Contained within the park is the Van Cortlandt House Museum, the oldest surviving building in the Bronx, and the Van Cortlandt Golf Course, the oldest public golf course in the country. [107][244][245] By the time the grove was renovated in 2011,[246] there were only 18 plaques left. [38], The family property was sold to the City of New York and made into a public parkland in 1888. [137][14] Elsewhere in the park, excessive foot traffic was eroding the soil in the forests. Gradual improvements began taking place from the late 1980s on including the addition of new pathways, signage, and security. "[150] Years later, one writer recalled that dozens of the course's trees died, and "flagsticks were reduced to broken bamboo poles stuck into the ground. [307] A year later in 1907, NYC Parks wanted permission to build a road from the Yonkers shuttle's Caryl Station to Broadway in order to alleviate traffic there. "A Perfect Setting for the 'Sport of Kings". [147] The city of Yonkers eventually attributed the cause of the Van Cortlandt Lake's pollution to four storm sewers that were found to be illegally connected to Tibbetts Brook upstream. [169], The city built the Croton Water Filtration Plant, a drinking water treatment facility, under the park's Mosholu Golf Course. The Van Cortlandt Park course has become known as a mecca of cross-country running, a grueling test of endurance and will through dense woods and an undulating stretch of hills and dales that. Fifteen thousand years ago, the massive . [70] Hands-on education programs at the park were reduced to passive observations of flora and fauna. [81] In 1907, due to overcrowding, Dr. William Hornaday transferred 15 of the Bronx Zoo's then-rare bison to the Parade Ground,[82] where they stayed until they were shipped to prairie land in Oklahoma later that year. The earliest efforts for such a thing date to 1983, when an administrator was appointed to oversee both Van Cortlandt and Pelham Bay Parks. [124][139], The Van Cortlandt Golf Course was used as a ski slope during the winters starting in 1961, and up to 3,000 visitors would use the slopes each weekend. [2] As part of the park's 2034 master plan, NYC Parks undertook a project to pave the entirety of the trail through Van Cortlandt Park as well as a short extension to the south, making it usable for both pedestrians and bicyclists. One such road was Rockwood Drive, which was closed in 1936 and became a bridle path. "[28][29] Frederick, who was buried in Vault Hill,[28][29] had willed the massive home and surrounding lands to his son, James Van Cortlandt (17271787). It will have carefully orchestrated trails and paths for running, biking . [123] This construction also induced siltation of the brook, leading to further creation of marshes. [178] The park's paths would also be restored with the addition of three new pedestrian bridges; a playground; four activity centers, of which two would be outdoors and two would be indoors; a skate park; an athletic field; and three basketball courts built within the park. [353] The 242nd Street station was part of the first subway line of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company,[75] running along the current IRT BroadwaySeventh Avenue Line to City Hall[354][355] and later South Ferry. [140] Also in the late 1960s, the city decided to build a series of public pools on the site of the Colonial Garden, consisting of a diving, a swimming, and a wading pool. For Runners, Van Cortlandt Park Was the Ultimate Test - The New York Times The rustic wooden bridges were to be replaced with stone bridges, while the wooden stairs were to be superseded by stone stairs. [27][10][26][16] The Van Cortlandts did not primarily live in that house, instead staying in Manhattan most of the time. [266][267][268] In 1934, there were two stables: a larger one east of the Putnam Division near Van Cortlandt Avenue and 242nd Street, and a smaller one to the Van Cortlandt Course clubhouse's east. [300], Early in the park's history, there were calls for a direct route between Woodlawn and Riverdale. Chambry, Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes, France | 9 Bed, 5 Bath House For Sale | 990,000 - In the town of La Rochette, bourgeois house with a living area of over. [41][42] Douglass made estimates for the new aqueduct in 18331834 and John Martineau performed a separate study in 1834. ; Plan to Put Filtration Plant Under Park Angers the Bronx", "Parks Breaks Ground On Renovation Of Van Cortlandt Park's Parade Ground", "Sachkerah Woods Playground; July 2007 Park of the Month", "Daylighting the Saw Mill River: Efforts to bring back a natural Yonkers waterway are changing the city", "Parks Department announces $42.6 million in improvements to Bronx parks", "NYC Parks breaks ground on $1M Van Cortlandt Park playground renovation Bronx Times", "City