Again, in May 1998, in cooperation with many local civic organizations, the New York-North Jersey Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club took part in a civic project to help local residents cleanup a several block section of the Bronx River and adjacent riverbanks just downstream of the Bronx Zoological Park, in New York City. We went Back to THE BRONX in '98!
(Photos thanks to Lenny Grefig, one of the trip leaders.)

  First our leaders did some scouting on several sections of the river and planned what we were going to be doing.



From Left: Malcolm Spector, Henry Schrieber, Lenny Grefig and Lee Hackeling, AMC & NPS Staff.

Malcolm and Henry find some HEAVY DUTY stuff on the upper river that probably would not fit in a canoe very easily.

We did not clean that section of the river. Instead we went back to the West Farms area where we had been in 1996 and did more cleaning there...

This was the result of cleaning 3 blocks in about 2 hours by 10 paddlers and 5 canoes. We just cleaned this area 2 years ago....

We weren't the only people there -- there were about 100 others planting flowers and weeding in the park that West Farms School now has on the river bank in their back yard -- once a garbage dump -- today a lovely riverside park.

Phyllis Valendo (bow) and Gretchen Tardel take two of the kids out for a ride on the hydralic formed by the rubble of the broken out dam in their school's back yard river.

Then Jill gets in the bow with Malcolm in the stern and shows the kids how to surf on that wave. Look, LOOK at MEEEE...no hands!!

These guys are not too shabby in a canoe, for HIKERS!

Fran (bow) and Al Braley bring their charges back to the old dam after a fun-filled canoe ride, which was the highlight of the day for many of these kids.

All-in-all a GREAT DAY for all...