BRONX, N.Y. — Riley is a dog that doesn’t want to give up the stick being held by his owner Alan Feigenberg. The two were enjoying a walk in Riverdale Park, a secluded area along the Hudson River in the Bronx with about 50 acres of forest.
What You Need To Know
- Riverdale Park Preserve in the Bronx features 50 forested acres along the Hudson River
- The Raoul Wallenberg Forest is named for the Swedish Diplomat credited with saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis in World War II
- The Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront Park features views of the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, Hudson River and Henry Hudson Bridge
- A group called the Sputen Duyvil Parks Conservancy has been formed to help care for the natural areas in the Northwest Bronx
"We feel so fortunate that we are in the Bronx and we have this and the river is here and this is here and we feel this should be available for everybody," said Feigenberg, who has lived in Riverdale for 26 years.
The park offers views of the Hudson, the Palisades and George Washington Bridge, and a trail leads to the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line tracks for train lovers. There is also a stream. Across the street is the Raoul Wallenberg Forest, named for the Swedish diplomat credited with saving thousands of Hungarian Jews from being killed by the Nazis during World War II.
Riverdale resident Victor San Andres would like to see a statue of or monument paying tribute to Wallenberg there. He has taken a special interest in the natural areas in Riverdale and neighboring Spuyten Duyvil, where the shorefront park near the Metro-North station features views of the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, Hudson River and Henry Hudson Bridge. He believes construction on the bridge has led to more trash in the area, and he's hoping the community can come together to help clean it up.
"My idea is basically landscape the park, make it more accessible to a lot of people especially senior citizens because they deserve to have a place of nature that they can go walk around," said San Andres, who has founded an organization called the Spuyten Duyvil Parks Conservancy, and is already receiving pledges of assistance and funding from local residents and businesses.
Visitors can reach all three of these areas through Metro North for a mini-escape from the city. Riverdale resident Katya Lawson is also a fan.
“It's quiet and it looks rather wild but is still is taken care of I understand by the Parks Department so it's pretty comfortable, there's lots of dogs to say hi to," Lawson said.
To find out more about the Spuyten Duyvil Parks Conservancy, visit spuytenduyvilparksconservancy.org.