kills long-planned bridge over Major Deegan in the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park", "How Big Is That Park? [88] Moses also landscaped the areas near the Woodlawn and 242nd Street subway stations to attract park visitors from other neighborhoods. That year another in a series of wars and bloody skirmishes with the local Native Americans, the Indians launched a retaliatory attack on the colony, now known as the Peach War. [326] Moses immediately started planning for the Henry Hudson Parkway, which was originally envisioned as an extension of Riverside Drive. [157] Two shuffleboard courts were also installed in the Parade Grounds the same year, but went unused because of a lack of playing equipment. [11], Van der Donck died in 1655. [154] The Parade Ground remained popular, and the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera performed in the field during the summer. [155] However, it too had deteriorated because of intensive use: the grounds' topsoil had eroded away and the sidewalks started to buckle. Police. [20] In 1699, Jacobus Van Cortlandt dammed Tibbetts Brook to power a sawmill, creating a mill pond at the site where the lake is. [306] A pedestrian passage from Jerome Avenue to Gun Hill Road, opened in 1905, also allowed more direct access into the park from Jerome Avenue. [34] That same year, Augustus Van Cortlandt hid city records under Vault Hill to protect them during the war, turning them over to the new American government after the war. [195], There is no surviving documentation for the creation of Van Cortlandt Lake. John, identified as "my negro man slave". Fighting for a Hallowed and Grueling Ground - New York Times His body was discovered on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. History of Sports - Bronx, Box 3574 WPA Records Survey, New York City Municipal Archives. He formed the New York Park Association in November 1881. [177] The Van Cortlandt Golf Course was renovated in 2016. However, most of this opposition was directed at the construction of Pelham Bay Park, which was then in Westchester. During the 1690s the enslaved Africans he owned dammed Tibbetts Brook to create a 16-acre lake to power the gristmill. The park, the city's third-largest,[a] was named for the Van Cortlandt family, which was prominent in the area during the Dutch and English colonial periods. [290], On December 11, 1909, the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders (later of the Canadian Football League), played an exhibition game at Van Cortlandt Park. However, logging and forest fires have killed some of these trees. The Interstate Commerce Commission gave New York Central Railroad permission to abandon the branch on November 12, 1942. Telephone: 718-430-1890. [238] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1967 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1976. [124][133] The mass-death of fish was blamed on siltation,[134] Three years later, fish were still being killed by siltation. Latitude. [28], The Memorial Grove honors Bronxites who served in World War II and the Korean War. [102][94][103] The former marshland was filled in. [276] A clubhouse was added two years later. "Memorial Grove Tablets (21)", 'items BM, BN, file 1501, Municipal Art Commission. [137] In addition, an algal bloom caused the lake to be in a low-oxygen condition, endangering plants and animals in and around the lake. [346], By 1942, the railroad was already seeing signs of decreased ridership: there were 600 daily riders on the Yonkers branch, down from 2,000 daily riders sixteen years prior. THE PANZERS The Washington. Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York New York City's fourth largest park is a great spot to watch spring and fall migrants, including warblers, thrushes, and grosbeaks, as well as Rusty Blackbird, Snow Bunting, and Wood Duck. Mary Haldine to Samuel Parsons, May 11, 1906. Why New York Is Unearthing a Brook It Buried a Century Ago [190] The lake is used for recreational fishing,[191] as it includes species such as largemouth bass, black crappie, brown bullhead, bluegill, pumpkinseed, golden shiner, common carp, white sucker, and yellow perch. [94][198] A 1903 annual report from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation mentioned that the lake had probably not been cleaned since the mid-18th century, and now contained a layer of "refuse and vegetation on top, and an ooze two to three feet deep on the bottom," with qualities more like a "semi-bog. Troops from both the British and Colonial American armies rested in this house during the time of war. Joseph Hennessy to Mayor Walker, March 19, 1926, "Van Cortlandt Park is Selected for Cross Country Championship," North Side News, November 9, 1915, p. 4. Joseph Hennessy to Mayor Gaynor, May 27, 1912. [252][260] The stadium opened on September 