BY SERGEY KADINSKY
Forgotten NY correspondent
SWING drawbridges used to be very common across this city, appearing not only on the Harlem River, but also at Newtown Creek, Flushing Creek, and Richmond Creek. One by one, these bridges were replaced with fixed spans after tall vessels lost interest in their respective streams.
In the northeast corner of the Bronx there was a swing bridge across Eastchester Bay that connected City Island to the mainland. Kevin has been to this unique neighborhood many times, with each visit finding something new to share with readers.
He took a photo of the old swing bridge in 1999, noting its Whitestone-type lamp fixtures, but for City Island residents the beauty of that bridge were its finials: crown-like decorations atop the bridge’s canopy. At the time of Kevin’s visit, it had been many decades since this bridge had swung to allow for tall vessels to pass and the city was proposing a fixed span to replace it.
A debate ensued between those who wanted to preserve the old bridge as a charming old landmark, and the city’s plan for a modern design. The compromise result was having one of its four finials saved from the scrap heap.
Today it stands in Veterans Memorial Triangle, facing the bridge landing on the island. The civic activism of City Islanders, their sense of community and interest in historical preservation is the reason why this park exists and its newest “monument.”
Across City Island Avenue from this triangle is a new park that was built in tandem with the new bridge. Catherine Scott Promenade is named for the City Island historian who wrote a book about her neighborhood in 2004. From this park, visitors can see the new City Island Bridge, which opened to traffic in 2017. The fixed span is the third bridge at this location.
What’s old can be new again. With the expansion of NYC Ferry to Soundview and Throg(g)s Neck, some residents of City Island petitioned the city in 2022 to extend the line to their community. It would allow for a one-seat ridge to Wall Street. For now, the bridge is the only way in and out of City Island, unless one has a personal vessel for traveling.
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3/19/23
10 comments
I left New York many years ago so my concerns really don’t make a difference, however, given that the Bronx Times article you linked to mentions that the ferry service requires a substantial subsidy, it seems like continuing the service, much less extending it is fiscally irresponsible considering the long winter & frequent rain that NYC experiences. How many tourists does the ferry attract annually? Not many apparently. The new City Island Bridge looks great & it will serve City Island & Pehlam Bay residents well. However, the last thing you people need is another budget line item to pay for.
“Long winters” in NYC are non-existent. For a “long winter” experience, one would have to relocate to New Hampshire, Nova Scotia, and the like which will rapidly become a joke of a winter.
John V: Here’s the Circle Line schedule. Note that cruises resume after a winter hiatus on 3/22:
https://www.circleline.com/sightseeing-cruises/best-of-nyc
Obviously, Circle Line realizes that winter in NYC is very real. The “joke” seems to be this sweetheart deal (i.e. the operating subsidy & expanded service year-round regardless of the season) between NYC & the ferry operator. Municipal business as usual, taxpayers be damned. Are you surprised that NYC & the state as a whole are rapidly losing population?
BTW: The Desert Belle operates nearly year-round & requires no public subsidy (“try it, you’ll like it”):
https://www.desertbelle.com/
So I guess if a tall vessel would need to pass through this area now, it would be… “up the creek”?
Not really. There isn’t an adequate destination North of the bridge, and a tall vessel could go around the East end of the island.
I havent been to City Island in a while. If I didn’t visit FNY almost daily, I would have not known about the new bridge . Thanks, Sergey
Have not been there since 2004; way overdue. Very upset about the loss of bridge.
I worked on the rehabilitation of the old bridge in 78/79. The swing mechanism had gears but no motor. A large windlass key was inserted into a manhole and a work crew would turn the key.
They looked like sailors raising the anchor in
an old movie.
I also worked on the old bridge during her final days and recalled it hadn’t been opened for ages.