The Riverdale Nature Preservancy
Long Term Planning
Greater Greenways Long-Term Expansion Plan Survey
NYC Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with NYC DOT and NYC Parks, is working to enhance and expand the greenway network and provide high-quality, continuous biking and walking facilities for New Yorkers in all five boroughs.
To find more information, please visit the project website: https://edc.nyc/citywide-greenways
This initiative is just getting underway, and we are seeking community input from a diverse set of New Yorkers. Sharing your thoughts in the 5 minute survey below will help us understand how these spaces are used and will shape the future of greenways in New York City.
Upcoming Events
Caribbean Connections
Saturday, November 1 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Join Van Cortlandt House Museum and Van Cortlandt Park Alliance for an afternoon that brings together history, music, and flavor. This unique program highlights the significant ties between early New York and the Caribbean and Latin America.
The afternoon begins with a teaching musical performance by Juan Usera and the Sambuco Tribe, who will share the rhythms, traditions, and history of Caribbean and Latin American music while inviting the audience to listen, learn, and participate.
From 1:30- 2:30 PM, guests will have the chance to sample Caribbean flavors—including sweet pineapple and other tastes that shaped New York’s history of trade and culture.
At 3 PM, join VCHM Site Historian Nick Dembowski for a special, focused guided tour* of Van Cortlandt House Museum on early New York’s ties to the Caribbean and Latin America. The tour will uncover how colonial trade, migration, and culture connected the Bronx to the wider Atlantic world.
Autumn Hike
in Van Cortlandt Park
Saturday, November 8
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Spend your Saturday morning hiking in the beautiful Van Cortlandt Park!
Explore the Northwest Woods with a VCPA staff member learning about the nature around you and the changes that are happening as winter approaches. We will be meeting at the VCPA Learning Garden for a 2 hour hike. Enter the park at Broadway and Mosholu Ave. – the Learning Garden is near the entrance to the parking lot in front of the Riverdale Stables.
Put on your best hiking shoes and join VCPA for a fun hike!
Keskeskick and the First Land Deals
Thursday, November 20 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
What do historical records reveal about local Lenape people and their dealings with colonists in the 17th and 18th centuries?
People have been living in our part of The Bronx for thousands of years but the oldest records we have about the area are from the 17th century, less than 400 years ago. For this reason, historic documents only reveal a limited amount of information about the history of local indigenous people. But despite this limitation, documents from the colonial period are one of the only sources of Lenape names for people and places in the neighborhood. And they also provide insights into the relationship between the colonists and the Native population even if they were written exclusively from a European perspective. Taking another look at these early records, we see that some of the stories often repeated by local historians are in need of revision.
Join KHS at Van Cortlandt House Museum for a presentation by local historian, Nick Dembowski, who will show and discuss the earliest written records related to Kingsbridge, Riverdale, and Spuyten Duyvil. The presentation will take place both in-person and on Zoom on November 20th at Van Cortlandt House Museum at 6:00 PM.
Pollinator Pathway NYC
Pollinators are critical for maintaining local ecology. Most bees have a range of about 750 meters. If there is a break in inviting habitat larger than the polliators' comfortable range, their ability to move about and do their important work is threatened. Pollinator Pathways are initiatives to engage with the local community to create an intentional pathway for pollinators ensuring their free motion to, and through, our area. With enough participation, communities will ensure that a hospitable path for pollinators exists throughout the western hemisphere.
From CALL
CALL has been involved in our local community, including participation in the Riverdale Y Sunday Market and supporting the Daylighting of Tibbetts Brook.
Learn more about their work and how you can support them below!
Photo Credit: https://www.cityaslivinglab.org
National Endowment for the Arts Grants Revoked
We are writing again with disheartening news. On May 2nd, CALL was informed that two National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants are being terminated and withdrawn, making an immediate loss of $30,000. This is on top of what was cut from our National Science Foundation grant. You may have received reports from other arts organizations. The spontaneous database of REVOKED NEA FUNDING has calculated over $25M in lost support.
Since 2015, CALL has been working in the NW Bronx, to support community efforts by local activists to daylight Tibbetts Brook through artistic and community-based practices. Our Rescuing Tibbetts Brook initiative has been a cornerstone of our mission. Without the NEA grant, we face significant hurdles in maintaining the momentum and impact of our projects.
This capricious cancellation erodes CALL’s capacity to sustain our work, which is slow and is achieved incrementally from the knowledge we gather, the relationships built over time, and the teams that we bring together. Defunding one project undermines all the cumulative work CALL has invested in.
Our newest project in Corona, Queens began two years ago as we visited sites throughout NYC’s boroughs to uncover new perspectives on complex issues and the consequences of flash flooding. Simultaneously we reignited a partnership with urban ecologist, Eric Sanderson and his colleagues at the New York Botanical Garden, to formulate a synergistic approach to confronting these challenges.
After completing an investigative WALK followed by a community WORKSHOP to better grasp the concerns of residents and move toward projects for envisioning new futures, we have recruited a Neighborhood Project Team (NPT) that nominated and helped inform the artist selection process. We are still in the initial formative phases of this project, which will take roughly six months for the artists to interact with the community and the other team members (Sanderson and his colleagues) to formulate their first steps.
CALL’s loss of funding weakens or may break the chain of connection, knowledge, and creative ingenuity that makes our work meaningful and impactful. We are committed to finding innovative ways to move forward. We hold up the spirit of collaboration and resilience as we navigate these challenges.
We are reaching out to our community and supporters for encouragement and assistance. You can help us bridge this gap and ensure our work continues to thrive. Whether through donations, spreading the word, or sharing your perspective all will make a difference.
Thank you,
Mary, Olivia & the entire CALL team
Learn more about funding from NYC DEP
NYC DEP offers green roof retrofit funding for private property owners in New York City. The goal is to incentivize private property owners to retrofit their roofs with green roofs to manage storm water runoff.
Attend an online workshop to learn more:
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December 10, 2025; 2–3:00pm
