Land Use Committee- March 11, 2024

Land Use Application
Public Hearing: Tibbetts Brook Daylighting Easement Acquisition ULURP, an acquisition of real property by the City of New York to facilitate a permanent easement within 5 Metro- North properties in the Bronx to support the Tibbetts Brook Daylighting and Hester and Piero’s Mill Pond Improvements project, the construction of pipeline conduits, and create recreational and open space opportunities for the surrounding area in Kingsbridge Heights, Community Districts 7 and 8, Bronx.
 

Presentation by Amy Motzny & Dana Taplin from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
• Daylighting is a technical/engineering term and it broadly explains activities for restoring or resurfacing a stream that once was, in this case Tibbetts Brook which had a surface expression that ran through much of the Kingsbridge neighborhood historically. For the purposes of this project, daylighting the surface expression will not follow the historic flow path but it will be symbolically imprinted into the available land along the CSX corridor beginning at Van Cortlandt Park South and extending south to the Metro North railyard.

• The primary driver from DEP’s perspective is the combined sewer overflow reduction and is part of the citywide open waters long term control plan.
• The partnership project between DEP and the NYC Parks Department will enable the greenway extension as part of the overall project.
• The Tibbetts Brook Daylighting Easement Acquisition supports the larger project of conveying base flow from the mill pond, plus some wet weather runoff, directly to Harlem River, increasing the available capacity of the combined sewer collection system and reducing frequency and volume of combined sewer overflow (CSO) events for overall water quality improvements to the river.
• Permanent easement within MTA Metro-North rail yard to allow installation, maintenance,and inspection of closed conduit.
• 2.5-feet-high by 6-feet-wide concrete box conduit.
• Conduit turns to cross under railyard tracks at West 193rd St.
• No disruption to active commuter rail line – all work to occur within rail yard.
• Easement acquisition for MTA Metro-North ROW.
(Block 3264 Lot 20 (CD 8), Block 3238 Lots 50, 52,126 (CB 7), Block 3245 Lot 12 (CB 7), Zoned M1-1; Block 3238 Lot 50 adjacent to C8-3)
• Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2025.
• Full presentation is available on the Bronx Community Board 8 website or by
Discussion:
• Board member hopes that Bronx Community Board 8 takes great pride in the historic step to clean the Hudson River because, as DEP has said, this is diverting water that would have gone into a sewer with contaminants into the river, and now it is going straight from a freshwater into another freshwater body thus relieving the pollution burden on the Harlem River.
• DEP states that the current proposal is only for the closed conduit through the Metro North’s property which does not foreclose any future possibilities.
• Community member urges that the committee vote in favor of doing this expeditiously.
• Community member states that this is not only important for CB8, but also for the Bronx and New York City. This is the largest daylighting project in the city and state. The importance is to reconnect neighborhood. Urges to approve this but need every Community Board and member to continue advocating for access to the waterfront.
• Community member states that this project will make a huge difference in the amount of pollution in our waterways, and very supportive of this.
• Board member asks what is the MTA’s position on this? DEP states that it is for a permanent easement for a closed conduit. It would be a separate action to discuss public access on MTA’s property.
• Board member states that past renderings showed the pathway closer to the west, and further from the Major Deegan Expressway. DEP states that nothing has changed in the project planning/design and will follow up with clarity on the rendering.
• DEP states that this project will bring all the clean pond flow into the outfall all the time. Currently, the outfall is only used when there is heavy weather and it is releasing combined flows. The new pipe will bring Tibbetts Brook right into that outfall. It will avoid the sewage collection system. In wet weather, there will be additional flow through the channel but it will be regulated.
• DEP states that the CSO reduction is 215 -220 million gallons a year.
• Board member states that Bronx Community Board 8 passed resolutions on April 12, 2016, April 19, 2017, February 13, 2018, June 2022, and June 2023, in strong support of the Putnam South Greenway and Daylighting of Tibbetts Brook citing their unique recreational, economic, and environmental benefits.

Tibbetts Brook Daylighting Easement Acquisition ULURP- APPROVED

Construction Noise from Construction site at 3139 Netherland Ave. and 3132 Arlington Ave
A representative of Netherland Development LLC, the owner of the properties located at 3139
Netherland Avenue and 3132 Arlington Avenue was not present at the meeting.
Discussion:
• Community member wonders why there has been no attempt to reduce noise.
• Community member would like to see noise mitigation and welcomes the opportunity for a stop worker order until a noise mitigation plan is in place.
• Timing of the noise is an issue. The drilling has begun before 7AM.
• DEP states that the construction site has a noise mitigation plan and is posted on their site. DEP has performed several inspections throughout 2023 & 2024. There were no violations issued.

• Community member states that the permit does not actively regulate the activity that is appropriate for this neighborhood. The permit was issued without adequate measures in a residential community.
• The noise is disrupting thousands of people.
• There is an issue with the dust buildup from the drilling.
• Parking is being blocked in the area.
• Another application is also being filed for construction at 3133 Netherland Ave.
• Chair C. Moerdler recommends the community member send the Board office a list of issues so it can be forwarded to DEP and DOB to be addressed. (APPROVED)

Hebrew Home Public Access Sub-Committee Report
The sub-committee, Bob Bender, Laura Spalter and Martin Wolpoff, met with representatives from
River Spring/Hebrew Home. The representatives understood there was a prior memorandum of
understanding about public access through their property for the Henry Hudson River Greenway in
the future. They reaffirmed the agreement. If and when the time comes for public access to the
greenway, it would be on the south campus. Access may be pedestrian only and subject to safety
requirements.