Photo by Alan Canner/Horizon
Local residents would have a short walk to Manhattan if city officials reopen the High Bridge.

Reopening of High Bridge debated

By Joe Lamport
Managing editor

Community residents, parks officials and representatives of local and city agencies met April 7 to discuss reopening and restoring the High Bridge. The 155-year-old bridge has been closed to pedestrian traffic since 1970. It was originally built as part of an aqueduct system to channel water from the Croton River.

The "community visioning" meeting was organized by the Partnerships for the Parks, a joint program of the City Parks Foundation and the city's Department of Parks and Recreation.

About 30 people discussed the High Bridge including what they liked about it, what they wanted to see happen to it and what fears they had concerning its future use. Reopening and restoring the bridge poses a variety concerns for residents, according to minutes of the meeting provided by the "catalyst coordinator" for the project, Joseph Sanchez.

In discussing the bridges past, people raised concerns about safety near the bridge, but also pointed to it as a source of community pride. The bridge, which stretches over a quarter mile and about 15 building stories above the Harlem River, had a "great history to be proud of," one participant said, with another saying, "I'm in love with the bridge."

Talk of reopening and restoring the building, however, raised a variety of concerns. The community must be meaningfully involved, participants said. They raised questions about how it will be opened and whether the city would make a commitment to maintaining it.

Others expressed fears that reopening the bridge would simply increase the pace of gentrification in High Bridge, where vacant land is selling for record prices and rents continue to increase. The bridge would attract more people to the area and increase property values accordingly.