Rep. Ritchie Torres gathers local leaders to push Biden administration to consider Cross Bronx Expressway for revamp

(Andrew Lichtenstein/Getty Images)

By Anthony Payero

(THE BRONX, N.Y.) New York Congressman Rep. Ritchie Torres held a press conference Friday with environmental groups to encourage the Biden administration to include altering the Cross Bronx Expressway in the president's extensive infrastructure plan, according to ABC 7 NY.

Torres was accompanied by NY Assemblymember Karines Reyes and several Bronx environmental organizations and advocates to ask that the run-down highway be included in the American Jobs Plan.

The Cross Bronx Expressway, outlined by Robert Moses and loathed by Bronx residents, not only for the way it split neighborhoods but also for the air and noise pollution emitted by the 300 diesel trucks that travel on it on a daily basis.

Torres referred to it as a plague on the Bronx, adding that the fragmented roadway is symbolic of environmental racism and it has worsened health outcomes in the Bronx, which have some of the highest asthma rates in the city. Through his presented plan, miles of the Cross Bronx could change into green space.

"The Cross Bronx Expressway has imposed on the Bronx the burden of chronic disease," Torres said. "We can't breathe here in the Bronx."

President Biden's infrastructure package will feature $20 billion in investments to reconnect communities separated by "urban renewal" and Bronx leaders are pushing for the inclusion of the Cross Bronx Expressway.

The group also spoke on the public health issues amplified by the Cross Bronx Expressway that have added to the Bronx having the worst health across the five boroughs. They demonstrated examples of other cities that successfully modified their highways to help residents.

The Cross Bronx Expressway runs through the heart of the Bronx and is the source of damaging economic and environmental consequences for low-income families in the adjacent neighborhoods.

Torres called for the administration to act in delivering for South Bronx locals by rebuilding the highway and shared innovative ideas that would begin transforming the Cross Bronx Expressway as it is to make it a cleaner and safer environment for nearby communities.

The congressman said he is in support of a proposal to convert sunken portions of the roadway into parkland, green space that would be built on caps added over the 2.5 miles of the highway that are below grade.

"It's basically a win-win situation, because you get to keep the expressway and you get to have green space and get rid of the noise and pollution," Columbia University Assistant Professor Peter Muennig said. "So think it's very, very doable."

The American Jobs Plan is currently being mulled over by Congress and would need $2 trillion in spending over eight years, funded by higher corporate taxes.

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