The New Community on the Sheridan Plan
What is the Sheridan Expressway? 
If you don’t live or work in the Bronx, you may not even be aware that the Sheridan Expressway exists. In the early 1960s, Robert Moses conceived the Sheridan as yet another option for drivers traveling between New York City and New England. His intended route would have extended from the Bruckner Expressway, up the Bronx River, through the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens, and ultimately have connected with the New England Thruway (I-95). The influential patrons of the Botanical Gardens were able to defeat the Master Builder. But the damage had already been done and since 1963, the 1.25 mile stub of the Sheridan has blighted the Bronx River and the neighborhoods on its banks.
The proposal to expand the Sheridan
The Sheridan contributes very little to the region’s mobility. According to the New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT) own studies, it carries less traffic than most nearby local streets such as Whitlock Ave. The poor design of its interchange with the Bruckner Expressway at Hunts Point Ave. causes frequent crashes, chronic congestion, and greatly endangers pedestrians leaving or entering Hunts Point. Neither the Bruckner nor the Sheridan have a direct exit that leads to the manufacturing and distribution centers of Hunts Point; trucks are forced to exit early and drive down local streets to enter the markets. These 11,000 daily trucks endanger residents, pollute the air, wear out local streets, and cost local businesses thousands of dollars in delays.
NYSDOT originally proposed to expand the interchange between the Bruckner and the Sheridan by extending the Sheridan along Edgewater Road into Hunts Point. This proposal would have further blocked access to the Bronx River and the new Concrete Plant Park. But NYSDOT realized that expanding the Sheridan along Edgewater was physically impossible and in a July 17, 2008 meeting proclaimed they had abandoned the idea of expansion. What remains unclear is whether or not there will still be an interchange between the Bruckner and the Sheridan.
Community members, along with environment and parks advocates, have worked for many years to reclaim the river. New parkland is finally being created along the river, and the City, State, and Federal governments have committed over $60 million to the creation of the Bronx River Greenway, which will be a continuous pedestrian and bike path from the city’s northern border to the confluence of Bronx River and the East River. Concrete Plant Park and Starlight Park are two of the forthcoming green spaces, and access to these parks remains critical. What is the point of building new parks if no one can get to them? Although the decision to not expand the Sheridan down Edgewater is a success, we must make sure that NYSDOT doesn't have plans to create an interchange that would make access to the river more difficult.
The Community Alternative Plan
Local residents recognize the need to create safe and efficient truck access to Hunts Point’s industrial areas – indeed, the existing road system dumps trucks onto local streets, where they kill and injure local residents every year. Together, we challenged the NYSDOT assumption that truck access could only be created by sacrificing access to the waterfront. Since 1999, our organizations have worked together to design a more economically and ecologically sensible solution to local traffic and land use problems associated with the Sheridan Expressway.
The Plan onsists of three major elements:
SOUTH
NORTH
1. Providing access from the Bruckner Expressway to Hunts Point at Leggett Avenue
First, building new access ramps (both East and Westbound on- and off-ramps) from the Bruckner Expressway into and out of Hunts Point at Leggett Avenue would provide efficient truck access into the Hunts Point Market, the Fulton Fish Market and other industrial uses on the peninsula. Access at Leggett Avenue would better serve drivers coming from and going to Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn than NYSDOT’s proposal, which forces drivers to use the desperately congested Cross Bronx Expressway. Bringing trucks onto the peninsula at Leggett Avenue would also keep traffic away from the residential area and the waterfront.
2. Removing the Sheridan
Second, placing a new interchange at Leggett Avenue would allow for the removal of the underutilized Sheridan Expressway, since trucks would now have a direct access to Hunts Point via the Bruckner Expressway. The removal (or, demapping) of the Sheridan would open up 28 acres of open space for new uses including open space and housing. This land would be close to the subway, the new parks, and the river waterfront. According to our plan, there would be room for 1,200 units of affordable housing, 200,000 square feet of commerical and community space, and the possibility for 700+ new jobs. And because the land would be publicly owned, new housing would remain permanently affordable so that the residents of the South Bronx could remain in the community that they are working to transform. The new community on the Sheridan would unite previously isolated neighborhoods of the South Bronx, and offer a better quality of life for the area.
3. Elevating portions of the Bruckner to improve safety
Third, our plan would elevate the Bruckner Expressway between Hunts Point Avenue and the east bank of the Bronx River. This stretch of the Bruckner is currently at street-level and provides little pedestrian access out of and into Hunts Point. The removal of the Sheridan and the elevation of the Bruckner would get rid of congestion and pedestrian danger zones such as the one at Hunts Point Ave. and Bruckner Blvd. The local streets that are disconnected because of the street-level Brucker would be reconnected; creating safe pedestrian/bike routes in and out of Hunts Point. Retail on Westchester Ave. would be able to expand across the river, and there would be space for new bike/pedestrian lanes across the river leading to the new Concrete Plant Park.
Click on the following links to find out more about our Community Plan.
- Smart Growth and Sustainability: find out how the New Community on the Sheridan will be a state-of-the-art Green development.
- Transportation: see the NYSDOT's transportation analysis of the Sheridan-Bruckner Interchange, the projected transportation benefits of our plan, and our visions for public transportation in the area.
- Housing: one of the most important elements of the Community Plan is affordable housing.
- Parks and Open Space: open space, and access to open space, is fundamental to a healthy community and also has major health benefits.
- Jobs and Economic Development: the South Bronx needs to see more jobs and economic opportunities for the residents and communities of the South Bronx.
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