Town Hall A Success!

Thank you again to everyone who came out to our Town Hall Meeting! There were some great discussions and some good questions were raised. You can find the Q&A from the meeting here.

If you missed out on the Town Hall, you can still ask to be on our mailing list. If you went to the meeting and would like us to present the Sheridan project at your church, community group, tenant association, or club please let us know!

TOWN HALL MEETING

TOWN HALL MEETING!

Tuesday, November 10 at 6:45 PM

Location: The POINT - 940 Garrison Ave

Come one, come all to our Town Hall Meeting where you will be able to learn more about the current and future progress of the project, ask any and all your questions, and brainstorm about what you would like to see in the Sheridan's place.

Dinner, childcare, and Spanish translation provided!

The Alliance Stands on the Sheridan Expressway

On Wednesday, July 15 2009 at 5.30 pm, the Alliance took a group photo on the Sheridan Expressway. The photograph was a repeat of a photograph taken nine years ago, and showed that at rush hour, there is still little traffic on the Sheridan. The traffic on the Sheridan is also cars commuting from Manhattan to the North Bronx and Westchester, not trucks that use the Hunts Point Market. These cars could use the Bronx River Parkway if the Sheridan were taken down.

As our friends at TSTC said, "The gaps in the traffic weren’t quite long enough for a sit-down picnic, which is too bad because the South Bronx is sorely lacking parks and other places for families to recreate and relax." The Community Plan has room for open space and for community space, which is just another reason the Sheridan must go!

Sheridan Expressway Featured on PBS Special

Blueprint America: Road to the Future
Wednesday, 05.20.2009 at 8.00 pm on Channel 13

Miles O'Brien, former aviation and science correspondent for CNN, hosts this documentary about innovative infrastructure projects being discussed and created in Portland, Denver and New York City. …[C]ities that once built infrastructure to serve only automobiles and trucks are now looking to innovative new forms of transportation systems - like trolleys, light rail, pedestrian walkways and bike paths. Whether it is talking to residents pushing sustainable development in the Bronx, smart growth in Denver, or a journalist in Portland whose beat is bicycling, Blueprint America finds a common theme: America’s love affair with the car may be a thing of the past.

The Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance and its vision to turn the Sheridan Expressway into 28 acres of open space, affordable housing, businesses, and jobs is highlighted in this PBS special on the future of infrastructure in America! Show your support by watching the show, and check out the additional airdates in case you miss it:

Additional Airdates:
Friday, 05.22.09 at 1.00 am on Channel 13
Sunday, 05.24.09 at 7.00 pm on WLIW World
Monday, 05.25.09 at 7.00 pm on WLIW World
Monday, 05.25.09 at 2.00 am on WLIW21
Wednesday, 05.27.09 at 5.00 am on WLIW21

Sign the Petition

The SBRWA has created an online petition so that you can show your support for alternative 1E! Alternative 1E is currently being evaluated by the NYSDOT and decommissions the Sheridan Expressway, which would open up 28 acres of land to be developed as envisioned by the New Community on the Sheridan Plan. The other alternative being evaluated, 2E, retains the Sheridan.

Both plans feature new ramps at Oak Point freight yard that connect the Bruckner Expressway to Hunts Point. These ramps would take trucks off local streets by creating a direct exit into Hunts Point and further erase the need for the Sheridan. Both alternatives will provide a direct route to the Hunts Point Markets, but only 1E creates room for housing, open space, and businesses, whereas 2E keeps the 'highway to nowhere' there forever.

Cross Bronx is slowest route in the US

Last week, the New York Post quoted that a study done by INRIX, a traffic research firm, said that the Cross Bronx Expressway is the slowest route in the United States. The Cross Bronx has four of the country's eleven worst bottlenecks; the third worst being where the Cross Bronx meets the Sheridan.

Adopting the New Community on the Sheridan Plan and taking out the Sheridan Expressway would reduce traffic congestion in the area and also open up that land for economic redevelopment. The finding by INRIX underscores the need to rethink our transportation system. The New Community Plan provides a plan for much-needed economic development while improving traffic flow and providing transportation alternatives! The Sheridan lands are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.. let's make sure that what happens there benefits the South Bronx.