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as well as physical, emotional, and spiritual life.
Physical education, leadership development, studio
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parts of the curriculum at every grade level. These
activities are also featured in a wide range of extracurricular
offerings
BRONX TIMES R 8 EPORTER, MAY 17-23, 2019 BTR
Activists demand Pel Bay
Park road fl ooding fi x
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
When it rains in Pelham Bay Park,
it pours, and then sometimes remains
for days.
Local activists are voicing concerns
about pools of water that are remaining
on park roadways long after rainstorms
end, encroaching on travel lanes.
Roads including Shore Road, Park
Drive, Orchard Beach Road and City Island
Road at various locations saw pooling
water remaining after spring rains,
sometimes creating hazardous conditions
for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians,
according to park activists.
“Roadways in Pelham Bay Park often
fl ood, sometimes in predictable
places,” said Beverly Jones, an activist
from City Island.
She cited an example of standing
water on Park Drive between Orchard
Beach’s entrance and City Island Circle
that encroaches from both sides of
the roadway, often forcing motorists to
change lanes or even drive over the double
yellow lines to avoid the deluge.
Standing water also hampers travel
in the left lane of the road that extends
from an exit off the Hutchinson River
Parkway to Bartow Circle.
City Island resident John Doyle has
reached out to the NYC Department of
Transportation about roadways in the
park.
The department responded to Doyle
in a letter that stated DOT “appreciated
the concerns raised and will make every
effort to address the issue,” and that
a case has been opened with recommendations
by Thursday, May 30.
“We had a very rainy April, but this
has been a concern for a long time,” said
Doyle, adding there needs to be more investment
in the infrastructure of parkway
roads.
Since the roads would be used in
an emergency evacuation of City Island,
quality needs to be improved, said
Doyle, with Jones adding that climate
change is making a mandatory evacuation,
like that one which happened during
Superstorm Sandy, more likely.
On Shore Road between Bartow Circle
and the county line, brothers James
and Tommy Breen have cataloged the
fl ooding conditions through photography
and videography, and are advocating
for improved infrastructure for this
part of Shore Road.
“The area of Shore Road that is the
biggest concern in warmer weather
is near (Bartow-Pell) mansion,” said
James Breen, adding fl ooding occurs in
the location and that water will remain
there for a long time.
Tommy Breen said that a curve in
Shore Road very close to the Bronx/
Westchester line is also a concern and
fl oods often.
Flooding near the Bartow-Pell museum
on Shore Road got so bad recently
that one of two motorcyclists who were
riding side-by-side in the southbound
lane broke away and drove onto a pedestrian
path to avoid the pooled water,
said the Breens.
Recently, DOT placed cameras on
Shore Road, to observe traffi c conditions,
said Tommy Breen.
A preliminary design for improving
Shore Road in this area is scheduled for
public comment at Community Board
10 in August, with a fi nal design expect
a several months later, said Tommy
Breen.
DOT spokeswoman, Alana Morales,
said that the agency would look into the
possibly of including these park roadways
in future capital projects.
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Junior High?
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Villa Maria Academy
3335 Country Club Road, Bronx, NY 10465
718-824-3260 www.vma-ny.org
A car navigates through a fl ooded location on Shore Road by the Bartow-Pell Mansion in
Pelham Bay Park in late April. Photo courtesy of James Breen
/www.vma-ny.org
/www.vma-ny.org