FOCAAdmin's blog

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FOCAAdmin

(photo by Pilar Maschi)

Volunteers from the Friends of Aqueduct Walk and the University Heights community, led by Pilar Maschi, Partnership for Parks Catalyst facilitator, demonstrated their hard work and love for the Aqueduct trail by holding a clean-up event on Saturday, November 8. An article in the Norwood News' November 27 issue noted that the volunteers also planted crocuses. Aqueduct Walk, a New York City park, lies between Fordham Road and 183rd St. in The Bronx.

Congratulations from Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct!

 

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

The Mercy campus is right on the trail in Dobbs Ferry, but on a Saturday in November a group of students went further afield to parts of the Aqueduct where they don’t usually walk.

They assembled at a neglected section of the Aqueduct in Yonkers at Summit Street. It is a section that caught the attention of Mercy Professor, Mary Allison Murphy who teaches Exercise Science. The students got plenty of exercise picking up trash in an area that for some reason is abused by those who live in the area. One piece of trash encourages trash and it piles up.

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

 

A report by patch earner Lloyd Philips (follow him on Instagram! @doubleLp)

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

Dionisio Cortes Ortega, a NYS Registered Architect, has created a sculpture entitled Croton Arch of Triumph (Croton Arch of Triumph), which can be found at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, It is a monument to the Old Croton Aqueduct System. In her words, "The inspiration for the sculpture came from a book that Kevin Bone, a professor and architect from The Cooper Union, wrote called Water Works. The book has a great account of the entire NYC water system history.”

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

Aqueduct Trail lovers show their appreciation for the trail’s respite from the Pandemic lockdown at Ventilator 19

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

Fall offers us some of New York’s best weather. It is also a fine season to visit the High Bridge, the centerpiece of the original (“Old”) Croton Aqueduct, completed in 1848 and today the city’s oldest bridge. The High Bridge carried pure, plentiful Croton River water — the beginning of the city’s world-famed water supply — from the mainland, across the Harlem River, to Manhattan Island at a time when New York City existed only at the south tip of the island. The water pipes are still there, beneath the bridge’s deck where visitors stroll.

Croton Dam Inspection 2020, photo: Tom Tarnowsky
Croton Dam Inspection 2020, photo: Tom Tarnowsky
Author: 
FOCAAdmin

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection closed the public walkway atop New Croton Dam for five days earlier this month, creating a safe work zone for an inspection of the dam.

The closure allowed a team of rope-access technicians to rappell down the face of the dam and inspect the stones that were used to build the structure 115 years ago. It was the largest dam in the world when it was completed in 1905.

Croton Dam plaque photo by Daniel Chazin
Author: 
FOCAAdmin

Friend Daniel Chazin writes: "Today, I visited the massive Croton Dam in Westchester County. On the roadway across the dam, there is a plaque to commemorate its construction. I was appalled to discover that, in the fifth line, the word "height" is misspelled. One would think that in preparing such a lasting memorial, greater care would have been taken to ensure that all words were correctly spelled. I sure hope that greater care was used in the actual construction of the dam!"

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

It was an impromptu mini event, since protocol demands social distancing and masks… A spontaneous gathering of talents and good cheer, the inspiration of Ildiko Viczian, our member who gives movement and meditation classes. Two guitar musicians were, perhaps, the stars - Sophie Skoggard and Carl’s friend Caroline. Sophie is playing meditative songs and Caroline, in contrast, presents hilarious songs about the London Underground (which after all is under ground like the Aqueduct) followed by a song about the way one little zucchini plant can take over the universe.

Author: 
FOCAAdmin

Discover your next outdoor adventure with the NY State Parts Explorer App for info, updates and inspiration. Learn more about top destinations and stay connected to your favorite parks and historic sites.

 

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