22, 1939, to a day of track events and a football game between Manhattan College and Fordham University. WPA-Division of Operations, Project Folders OP 665-97-2-438 WP-18 Parks Bronx, microfilm reel 8431, National Archives, "For New Auto Highway", Bronx Home News, September 30, 1909, p. 1, "Former Senator Straus Terms Extension of Concourse Through Park 'Ill-Considered'", Bronx Home News, March 17, 1929, p. 4, "Civic and Art Bodies Protest Use of Park Land for Concourse Extension", Bronx Home News, March 20, 1929, p. 1, "Bill Providing Use of Park Land in Plan To Extend Concourse South Wins Official Favor," Bronx Home News, March 8, 1929, p. 1, "Governor Kills Measure for Extension of Concourse Through Van Cortlandt Park", Bronx Home News, April 17, 1929, p. 1, "Governor Kills Measure", Bronx Home News, April 17, 1929, p. 1. [197], By the time the park was created, Van Cortlandt Lake needed to be cleaned, as cesspools in Yonkers had leaked sewage into Tibbetts Brook, which fed into the lake. Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization founded in 2009, managed educational and cultural programs, and maintains the recreational areas. [112] The track started out as a flat path, became hilly, turned onto a "little spell of road work," went into the forest, and crossed a water before turning back. [351] Conrail continued to operate the line for freight use, though by 1979 trains only ran twice a day, and hikers often utilized the underused train tracks. [299] However, the two organizations have not had the same amount of funding as similar private organizations who manage parks in wealthier areas of the city. [63] The Parade Ground was immediately used by the National Guard for brigade practice, replacing the parade ground of Prospect Park. [43] The aqueduct's builders constructed a gatehouse within the present-day park to provide access to the aqueduct's interior. [19][62] The construction of the Parade Ground required demolition of a few old buildings and cornfields. The college course is five miles (8.0km) long, crossing the Henry Hudson Parkway at one point. "[199][87] Cleaning of the lake started in 1903. Provide Promenade for Pedestrians", "BRUCKNER DEFENDS CONCOURSE PROJECT; Finds Critics Unduly Alarmed on Proposal for Van Cortlandt Road", "PROTEST EXTENSION OF STREET IN PARK; Organizations Ask Roosevelt to Defer Approval of Bill for Van Cortlandt Roadway. THE VAN CORTLANDT RANGERS The Moonrunners' greatest enemies are The Van Cortlandt Rangers, a.k.a. Consecration of African Burial Ground at Van Cortlandt Park on [140] By 1964, with the use of artificial snow, it was also possible to ski during warmer days. [59], In 1880 while the new park was being planned, the New York City & Northern Railroad, later the New York and Putnam Railroad, was built through the center of the park. [219] The remains of the former Van Cortlandt Park station can be seen along the trail. To reach this lot, take Bailey Avenue and follow the signs for Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. [232] Shaped as a loop, it extends through the rocky forests of the park's northwestern portion. [311] In the NYC Parks annual report for 1912, it was noted that the park's roads "stood the strain well," but that constant maintenance was needed to keep the roads in good shape. [97], In its early years, the lake was used for boating, canoeing, curling, and ice skating. [30], The Van Cortlandt family land was used during the American Revolution by both the Loyalists and Patriots, owing to James's leadership role early on in the revolution. The Haunting of Van Cortlandt Park - YouTube [255] The 1968 and 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship was hosted by Manhattan College at the park. [61] The line had two tracks between the Hudson Line junction and the Van Cortlandt station, north of which the tracks merged into one. [253] The Parade Ground also has other areas dedicated to various sports, including six baseball fields, four football fields, five soccer fields, and a 1.5-mile (2.4km) course for cross-country running. [263] In 2015, the Jaspers moved to Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York,[264] but in 2021, the Jaspers moved back to Van Cortlandt Park. SUGGESTS ALTERNATE PLAN Link to Jerome Avenue Instead of Road Through Van Cortlandt Park Is Called Cheaper. [45][46] The old aqueduct was supplemented by the New Croton Aqueduct in 1890, which also ran through the park. [249][219] The cricket fields were renovated from 2010 to 2013 for $13 million. The park's cross-country course is legendary a grueling stretch of wide flats and twisting trails that has tested up-and-coming high school and college runners for nearly a century. [188][189], Van Cortlandt Park contains the Bronx's largest freshwater lake, the eponymous Van Cortlandt Lake. [255][287] However, by 2013, the