Incinerator fight riles up Riverdale

1992

Bronx burning

Perhaps the biggest story of 1992 was the discovery of a plan to build a large medical waste incinerator at Bronx Lebanon Hospital. The hospital did its best to present the borough with a fait accompli, doing little to test the effects the smoke from the incinerator would have on the health of everyone in the Bronx. There were reports that the mafia was involved in trying to get the incinerator built on the sly.

The Press returned to the issue time and again during the year, working to expose the truth of a project never intended to be fully understood by the public. During the year, the project moved forward, but as awareness grew, public pressure and protests to block the incinerator continued to mount.

Riverdale itself had its own problems. Residents were so concerned about overcrowding in classrooms that The Press devoted an entire series to the issue, along with editorials calling for more seats to be made available for the growing community.

There were also notable firsts and lasts in 1992. Wave Hill allowed the first wedding to be celebrated on the property of the living museum in a push to raise money. Many couples, both prominent and less so, have held their nuptials in the garden since.

Less happily, a landmark named the Riverdale Inn, once home to bootleggers and drinkers both, burned to the ground.