Editorial

Credit where credit is due

Posted

Kudos to all who were involved in bringing the long overdue opening of the paths around Jerome Park Reservoir, between Goulden and Sedgwick Avenues, to fruition — at least for one weekend.

The Department of Environmental Protection, which controls the 125-acre park with its 96-acre man-made lake, closed the trails around it when the agency began repair work in conjunction with construction of the controversial filtration plant in nearby Van Cortlandt Park. Before that, generations of Kingsbridge Heights residents enjoyed strolling or jogging around the park.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the agency decided to keep the trails off limits for security reasons, even though upstate residents continue to use New York City reservoirs in their communities for boating and fishing.

 If you’ve been to any kind of community meeting — on any subject — you’ve probably seen Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz passionately promise to keep on prodding the department to reopen the trail, once and for all. Thanks for your vocal vigilance, Mr. Dinowitz.

Other voices raised on behalf of the reservoir’s neighbors have included Gary Axelbank, the host of a popular cable TV talk show and a constant critic of the DEP for its handling of just about everything related to the filtration plant. 

He has now been named to chair a task force aimed at finding a way to permanently open park trails. Thanks for your persistence and perseverence, Mr. Axelbank.

Longtime community activist Karen Argenti, a founder of the Jerome Park Conservancy, was invited to join a special tour given over the weekend by the DEP for dignitaries and elected officials. She, too, has been tireless in pressing for people in the park. Thanks, Ms. Argenti. 

But, strangely, the woman who has devoted more time, energy and eloquence to the park and reservoir than anyone — the conservancy’s first president — Anne Marie Garti, was left off the DEP list, though she was later offered an invitation by a community member.

Whether this was an intentional slight or an oversight, Ms. Garti should be celebrated, not shunned. Without her efforts the filtration plant may well have supplanted a lovely body of water instead of being buried under a golf course at Vannie. Many, many thanks to Ms. Garti.

Meanwhile, the DEP has proven that the park can be kept open without incident, although the agency chose to display an overwhelming number of assault weapon-toting police to the few dozen visitors who took advantage of their hospitality. 

Security of our water supply is vital, of course, but the array of fences, supplanted by carefully monitored cameras at strategic points should do the trick to keep it safe.

Jerome Park Reservoir, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Karen Argenti, Anne Marie Garti

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