trail was starting to show signs of deterioration. Son Of Sam Killer: `I Wasn't Alone' -- Berkowitz Ends 16-Year Silence [212] Its avian population during the winters has exceeded that of either Central or Prospect Parks; a total of 301 bird species have been seen in the park since 1875, when records were first kept. [102][159][132] In 1977, the Bronx Borough Board created a special committee to oversee and develop plans for improving Van Cortlandt Park. [37][38][39][40] In 1781, Washington returned to the house to strategize with Rochambeau while their troops waited outside on what is now the Parade Ground and Vault Hill. [10][26] A family burial ground was created in 1749,[10] later to be known as "Vault Hill. An additional spur from Rockwood Drive diverged from the intersection with Mosholu Avenue, terminating at the train station. [219] Within the park, the Old Croton Aqueduct trail borders Mosholu Golf Center and Driving Range, as well as the Allen Shandler Recreation Area. When Frederick Law Olmsted mapped the streets of the Bronx in 1876, he proposed that New York City buy the Van Cortlandt family estate because he believed the property was already as beautiful as Central Park. [261] In 1994, Mayor Giuliani funded a $415,000 project for concrete repairs to the stadium,[262] and in 1998, the 0.25-mile (0.40km) running track was rebuilt for nearly a million dollars. The park's recreational facilities were quite popular, with more than 10,000 people using them on a busy day. On December 12, 1888, the City acquired title to the property that would become Van Cortlandt Park, which occupies 1,122 acres. The plan was to build an athletic field in the southwest swamp's place,[206] but all swamp-infill proposals for this sector were rejected in 1917. A bridge was constructed over the railroad in 1940, and a road linking the avenue and the new Mosholu Parkway was opened the next year. Zero Emission Valley (ZEV) | McPhy "[365], The park is also the place of many happy memories of Horse Badorties, protagonist of William Kotzwinkle's 1974 book The Fan Man. Plant operations began in 2015. Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan - final version - Issuu [284], Van Cortlandt Park is a popular site for cross-country running, owing to its miles of cinder trails and hills as well as its steep terrain. [247], Van Cortlandt Park contains Citywide Nursery, one of three greenhouses operated by NYC Parks. [303] There were also preparations for a fourth road, which would run north from Mosholu Avenue and then fork into two roads before entering Yonkers. Go to Google Maps, and enter your address for step-by-step directions to Van Cortlandt Park. Van Cortlandt Park - Wikipedia [143], The city's fiscal crisis in the 1970s caused the rest of the park to fall into disrepair. [274] The 1899 Bendelow reconstruction had rebuilt the course so that it now spanned 120 acres (49ha), compared to the 55 acres (22ha) of the previous course. The east side of the park near Indian Field contains Yonkers granite, an igneous rock that mixed with Fordham gneiss as a hot magma before later cooling. Van Cortlandt Park Preserve, the third largest of the Forever Wild Nature Preserves, comprises over half of the 1,150-acre park. Also present in and around the park's waterways and wetlands are common snapping turtles and Eastern painted turtles, as well as red-eared sliders that were introduced to the region. [224] As part of the Croton Water Filtration Plant project, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection was given $200 million to mitigate the effects of constructing the plant. (L to R) OLGA LUZ TIRADO, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance board member, with Bronx Borough Parks Commissioner, Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, at a ceremony marking the consecration of the African Burial Ground located within Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to coincide with Juneteenth on June 19, 2021. [79][80] The Parade Ground was converted to recreational use starting in 1902, when the National Guard added fields for polo. [295][296], Though NYC Parks owns and operates the park, until 2019 maintenance was handled by two separate nonprofit organizations. (This link will open a page outside the DEC website. Maintenance and upkeep is also performed by Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, which is composed of the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy and Friends of Van Cortlandt Park. [338] The city ultimately selected Moses's plan in 1947. Zero Emission Valley embodies the energy transition at regional level Initiated by the Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes Regional council, deployed by Hympulsion and supported by the European Union, the Zero Emission Valley (ZEV) project stands out by its scale and its