River, with none of the water entering the sewer system on a normal basis. The brook would flow through a new park. After several years of delays, the New York City government agreed to buy CSX's land in January 2023 for $11.2 million. That August, the
New York City Public Design Commission The New York City Public Design Commission, previously the Municipal Art Commission, is the agency of the New York City government that reviews permanent works of architecture, landscape architecture, and art proposed on or over city-owned proper ...
approved an initial design for the daylighting. The city still had to obtain some land between 225th and 230th streets from the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...
(MTA), which operated a garbage-transfer facility at that site. The MTA did not want to give away the land because it would substantially disrupt service on the
Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...
's Hudson Line. Despite a lack of agreement with the MTA, the New York City government decided to proceed with the daylighting by early 2024. That June, NYC Parks and the
New York City Department of Environmental Protection The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's water supply and works to reduce air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. Under a 1.3 billion do ...
finalized their purchase of land from CSX. At the time, the project was scheduled to cost $133 million.


See also

*
Saw Mill River The Saw Mill River is a tributary of the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York, United States. It flows from an unnamed pond north of Chappaqua, New York, Chappaqua to Getty Square in Yonkers, where it empties into the Hudson as that r ...
, a parallel river also in Yonkers


References

{{coord, 40.908099, -73.885569, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Rivers of the Bronx Rivers of New York (state) Rivers of Westchester County, New York Harlem River Subterranean rivers of the United States Kingsbridge, Bronx