Bronx River Alliance to DOT: EPA Cuts Hurt Our River & Community - Don't Pile On By Expanding the Cross Bronx

BRONX, NY (08/13/2025) (readMedia)-- After federal EPA budget cuts eliminated $1.2 million in critical funding for Bronx River restoration, the Bronx River Alliance is calling on Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to halt plans to expand the Cross Bronx Expressway.

While this loss of funding will impact the Bronx River for years to come, Governor Hochul and NYSDOT are pushing a $900 million plan to expand the Cross Bronx Expressway that would bury parts of the Bronx River and Starlight Park in concrete. The Cross Bronx is already one of the most congested, polluted corridors in the nation. With nearly 150,000 vehicles using the Cross Bronx daily, residents suffer from record-levels of asthma and heart disease, due to high carbon emissions and consistently poor air quality.

"Losing EPA funding leaves the Bronx River more vulnerable than ever, just as we're seeing wildlife return to the area thanks to decades of restoration work. As the federal government takes a sledgehammer to the environment across the country and especially in places like the Bronx, the State's plans to expand the Cross Bronx will create more air and water pollution making more people sick. If the Governor cares about protecting environmental justice communities from the federal government's attacks, State DOT's planned expansion must be taken off the table," said Siddhartha Sánchez, Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance.

Just last month, advocates from the Alliance raised concerns that federal cuts under the Trump administration would hinder residents' work to clean the Bronx River.

BACKGROUND

The New York State Department of Transportation is currently pushing the Cross Bronx "5 Bridges Project," a $900 million plan (including $150 million of federal funding for reconnecting communities harmed by highways) that threatens to exacerbate environmental inequities facing the South Bronx. The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition is urging DOT and Governor Hochul to reject both proposed options, conduct the needed standard bridge repair without expanding the highway, prepare a full environmental impact statement, and redirect funds meant to reconnect communities toward clean, community-led alternatives.

The Cross Bronx's Legacy of Harms

Born out of a history of racist urban planning led by Robert Moses, the Cross Bronx Expressway is already one of the nation's most toxic, congested roadways, long associated with racial health disparities like childhood asthma and heart disease in surrounding communities. Its initial construction decimated Black and Brown neighborhoods along the corridor while adding significant highway runoff pollution to the Bronx River and Harlem River, and contributing to some of the highest rates of asthma and heart disease in the country. According to a DOT study, idling cars on the Cross Bronx that have polluted the borough for decades drive chronic health issues among Bronx residents.

Why Expanding the Cross Bronx Isn't Viable

The Cross Bronx's enormous environmental footprint has only worsened over the years. In the U.S., fossil fuel-powered vehicles are a major source of air pollution and heat-trapping emissions, releasing more than 50% of the nitrogen oxide found in our air. Nearly 150,000 vehicles, including 18,000 trucks, use the Cross Bronx daily, a figure that will increase if State DOT proceeds with its planned expansion. Research shows that expanding a highway leads to more drivers using it and more congestion, meaning that reductions in traffic are erased within a short period.

In 2022, NYSDOT illegally dumped pieces of the roadway directly into the Bronx River after demolishing a Cross Bronx entrance ramp during a similar rehabilitation project. Even if the state files permits, local residents are still concerned that DOT's project may similarly impact the river, under the current "5 Bridges" project. Thanks to sustained remediation efforts, wildlife has slowly returned to the river following the incident, including threatened birds such as herons and dolphins. But during ongoing river clean-ups with local volunteers, residents continue to find construction waste tossed from the expressway into the recovering waterway. With thousands of public housing residents living across the street from the proposed highway expansion, State DOT's plans threaten to reverse this hard-won progress and drive worsened air quality, increased pollution, and more chronic illness in an already overburdened community.

Community Alternatives for the Cross Bronx

Community members have long advocated, since the 1970s, for investment in safe, dignified, and simple improvements for these neighborhoods. Residents successfully advocated for the expansion of Starlight Park, which has doubled in size after years of organizing to transform the space into a vital community resource. But existing east-west corridors along the Cross Bronx, including some of its most dangerous intersections on 174th Street, 177th Street, and East Tremont Avenue have been ignored and neglected for decades.

In 2014, City Council awarded NYCDOT the funds to create signaled crossings at E 177th St. and E Tremont Ave. Over a decade later, the project still hasn't broken ground, depriving local residents of accessible pathways. The State's planned expansion ignores proposed connections along the highway, in a departure from the community's top priorities. As outlined in the community's visioning process for the Cross Bronx, Bronxites are seeking alternatives that reduce traffic, restore community access to green space, and reconnect riverside neighborhoods along the expressway.

About Bronx River Alliance: The Bronx River Alliance serves as a coordinated voice for the river and works in harmonious partnership to protect, improve and restore the Bronx River corridor so that it can be a healthy ecological, recreational, educational and economic resource for the communities through which the river flows.

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