So many meetings, so little time

Thursday night might prove to be a late one for many of the northwest Bronx’s more active residents. 

That’s because there are not one, not two, but three public meetings and events happening April 6 — all at the same time.

The night’s events range in theme from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s first progress report on their cost study for building a greenway on the Hudson River in Riverdale, to city council candidates seeking an endorsement from the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, to Councilman Andrew Cohen’s visit with the Riverdale Nature Preservancy.

Representatives from the organizations running each event said it is difficult to keep such overbookings from happening, especially when meetings have to be planned around the upcoming Passover and Easter holidays.

“You’re not working with seven days of the week, as you know,” said Bruce Feld, president of the Ben Franklin Club. “You’re generally working with Tuesday through Thursday.”

Each meeting is important in its own right, expected to attract dozens of activists and attendees.

The parks and recreation meeting of Community Board 8, for example, will be the first time the MTA addresses findings in a study funded by state Sen. Jeffrey Klein determining how much it would cost to build a much-talked about greenway. 

Greenway efforts seemed to gain steam earlier this year when Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans for the Empire State Trail from Manhattan to Albany, expanding the Hudson River Greenway in Manhattan to the Bronx. 

Those hopes, however, were quickly dashed when, just a few weeks ago, representatives from Cuomo’s office and state parks commissioner Rose Harvey told greenway activists their plan did not include building a Hudson River greenway, instead connecting the existing greenway to the Putnam Trail in Van Cortlandt Park. 

“We are just trying to mobilize the troops — not to make a scene, but just to be heard,” said Cliff Stanton, who leads greenway efforts at the Kingsbridge Riverdale Van Cortlandt Development Corp.

Some of the troops — namely local elected officials who bring more clout to public meetings with large state agencies like the MTA — might be otherwise preoccupied on April 6, however. Stanton, however, is confident the local politicos will make their way to his meeting, and not the others.

“Our understanding is that yes, they will be there,” he said. “If not themselves, with representatives. I expect Sen. Klein will be there for sure.”

Just days ago, CB8 parks committee chair Bob Bender, said support from elected officials will be crucial in the meeting with MTA officials.

“We need the community to make it clear that we really want this greenway,” he said. “Whatever comes out of this meeting, the MTA is not going to say that building this greenway is going to be a cakewalk. The money is there as long as we make clear how much we want this to happen.”

While the two other meetings might take some activists away from the greenway meeting, Stanton said, those most dedicated to the cause will find a way to be there.

“Yeah, it will probably impact the number a little bit, but the people who really want the greenway, they are going to be attending those other meetings,” he said. “Right now, I am just an interested party and I’m just hoping that things are moving in the right direction.”

Heroics for Cohen

The conflicting public meetings present an even larger hurdle for Cohen, the incumbent in the upcoming race for city council’s 11th seat.

Although no one has challenged Cohen on the ballot at this point, he still needs to pay a visit to the Ben Franklin Club, one of the most influential political clubs in the Bronx. 

His endorsement meeting — billed to start at 7 p.m.  — might literally require him to be in two places at once. He’s also scheduled to speak on environmental policy at RNP at 7:30.

 The club will likely try to accommodate Cohen’s situation, Feld said, but candidate speeches — followed by questions from club members — likely won’t even start until Cohen is due on the preservancy stage at the Citadel Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. 

Cohen didn’t respond to a request for comment on this Thursday schedule, but there is one hope he can pull it all off. Fernando Cabrera’s 14th council seat has three challengers, and the club is set to hear from all of them Thursday night as well.