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Bronx Swamp Not So Clean After All
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 29, 2009
Modified Dec 29, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 29, 2009
Modified Dec 29, 2009
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Post-cleaning photos by The LTV Squad
Just last week we were patting the city on the back for cleaning up the "Bronx Swamp" — but now we've encountered a huge buzzkill. The LTV Squad reports live from the scene and says, "what we found was that the city has done the minimal amount of work and has left the tunnel under St. Mary’s park completely fetid and flooded to boot. This tunnel was once dry enough to serve as a safe haven to migratory cave dwelling birds. Today though it’s the same old health hazard that the city promised it would eliminate." They make the assumption that the city only cleaned the parts visible to the public, leaving "a toxic soup directly under a park where children play." Yikes.
The city was pressured to clean up the "swamp" when locals were worried about health hazards. But the land is actually privately owned by someone they have yet to locate.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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