Port Morris Celebrates the Harlem River
Mott Haven Herald
By Samali Bikangaga
Residents, advocates demand a say in any plans for the waterfront
The area below the Third Avenue Bridge has seen better days. Traffic zooms by above the broken asphalt and an adjacent patch of grass. A chain link fence cuts Port Morris off from the Harlem River.
Mott Haven resident Giovanna Schluter says she never sets foot past the forbidding tunnel that leads to the river. “When you walk past the Major Deegan, it’s like this Chinese wall of noise and ugliness,” said Schluter. “I honestly kind of avoid it. It feels dangerous to walk under that bridge.”
But last Saturday there were signs of life in this no-man’s land, when about 100 people came to the Lincoln Avenue waterfront to enjoy the open space and cool breezes at the 2nd annual Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Celebration, part of the citywide Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s City of Water Day.
The annual event was designed to encourage communities to revive deteriorating waterfront areas, and to advocate for pubic access to them.
A barbecue featuring Mott Haven grill master Jake highlighted the afternoon, along with canoeing, fishing, and live music by Plenartorium, Upbeat: The South Bronx’s Children’s Orchestra, and the Bandistan Ensemble, who played music from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Community activists from South Bronx Unite, Friends of Brook Park, the Waterfront Alliance, and the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality urged residents to unite and fight for public access to their waterfront, which has been off limits to the public for years. The Lincoln Avenue area is one of eight undeveloped Harlem River waterfront parcels in the South Bronx that could be facing major changes.
