BRONX, NY – In a gratifying reversal, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has rescinded their approval for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection plan to keep empty the North Basin of the nationally registered Historic Jerome Park Reservoir. A broad coalition of elected officials, organizations, and community members has been raising alarms about the DEP proposal since it was announced in the summer of 2019, sending letters to various agencies and circulating community petitions in opposition to the plan to keep the 28-foot-deep basin permanently empty. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz also organized a meeting with SHPO and longtime environmental advocates from Bronx Council for Environmental Quality (represented by Recording Secretary and Water Committee Chair Karen Argenti and President Dr. Robert Fanuzzi) in late January. SHPO has now determined that the proposal would have an adverse impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

The Historic Jerome Park Reservoir is a beloved feature of the Northwest Bronx and has often been at the center of conflict between the surrounding community and city agencies who have long desired to put the reservoir to industrial use. Since 1970, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection has had plans to repurpose the Jerome Park Reservoir – originally desiring to use the reservoir to construct the Croton Filtration Plant (which was ultimately built in Van Cortlandt Park in a long-delayed project that went billions of dollars over budget). The Jerome Park Reservoir was listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2000, but DEP has continued to propose the reservoir for construction of new infrastructure and removal of historic elements of the reservoir throughout the next two decades.

The reversal from New York’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) was based on the DEP’s use of federal funding from the Environmental Protection Agency via the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, triggering a review process under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Notably, the original decision to approve DEP’s empty basin proposal on June 7, 2019 conflicted with previous decisions in 2015 and 2016 regarding rehabilitation work to the reservoir’s aging structures. SHPO approved those DEP plans on the condition that “under normal operations the wall would be below water.” The decision from SHPO appears to override a recent DEP decision to keep 5-8 feet of water in the North Basin and is an encouraging sign to community members who want the 28 foot basin to remain as full as possible.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said: “I am very grateful to the State Historic Preservation Office for taking a second look at this misguided proposal to keep the North Basin of our beloved reservoir permanently empty. This reversal is a testament to what our community can accomplish when we work together, and I am so proud of everyone who stepped up to fight for this iconic element that so many generations have grown up loving. I have spent half my life living next to the reservoir, and it is deeply important to me that future generations have the opportunity to grow up in those neighborhoods that mean so much to so many people.”

“I am relieved that the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation have decided to abandon its initial plan to drain the northern basin within the Jerome Park Reservoir and commend Commissioner Kulleseid and his team for rescinding their approval of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection plan," said Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). "This shift in policy is a testament to the power that comes from community organizing and strong leadership, most notably from Assemblyman Dinowitz. This reversal will serve as a lasting signal that the advocates, elected officials and communities in the Northwest Bronx will not tacitly accept pointedly inequitable policy decisions.”

Congressman Eliot Engel said: “When the elected officials, local activists, and community leaders all come together and work to strengthen the neighborhood, anything is possible. This reversal is a big win for the northwest Bronx and its residents who deserve to have an idyllic Jerome Park Reservoir to enjoy. I thank the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for revising their initial decision.”

“I am encouraged to learn that the New York State Historic Preservation Office has rescinded its approval to permanently drain the North Basin of the Jerome Park Reservoir. This outcome is the culmination of a community-wide effort to restore and maintain a beloved landmark in our neighborhood. I am grateful for Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, Councilmember Andrew Cohen, the Bronx Council on Environmental Quality, Jerome Park Friends and Neighbors, and countless community members for their partnership and dedicated advocacy. I look forward to continuing the fight to protect and expand community access to the Jerome Park Reservoir,” said State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester).

Council Member Andrew Cohen said: “I’m thankful for the State Historic Preservation Office’s careful review of the proposed construction work in the Jerome Park Reservoir and withdrawal of support, echoing the significant concerns our community members have raised regarding the negative impacts of an inadequately filled basin on the surrounding neighborhoods. We are encouraged by the SHPO’s reversal and look forward to working with the Department of Environmental Protection to reach a proposal that sufficiently addresses the community’s concerns and protects the defining character as well as the health and environmental benefits of this historic reservoir.”

Karen Argenti and Dr. Robert Fanuzzi, Recording Secretary and President of Bronx Council for Environmental Quality said: “The Bronx Council for Environmental Quality is so excited and pleased to thank Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz and SHPO for helping community to Save View and Water Line at the Jerome Park Reservoir. We could not have done it with the full community participation and planning. The SHPO letter rescinding its earlier approval of the Jerome Park Reservoir project is a victory for good government and a lasting statement of the reservoir’s historic value. In recognizing the importance of the reservoir to the surrounding community, SHPO has set a new standard of public oversight that will have lasting effect as a consulting party.”

Deb Travis, of Jerome Park Friends and Neighbors said: “Jerome Park Friends & Neighbors is so pleased by the very thoughtful and considered review by The SHPO. Their response documents for the ages something that the community has known for over a generation - we are deeply and historically connected to the green spaces surrounding the Jerome Park Reservoir and the beautiful, blue waters within it. When there is so much dysfunction in government all around us, it is moving to see the community come together to constructively express its concerns and to have those concerns be acknowledged and validated by our elected representatives, especially Assemblyman Dinowitz, and by our state agencies.”