Congressman Adriano Espaillat hosts 3rd Annual Harlem River environmental boat tour. These are the changes he wants to see.

NEW YORK - Congressman Adriano Espaillat hosted his third annual boat tour of the Harlem River Friday.

The Circle Line loaded up with elected leaders and environmental advocates to see how efforts have taken shape to bolster the banks of the Harlem River between the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. Another project underway in Uptown will bring water taxis to the 125th Street and Dyckman docks.

"It's really a holistic approach to it," Espaillat said, "but obviously, the waterfront, what you see on the trip is the difference between the area south of 96th Street and the area north of 96th Street. It's like the tales of two cities."

Waterfront improvement efforts continue in Upper Manhattan

Espaillat brought along the group WE ACT For Environmental Justice and students from Fordham University, plus teams from the National Parks Service and the EPA. This year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joined the tour with fresh federal funding to conduct a full environmental study of the area.

Espaillat said he uses his position on the House Appropriations Committee to push for the financial support his district needs.

"One of the attractive pieces of this neighborhood," Espaillat said, "[are] the green areas, but if families can't get access to the waterfront and those green areas, then it's limited what you can do."

Uptown also contains the most sewer overflows in the city, leading to river leakage in heavy rain, but a project to bring the covered Tibbett's Creek in the Bronx above ground aims to help change that, too.

"At some point, we would love to make both the Hudson River and the Harlem River to be at a swimmable level, so people feel safe swimming and recreating in it," said Chauncy Young with the Harlem River Working Group, which helped organize the tour.

The ultimate vision is still years away, but action can happen through this collaborative approach. Part of the waterfront improvement efforts include connecting trails along all the city's rivers.

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