ICYMI: Bronx River Alliance ED Siddhartha Sánchez Pushes Back Against Bigger Cross Bronx on Inside City Hal

BRONX, NY (12/17/2025) (readMedia)-- Last night, Bronx River Alliance Executive Director Siddhartha Sánchez pulled back the curtain on the state's Cross Bronx Expressway expansion plans with Inside City Hall's Errol Louis. Despite eliminating some of its most harmful proposals for the $900-million Cross Bronx 5 Bridges project - including a new, mile-long polluting roadway - Governor Hochul and the State Department of Transportation are still considering expanding the Cross Bronx footprint, and rushing community members to review a nearly 6,000-page environmental assessment in the middle of the holiday season.

Watch the full Inside City Hall segment here.

Since releasing the Cross Bronx environmental review assessment right before Thanksgiving, Governor Hochul and NYSDOT have already concluded the public hearing schedule for community members to learn about the next steps for the project. But as a result of minimal advertisement, each of the hearings saw low turnout from Bronxites balancing family commitments and holiday prep. Ahead of the Jan 9th deadline, local residents are requesting a 90-day comment period and stronger outreach to maximize community input, but have already met resistance from NYSDOT representatives.

With more than 64,000 Bronxites living directly along the Cross Bronx corridor, the state's remaining design plans threaten significant community health and environmental impacts for the next 80 years at minimum. Bronxites already face the highest rates of asthma and chronic disease city- and nationwide, due to decades of pollution from the Cross Bronx's design under Robert Moses. Watershed communities surrounding the Bronx River and Cross Bronx Expressway continue to advocate for standard bridge repairs to address the bridges' infrastructure upgrades, along with solutions that reduce traffic and pollution.

Last month, Senator Gustavo Rivera, Councilmember-elect Justin Sanchez, Bronx River Alliance, Transportation Alternatives, and a coalition of Bronx community groups and citywide advocates led a virtual press conference requesting a 90-day public comment period and enhanced outreach to source meaningful feedback. Shortly after, Congressman Ritchie Torres sent a letter to Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Transportation echoing community voices and urging officials to extend the public comment period.

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.

About the Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition: The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion coalition is composed of Bronx grassroots groups, environmental justice organizations, and advocates for safe and healthy transportation. Together, we are fighting to implement a positive community-led vision that reverses the harms done to the public health, environment, and social and economic life of the Bronx by the Expressway. To realize this vision requires stopping new highway expansions along the Cross Bronx – beginning with New York State DOT's current plan to widen the CBE.

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