An Influx of Green: Bronx River Clean-Up Gets $2.5 Million Boost

Organizations and municipalities with projects to fight pollution in the Bronx River are getting a financial boost from a 2007 settlement between the state attorney general's office and polluters.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that $2.5 million of the settlement will be used to fund 12 projects. They range from $60,000 to the village of Tuckahoe to treat storm water in it's municipal public works yard to a $199,232 grant to the nonprofit GAO Institute to build a 1-acre habitat for mussels and other animals that can filter river water.

The state attorney general's office allocated the funds from a $7 million settlement with Yonkers, White Plains, Scarsdale, Mount Vernon and Greenburgh, and Yonkers Raceway. They were accused of dumping raw sewage into the 23-mile river. The settlement was part of the office's Bronx River Watershed Initiative.

"We are working with community groups and local governments to bring new life to the treasured Bronx River, which for decades went untended and written off," Cuomo said.

Cuomo cited the projects for being "green," and taking creative approaches rather than traditional ones, such as using water treatment plants to work on the problem. Some of the projects use rooftop gardens, street planters, trees and other vegetation to capture storm water.

An additional $2.5 million in matching funds also was announced. Last year, Cuomo's office allocated more than $1.8 million in grants to river restoration projects and $1.9 million in matching funds.