Looking back on a tumultuous year

It was a year of closings and controversial plans for the northwest Bronx. Community Board (CB) 8 meetings saw hours-long discussions on topics ranging from waterfront access to the Hudson River to development on Broadway and plans for Van Cortlandt Park. A church beloved by its parishioners received notice of its closing, and a school that was once one of the area’s most lauded saw its final graduation, after years of decline. 

Many of the year’s top stories paved the path for further discussion in 2015. Those stories are below; to share your own choices, visit www.facebook.com/riverdale.press. 

Plane lands on Deegan

The year took off with an unplanned landing. Bronxites traveling down the Major Deegan Expressway on Jan. 4 were shocked to see a small single engine airplane on the Deegan’s northbound lane. 

The Piper Cherokee plane was on course for a sightseeing tour of the Statue of Liberty when it began to experience technical difficulties. The highway became a runway as it touched down on the Deegan, stopping traffic and stunning drivers. 

The pilot and two passengers were not seriously injured, and the Department of Transportation worked quickly to shut down the highway’s northbound lanes 

Driver Kelly Burduck and her father, who were traveling on the expressway when they learned of the crash on the radio, saw the plane firsthand as they drove by. 

“Because it didn’t look like any major damage had been done and the subsequent news on the radio reported no injuries, we were sort of amused,” Ms. Burduck told a Press reporter after the crash. 

Images of the plane went viral on social media sites.

“It’s a great story,” said Steve Dowling of the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, who posted his photos online. “There was no loss of life. It would be pretty awful otherwise.” 

Master Plan for Vannie

In March, the Department of Parks and Recreation unveiled the latest draft of the Van Cortlandt Park Master Plan, which aims to revamp and revitalize the 1,146-acre Bronx park, New York City’s third largest.