On April 12, I biked up to Randall’s Island to take a look at the Bronx Kill, the short, narrow strait that connects the Harlem and the East Rivers. I’d heard conflicting reports about how easily small boats could negotiate it, and in particular about one extremely low bridge at the east end, under the railroad trestle. I was curious: a navigable Bronx Kill could be a great thing for human-powered boaters--a shortcut around Hell Gate, and a cool, protected inside passage from one side of the Bronx to the other.
When I got to the island, about 12:30, the tide seemed to be dead low (for reference purposes, low water at the Battery that morning was 8:46 am). At the eastern end, in fact, it was almost completely dry, with just a trickle of water running out under the aforementioned bridge--which, as it turned out, was not exactly a bridge but a twin set of arching concrete beams. Beneath the beams (which apparently carry electrical lines) there was the usual assortment of slimy rocks and old tires, and about five feet of headroom.
In short, at low water, the Bronx Kill seems to be more or less unboatable. But what about high tide?
Crossing into the South Bronx via the pedestrian-bike path on the Triboro Bridge, I met up with Harry Bubbins at Brook Park, on the corner of Brook Avenue and 141st Street. We grabbed a dented canoe, strapped a set of small wheels to it, and trailered it down to the Harlem River. Harry’s group, the Friends of Brook Park, has adopted a small grassy verge there--the Mott Haven Riviera, I call it. They hope to steward in the same way they did Brook Park, which was once a barren, rubble-strewn lot.
We launched at about 3 and rode south on a good current, marveling at how weird it is that the Harlem doesn’t flood the other way, towards the Hudson. Ten minutes later we were at the mouth of the Bronx Kill. Two and a half hours earlier it had been a dry, debris-filled streambed. Now it was a smooth, east-flowing river, canoe-paddle deep and more or less free of snags. We drifted lazily, ballfields to our right and a railyard to the left, and slipped under the wide platform of the Triboro Bridge. Then came the concrete beams (three feet of water, two feet of headroom, no problem for canoe) and a short paddle to the confluence with the East River.
Climbing ashore there, we surveyed the massive grading project that has transformed--and denuded--the entire northeastern corner of the island. Harry said it was part of a scheme to replace perfectly good grass playing fields with artificial-turf ones. From his perspective it was only the latest in a series of legally and environmentally dubious ventures undertaken by the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation, the ‘public-private partnership’ that controls this theoretically public park.
Another, related issue Harry’s been involved in is the South Bronx Greenway, which would, among other things, offer improved bike and pedestrian access to Randall’s Island. The most likely route would cross over the Bronx Kill under the railroad trestle, which would probably mean the construction of some kind of a bridge atop or in place of the beams. If it is built, it would be great to ensure a bit more clearance in the design, so that, for instance, the rowing gigs used by East River Crew and others could slip through at high water.
By five, the current in the Bronx Kill had reversed. We got back in the canoe and headed west, just scraping under the beams this time, then stopped to some guys who seemed to be living there. One of them, Carlo, from Honduras, stripped down and took a swim in the 50-degree water, and even jumped from one of the beams. We hung out for a while, watching all that clean, green water come sliding in from Flushing Bay and Long Island Sound. Carlo definitely had it right--temperature aside, it was a perfect swim spot.
bronx kill
looking west from triboro bridge bike path
east view towards trestle and east river
the ‘bridge’ at low water
east end of the kill, low water
brook park ‘boathouse’
nice gunwales!
hitching up
to the river
mott haven launch site
west end of the kill, 12:45
west end of the kill, 3 pm
approaching the triboro
‘bridge’ at 12:30
railroad trestle and ‘bridge’ at 3:15
cyclocross dudes look on with envy
randall’s island grading--
someone call the DEP!
wow
documenting
plenty of room...
...but maybe not for a gig
looking south
we have a swimmer
not deep
carlo strikes a pose
bon voyage
softball
west end of the kill with westbound current
back on the harlem
diaphonous: willis avenue bridge
flotsam: the letter j
harry heads home
temporary bridge under triboro
looking east through trestle
