This report would not have been possible without the leadership and the
tireless editorial assistance of Jerome Park Conservancy President Anne
Marie Garti. Grants from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation
and Historic Preservation (provided through Senator Franz S. Leichter and
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz), The New York Times Foundation, and the NYC
Environmental Fund made possible the publication of the report. The current
historical interest in the Jerome Park Reservoir and the Old Croton Aqueduct
in the Bronx owes much to the inspiration and vision of landscape architect
Gail Wittwer. Valuable contributions in research and documentation were
performed by Karen Argenti, John Bartelstone, Sandra Sider and Heather McDaniel.
Thanks to Daniel J. Donovan of Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer's
Office for reawakening interest in Frederick Law Olmsted's design
of the Bronx, and for his assistance in comparing it with the as-built condition.
Thanks also to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Joel
Miele for his cooperation, and to Douglas Greeley, Eric Axelson, Joe Hadden,
Joe McGuire and Rocco Mastronardi for their assistance in accessing the
reservoir.
An immense debt of gratitude is owed to Charles E. Beveridge, Editor
of the Frederick Law Olmsted Papers, for his seminal research on Olmsted's
design of the Bronx, and his discovery of the drawings fourteen years ago.
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