Bronx River group offers tours, lessons on conservation

Posted

The rest of the city was still awakening on Saturday morning as eight people gathered at a storage shed in Concrete Plant Park for a paddle along the Bronx River.

For $30 each, they boarded canoes to follow guides Josue Garcia, 26, and Susu Lespierre, 33, of the Bronx River Alliance on a three-hour tour.

“I love just observing how nature has transformed with the urban world,” said Ms. Lespierre, “it’s magical.”

Concrete Plant Park, located between Westchester Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard, opened in October 2009 at the former site of the Transit Mix concrete plant, which was abandoned in 1987.

The Department of Parks and Recreation and groups including the Bronx River Alliance converted the area into a seven-acre park that offers a striking blend of nature and post-industrial features.

Every weekend in the summer, the Bronx River Alliance guides curious souls for a paddle starting in Concrete Plant Park and ending at the mouth of the Bronx River.

It is one of the city’s more eclectic experiences. On one side of the river, rowers can see a scrap yard, concrete plant and the Hunt’s Point Food Market, while there is an undisturbed tree line on the other.

Sarah Roche, 36, along with Freddy Rojas, 37, and son Fabian did the Bronx River for the first time on Saturday. The Bronx River’s placid water makes for a manageable trip for a wide range of people, but rowing upstream for the journey back to the starting point requires some exertion.

Ms. Roche said the experience was unlike any other she has had on the city’s bodies of water.

“[Paddling] in Central Park is more scenic, laid back. Here, it’s more like a work out,” she remarked. “This one is bigger, it’s challenging and it’s nice.”

Mr. Rojas and Ms. Roche opted to stay in the city and seek out unique experiences here in lieu of a summer vacation.

“The city has a lot of things to offer and we don’t really take advantage of it,” said Mr. Rojas.

Susu Lespierre, Bronx River Alliance, Concrete Plant Park, Sarah Roche, paddling, Bronx River, Anthony Capote
Page 1 / 2

Comments