PLANS FOR BRONX SKATING RINK NOW ON ICE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The city is putting its plans for a Bronx skating rink on ice.
The Parks Department has announced it won’t fulfill Mayor Bloomberg’s promise to bring an ice rink to Van Cortlandt Park this winter because it and Con Edison can’t supply enough electricity to power the outdoor facility.
DONALD TRUMP SIGNS DEAL TO RUN BRONX PUBLIC GOLF COURSE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The city has picked The Donald to run its newest public golf course.
Donald Trump’s company has signed a 20-year license deal to operate the links-style course under construction at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, the Parks Department announced Friday.
CANADIAN OLYMPIC TEAM HORSES GET FREE RIDE FROM CITY
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Talk about a free ride: The city is giving away Bronx stable stalls to horses that compete in the Olympic Games for Canada.
The Parks Department is forgoing boarding fees from 43 stalls at the Riverdale Equestrian Centre in Van Cortlandt Park, including several that house horses owned by Canadian equestrian Ashley Holzer, the Daily News has learned. The agency claims the horses “raise the profile” of the sparkling facility on Broadway.
BRONX COULD FINALLY GET PUBLIC ICE RINK NEXT MONTH
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx could finally be getting the ice skating rink that Mayor Bloomberg promised the borough last January - but without formal community input. Local leaders are upset they won’t get to vet how the facility is run.
“The agency has decided to circumvent the public process,” said Bob Bender, Community Board 8 parks committee chairman. “It concerns me greatly.”
MORE AND MORE BIG-BOX RETAIL DEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR BRONX
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Runners and cyclists are warring over renovations planned for a beloved Bronx nature trail.
The 1.5-mile Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park is slated for $2.4 million in renovations
by the city Parks Department
to widen and pave the rugged dirt path, changes the agency claims will benefit cyclists, wheelchair users and people with strollers.
But members of the Save the Putnam Trail campaign argue the project will ruin the bucolic atmosphere of the leafy byway.
RANDALLS ISLAND TENNIS CENTER EXPANSION PLAN SLAMMED
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Park and community advocates are raising a racket over the continued privatization of public parkland on Randalls Island.
The private company that runs a swanky tennis center at Randalls Island Park has announced plans to expand the facility at no cost to taxpayers.
But advocates claim poor players from the South Bronx and East Harlem won’t benefit, because the center operates like a high-priced club, with members shelling out thousands of dollars for lessons and perks.
NEW POCKET PARK IN MORRISANIA NAMED FOR POLITICAL PIONEER
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx’s newest pocket park honors a woman who grew up and grew old fighting to improve her neighborhood.
Estella Diggs, the first African-American woman elected to the state Assembly from the Bronx, still lives in the Morrisania neighborhood where she attended grade school. Now an one-acre park down the block from her home bears her name.
NEW BALLFIELDS BY YANKEE STADIUM DELAYED, PERMIT-ONLY
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The new Yankee Stadium is hosting a third straight postseason. But the ballfields built to replace parkland bulldozed to make way for the big ballpark won’t open for good until next spring, the Daily News has learned.
And only paying ballplayers with permits will be allowed to use them - pickup play is prohibited.
LACK OF OFFICERS LEAVES CITY PARKS VULNERABLE TO CRIME?
BY LISA COLANGELO AND DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Thousands of acres of city parkland in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn are patrolled by a handful of Parks Enforcement Patrol officers, leaving them vulnerable to crime and vandalism, advocates said yesterday.
Just eight PEP officers, including two sergeants and a captain, are in charge of more than 6,000 acres in the Bronx.
JEROME PARK RESERVOIR ACTIVISTS BLAST PUBLIC ACCESS REPORT
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The city has issued a long-awaited report on public access to Jerome Park Reservoir, but angry locals say their requests have been watered down.
