Exclusive: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tours Port Morris site to revitalize waterfront
The congresswoman recently secured the first $1 million in federal funding for the project. Early plans include flood‑mitigation upgrades, new oyster reefs and a restored shoreline, improvements advocates say would lay the groundwork for a future public pier.
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A long‑neglected stretch of shoreline in the South Bronx is drawing renewed attention as community groups and elected leaders push to restore public access to the East 132nd Street pier in Port Morris.
What appears at first glance to be a peaceful waterfront along the East River quickly reveals a different reality: a broken fence, a littered shoreline and a dead‑end street that has kept residents cut off from their own waterfront for years.
“This is what it looks like, it’s inaccessible, it’s not friendly, it says ‘dead end,’ but there should be an access point," said Mychal Johnson of South Bronx Unite, "People come here even though there is a fence up, they go through the fence on the other side to go out there to fish and bring family and that's no way we should have access to our water edge."
South Bronx Unite and the Waterfront Alliance have spent years advocating for the pier’s restoration.
RELATED: Grassroots group continues fight to revitalize South Bronx waterfront
On Tuesday, they led a walking tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez and state officials to highlight the conditions and outline a vision for the site.
“The Bronx does not lack green space, the Bronx does not lack waterfront,” Ocasio‑Cortez said. “We’ve just been blocked off from it.”
The congresswoman recently secured the first $1 million in federal funding for the project. Early plans include flood‑mitigation upgrades, new oyster reefs and a restored shoreline, improvements advocates say would lay the groundwork for a future public pier.
“There is no reason the Bronx shouldn’t have the beautiful waterfront access and infrastructure that every other borough has,” Ocasio‑Cortez said.
The Waterfront Alliance estimates the full project will cost about $20 million, leaving roughly $19 million still needed. The group is working with city and state partners to secure additional funding.
“That’s going to stabilize the infrastructure here,” said Julie Raskin, the alliance’s president and CEO. “But the full waterfront access plan is about $20 million, and that’s why we’re here today, to hammer in that point.”
Johnson says that if they can secure the remaining funding needed, a revitalized waterfront could become a reality within three to five years.
"We delivered the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act for projects just like this," said Amanda Lefton, commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. "As we move forward, the first next step is making sure we are convening everyone together. There is a lot of different city agencies, a lot of different state agencies, and coming together around a shared and align goal and we do that we can make anything happen."
