by Olivia Young
Five hundred thousand dollars in federal funding toward a long-awaited environmental study of the Harlem River is still in limbo after the Trump administration froze it last October, a move that targeted several Democratic states.
For some Bronx-based advocates, the Harlem River Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study was a small step toward a decades-long vision to improve the quality of a river contaminated by raw sewage and bacteria, and ultimately to expand waterfront access for residents in some of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods.
Chauncy Young, member of the Harlem River Coalition, said it is unclear if the funds will be released.
“The administration is playing politics with money,” Young said. “These decisions impact people’s lives.”
One million dollars was secured last June after the city’s department of environmental protection agreed to match the funds appropriated by Congress. This meant the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, lead on the study, could move forward with an investigation that looks for ways to restore natural habitats and prevent flooding.
But, the project never started.
During the 43-day government shutdown last year, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Russel Vought announced the corps would pause $11 billion for “lower-priority projects” in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Baltimore, and consider cancelling them.
Democrats had “drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to maintain billions of dollars in projects,” according to Vought’s post on X.
Inside the frozen $11 billion is about $47.2 million for the Hudson Raritan Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Project, a major initiative that aims to restore and protect degraded wetlands in New York and New Jersey. Congress approved funding for eight sites — one being the Harlem River study — prompting elected officials to question if the pause was legally justified.
In a Jan. 15 letter, Rep. Ritchie Torres and Rep. Adriano Espaillat urged Vought to address the status of the funding, adding the money was withheld because of a “political decision.” They posed two questions: Will the funding be withheld indefinitely, and did the administration tell the corps to cancel the approved projects.
The congressmen requested Vought answer by Feb. 17. They both told The Press if the deadline wasn’t met, they would keep fighting. Torres said President Trump controls the funds, all they can do is “exert pressure.”
By press time, there had been no response from Vought. The project remains on hold, with no public comment from the administration on if the money will be released.
Once a system of winding shorelines and natural waterways, such as the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, the Harlem River was reshaped by more than 200 years of industrial and city expansion. Forests were lost, streams buried — including Tibbetts Brook, set to be daylighted by 2030 — and the river’s water quality deteriorated.
Despite the stall, Karen Argenti, member of the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, is optimistic. She said she is looking forward to working with city and federal partners to improve the lives of Bronxites along the river.
“I don’t think it’s a setback,” Argenti said. “We just have to wait a little bit longer.”
Neither the office of budget and management nor the corps were able to be reached for comment.