innovative nature. Under threat of tearing the garden down, the city had to find money to fill and drain the ground. [245] Restoration was completed in 2012. It ran off the main New York and Putnam Railroad line immediately north of the Van Cortlandt station. Four years after the course opened, the city hired Tom Bendelow, nicknamed the "Johnny Appleseed of Golf", to expand it to 18 holes. [17] Philipse's daughter Eva later married Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who was Mrs. Philipse's brother. All Land Is in Park Area. [324], Highway construction in the mid-1930s further altered the park. Photo by Miriam Quiones [182], At 1,146 acres (464ha), Van Cortlandt Park is the third-largest park in New York City,[a] behind the Staten Island Greenbelt (1,778 acres (720ha)) and Pelham Bay Park (2,772 acres (1,122ha)). [318][319] Roosevelt vetoed the bill on April 17, 1929. [305] This fourth road, a "driveway" called Rockwood Drive that ran from Mosholu Avenue to the city line at Yonkers, was completed in 1903. In 2013, Friends of Van Cortlandt Park only raised $416,612as opposed to the Central Park Conservancy, which in 2016 had an $81 million endowment to maintain Central Park, or the Four Freedoms Parks Conservancy, which raised $8 million in 2011 alone for the construction of the Four Freedoms Park. [10] What is now the parade ground was used by van der Donck for farming. [218], The rails themselves are overrun with weeds, but they are no longer usable by trains. [135] City investigators took water samples from the lake and found that they contained large amounts of weeds and sediment. [275] NYC Parks reconfigured the course again the following year so that "congestion would be prevented and accidents avoided." [60] It had two stops in the Bronx: one inside the park, and another to the south at Kingsbridge. Bearing left, go underneath the overpass and then take a sharp left into the parking lot. Pioneer species, which inhabit the plots of the forest destroyed by logging and fire, include sumac and black locusts. [255], The park is used for the Northeast regional championships of the Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships. [83][84], The Colonial Garden, designed by landscape architect Samuel Parsons, started construction in 1902[68][85] and opened the following June. [255], Around the Parade Ground, known to runners as "the flats," there is a track that circles for 1.5 miles (2.4km). [231] There is a large, steep hill in the center of the trail. RELATED: [215][216], The Putnam Trail (1.5 miles (2.4km), easy),[215] runs north through the woods to the east of this lawn and west of Van Cortlandt Lake, through the golf course and along Tibbetts Brook and the former New York and Putnam Railroad line into Yonkers, where it connects to Westchester County's paved South County Trailway. [223] Along this trail, there is a "thick undergrowth" beneath a "canopy" of deciduous trees that date back centuries. [160][161] The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park soon came up with its own suggestions to improve the park. 69. Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York - BirdWatching Later, the land was used during the Revolutionary War when the Stockbridge militia was destroyed by the Queen's Rangers. [76] The new Van Cortlandt Golf Course was supposed to be "experimental," and if the course was successful, similar courses would be laid around the country. [12] Philipse bought out Delavall's and Lewis's land shares, making the land part of the Philipsburg Manor, which extended from Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the Croton River in modern Westchester County. The guilty Congressman Shattuck kills himself with a hand grenade after Nero Wolfe convinces him there is no chance of escaping justice. Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan : NYC Parks [1] The Wiechquaskeck, a Wappinger people, were among the first recorded people to inhabit in the area now referred to as Van Cortlandt Park. This revised plan garnered the support of three prominent Bronx politicians. [165][175] The Sachkerah Woods Playground, located at the park's southeast corner near the Mosholu Golf Course, was also built using Croton mitigation funds. Bee-Line Bus System's 1, 2, 3, 4, 20, and 21 routes also provide service to Westchester. [141] The seasonal ski slope was closed in the late 1960s when the city decided to allow golfers to use the Van Cortlandt Course during winters. A new dam was installed to reform the lake. [100] An "outlet sewer" under Broadway was built in 1907. [5][13] Philipse's wife died, and he remarried Olof Stevense Van Cortlandt's daughter, herself a widow. It Will Serve to Wipe Out a Van Cortlandt Park Swamp", "On Schedule, Pools' Workers Drain the Last Drops of Summer", "Van Cortlandt Park: Van Cortlandt Stadium", "Baseball