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The Jerome Park Reservoir has been determined by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to be eligible for landmark designation, and by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to meet the criteria for inclusion in the State and National Register. The east wall of the reservoir, along Goulden Avenue, contains the Old Croton Aqueduct, a National Historic Landmark structure, which extends along the entire length of the site and passes through Gate Houses Nos. 5 and 7. The Jerome Park Conservancy has adopted a resolution requesting the New York City Landmarks Commission to designate the site as a scenic landmark. The motion to adopt the resolution was made by Hon. June Eisland and passed unanimously by the Conservancyís Board of Directors at its January 20, 1995 meeting. The Bronx Landmarks Task Force, Office of the Bronx Borough President, voted at its April, 1998 meeting to revise its list of proposed landmarks in the Bronx to include landmarking the elements of the Jerome Park Reservoir and creating a Jerome Park Reservoir Scenic Landmark. Landmarking of the reservoir enjoys widespread support among community leaders and residents, and no known public opposition. The Jerome Park Reservoir is the only major component of the Croton Aqueduct system in New York City that the city has not landmarked (aside from the aqueduct conduits themselves). The Central Park Reservoir, High Bridge and High Bridge Tower are city landmarks, and are listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The 135th Street Gate House in Manhattan, and the High Pumping Station on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx (an element of the Jerome Park Reservoir complex) are similarly landmarked. The Jerome Park Reservoir, along with adjacent parks and landscaped roadways that were part of its original grounds, is an excellent candidate for designation as a scenic landmark. It is of interest to note that no scenic landmarks have yet been designated in the Borough of the Bronx. The historic stone, brick and concrete structures, including the gate houses, on the reservoir site are deserving of individual landmark status.
B. Impact of the Proposed Water Treatment Plant The impact of the construction of the proposed water treatment plant on the Jerome Park Reservoir and the surrounding Olmsted ìsuburbî would be devastating. The Old Croton Aqueduct and all of the stone walls, gate houses and other historic structures and site elements of the reservoir are highly significant, as is the form of the reservoir itself. The historic character of the reservoir is dependant on its scale, open space and scenic vistas, as well as the preservation of the structures. There is no portion of the reservoir site where the proposed facility could be located that would lessen the impact on it as an historic resource. All of the work for the filtration plant that has been proposed or completed to date has entailed an impact on historic resources. The construction contract for the new dividing wall in the 1980's included the demolition of the stone-arched bridge from Gate House No. 5 to Shaft No. 21, which was of great symbolic importance. The proposed filtration plant design in the 1995 preliminary DEIS called for the demolition of all of the stone gate houses and brick superstructures. The current proposal appears to indicate the demolition of approximately one quarter mile of the Old Croton Aqueduct and the massive stone structure that carries it through the site. It is not acceptable to demolish any of the historic structures on the site, particularly this National Historic Landmark structure. Also, the current proposal would change of the form of the reservoir completely, and would greatly reduce the size of the reservoir as a body of water, eliminating scenic vistas from the adjacent parks and water views from residences and institutions. In the current proposal the Jerome Park Reservoir, as a body of water, would cease to be the central feature of the surrounding district. The new industrial complex would become the central feature, appropriating the reservoir, which would become a moat or reflecting pool, as if it were part of the grounds of a citadel. This is a planning approach that is antithetical to the principles of Olmsted, and represents a complete reversal of the century-old relationship between the reservoir and its community. | ||
