Liability issues squash observatory project

We still intend to pursue bringing a public observatory to the city and we are in discussions with another nonprofit”

Alfredo Viegas, president of the Amateur Astronomers Association

The Bronx was slated to be home to New York City’s first free observatory, but liability issues halted those plans. 

The Jerome Park observatory was to operate as a stargazing facility for the public park along Goulden Avenue and south of Jerome Park Reservoir gatehouse 5.

Alfredo Viegas, president of the Amateur Astronomers Association was disheartened by the decision which came after three years of negotiations between the association and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, according to Viegas. The city insisted the association agree to a licensing requirement to accept all liability, but Viegas said the small nonprofit could not handle the burden. 

“That means if someone tripped and fell and even if someone was just riding their bike through the observatory area, having nothing to do at all with the observatory and they fell, we would be liable,” Viegas told The Press. 

Vendors across the city often enter into agreements which make nonprofits responsible for all occurrences on its property, but for the association the undertaking was too much. 

“From a fiduciary standpoint, it was just something we couldn’t do,” Viegas said. “The project had to be effectively abandoned.”

In a press release, the astronomer’s association wrote the licensing agreement would “hold the city harmless and indemnify the city for all acts or omissions at and around the observatory that caused harm to anyone inside or outside.”

The idea for the observatory began in 2019 when Nassau Community College was looking to dispose of their observatory after the campus underwent renovations. Then-president of the Amateur Astronomers Association, Bart Fried, agreed to take the instrument after proposing an observatory in Jerome Park to the city’s parks department The physical building was designed to be nine-and-a-half feet high by six-and-a-half feet wide, a small structure meant to fit two to three people comfortably.

The association was approved to install the observatory with public programming in winter 2022 and the to maintain a zero-carbon footprint and use solar panels to power electricity with a walkway constructed of porous to help prevent flooding and assist with runoff. 

The astronomer’s association agreed to cover the cost of installation, maintenance and upkeep, including graffiti removal. 

During the planning process, the association appealed to neighboring educational institutions like Bronx High School of Science and Lehman College for future classes and programs to be held at the observatory. 

Matthew O’Dowd, chair of the physics and astronomy department at Lehman, said although no official agreement was made between the association and the institution, the astronomy department is disappointed the plans will not be finalized.

O’Dowd shared the Lehman astronomy department is currently working on an astrophysics concentration, the first concentration of its kind in New York City and access to the telescope would have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of the students. For him, public access to an observatory is a big deal.

“We’ve always looked up at the stars and wondered and I feel like the mysteries of the heavens have been such a catalyst, a driver, for our curiosity, our scientific exploration. . . access to a public observatory anywhere gives people that same opportunity,” O’Dowd said. 

With no other public observatories in the five boroughs, the loss of the Jerome Park Observatory also means a lost opportunity for the public to participate in scientific stargazing. 

“I think we can feel a little buried in our dense streets, particularly in the Bronx,” O’Dowd said. “Looking through that telescope and having a sense that you’re part of something much bigger, I think is exceptionally valuable.”

Lehman is moving forward with plans to install its own, smaller, rooftop telescope for its students to use and O’Dowd is hopeful to invite the public to participate. 

Despite plans for the observatory getting kiboshed at Jerome Park, Viegas insisted the association is quietly working on a plan B. 

“We still intend to pursue bringing a public observatory to the city and we are in discussions with another nonprofit,” Viegas said. 

He was tight-lipped about the backup plan but shared the new observatory would be located on private land and would offer the same public experience planned for the park. Viegas added the association celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2027 and the hope is the association will also be cheering for the grand opening of its own observatory. 

Viegas admitted after letting go of the Jerome Park plan, the association returned much of the money it raised Donors were offered the option to redirect their funds to other activities and programs within the association or have their money refunded. 

The Amateur Astronomers Association was originally formed to promote astronomy and its study, today the organization offers free programming like solar observing and nighttime sky observing and t sponsors lectures at the American Museum of Natural History.

“That’s our mission, to spread astronomy and science knowledge and to engage with the public and in particular with children,” Viegas said. 

For more information on events hosted by the astronomer’s organization visit AAA.org/Calendar.