to Play 2015 Home Games at Dutchess Stadium", "Van Cortlandt Park Highlights Indian Field", "Van Cortlandt Park Highlights Allen Shandler Recreation Area", "Professional Golfers: Caddy Graduate Led a Field of Fifty-Two Players", "TRAFFIC LINK FINISHED; Road Connects Mosholu Avenue and Henry Hudson Parkway", "NATURE CLUBS GIRD FOR SWAMP BATTLE; Council Formed to Stay 'Fill' of Van Cortlandt Park Area for Road and Golf", "A Riverdalian's Guide to Golf: Van Cortlandt Course: 'Like Seeing An Old Friend', "GOLF; Youngsters Can Tee It Up At Mosholu in the Bronx", "After 7-Year Makeover, Bronx Links of Legend Try to Reclaim the Past", "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: VAN CORTLANDT; Trail Is Back in the Running", "USATF Events 2006 USA Cross Country Championships", "For New York Cross-Country Runners, a Century-Old Proving Ground In a Bronx Park, a Century of Testing Runners' Speed and Spirit", "Hamilton vanquished Ottawas in exhibition game at New York saturday", "ADMINISTRATOR IS NAMED FOR 2 LARGE CITY PARKS", "Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy History", "Friends of Van Cortlandt Evaluate Initial Campaign", "Pending parks merger prompts departures", "BRUCKNER VISIONS 'FINEST DRIVEWAY'; Landscaping a Major Part of Concourse Extension Plan, He Shows. [357][358] The Woodlawn station was built later as part of the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, opening in April 1918 as the line's northern terminus. [286] Runners on the cross-country course typically run 6.2 miles (10.0km). [142] Because of the swampy nature of the ground underneath it, the pools soon began to crackle and set. Van Cortlandt Village: Man Arrested for Attempted Murder in Stabbing [364] In the 1979 film adaptation of Yurick's novel, one of the gangs is called "The Van Cortlandt Rangers. Van Cortlandt Park's sports facilities include golf courses and several miles of paths for running, as well as facilities for baseball, basketball, cricket, cross-country running, football, horseback riding, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis and track and field. The Van Cortlandt House, which would later be designated as a historic landmark, was converted into a public museum, and new paths were created across the property to make it more passable. Contact Information. The Northwest Woods and Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway have a steep terrain dotted with Fordham gneiss, a metamorphic rock that is very hard to weather. [333] Since community leaders had some objections to the proposal, Moses held a public hearing to discuss it. In 19781979, NYC Parks performed a wholesale renovation of the park's eroded and dilapidated bridle paths and jogging tracks. [131], By the 1960s, large portions of the park, such as Tibbetts Brook, were being polluted by human activity; in addition, the brook now flowed into the Broadway sewer at the south end of Van Cortlandt Lake. The clubhouse received an infusion of historic golf artifacts from NYC Parks, including "vintage photographs" and an exhibit about the history of the golf ball. [2][229] The variety eventually chosen was Indiana limestone[229] because it was cheap. [112][113] A modified 3.1-mile (5.0km) cross-country course opened on November 5, 1921, with runners simply changing direction at the city border. of George B. McClellan, New York City Municipal Archives. The Mosholu stop was designated as a request stop, wherein trains only stopped upon a passenger's request. [104][105], During a 1910s excavation for a sewer pipe, stones were unearthed that were suspected to be from the old van der Donck estate. [331], World War II halted all highway construction. "Certain lands" around the house were then filled in for the purpose of creating a "Colonial Garden,"[67] which was proposed in 1897. "New Bronx and Westchester Traffic Link", Bronx Home News, January 22, 1934, p. 1. [322], By 1934, there was a large system of interconnected bridle paths along trails and park roads. [228] The path features 13 stone pillars, each made of a different variety of stone, that were tested for the facade of Grand Central Terminal during the terminal's construction. [117] His job partially entailed balancing the needs of area residents, whose numbers had grown in the past decade, with transit users who traveled to the park from the north and south. This forced the settlers, including van der Donck's widow, to flee to Manhattan. [291] This course was renovated in 1997 for almost $1 million. [210], There are several old-growth forests with tree species and genera such as black oak, hickory, beech, cherry birch, sweetgum, red maple, and tuliptree. [363], In Sol Yurick's 1965 novel The Warriors, the meeting between New York street gangs called by Ismael Rivera, leader of the Delancey Thrones, takes place in Van Cortlandt Park.