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New York City Parks Galleries

Inside the Highbridge : The High Bridge is New York City’s oldest standing bridge which was built to carry the Old Croton Aqueduct over the Harlem River. It was once part of the first reliable and uninterrupted water supply system in New York City. As the City was devastated by fire and disease in 1830s, the inadequacy of the water system of wells-and-cisterns became apparent. Numerous corrective measures were examined. In the final analysis only the Croton River, located in northern Westchester County was found to be sufficient in quantity and quality to serve the needs of the City. The delivery system was begun in 1837, and was completed in 1848.

The Old Croton Aqueduct was the first of its kind ever constructed in the United States. The innovative system used a gravity feed, running 41 miles into New York City through an enclosed masonry structure crossing ridges, valleys, and rivers. The High Bridge soars 138 feet above the 620 foot-wide Harlem River, with a total length of 1450 feet. The bridge was designed with a pedestrian walkway atop the Aqueduct and was not used for vehicular traffic. In the 1920s the bridge's center masonry arches were declared a hazard to navigation and replaced by a single steel span.

The City of New York acquired this property in 1837 in conjunction with the construction of the Old Croton Aqueduct. In 1937, the property became parkland when it was transferred from the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. Parks was granted surface rights only. The rest of the property was transferred to Parks in 1960. The entire bridge has been closed to the public since 1970.

These photos of inside the Highbridge were taken in March 2006 during an inspection of the structural integrity.

All gallery content property of New York City Dept. of Parks and Recreation, used with permission.

Inside the Highbridge

Hal the Central Park Coyote : Hal was a 35-pound, one year old coyote that wandered into New York City's Central Park in 2006. Police officers gave chase for two days before capturing him near 79th Street.

He was named after the Hallett Nature Sanctuary where park workers first confronted him. Hal escaped by jumping over the workers and running away to one more evening of freedom in the city.

On March 22, 2006, Hal was tranquilized and captured in Central Park by the NYPD. He was transported to a undisclosed location in Central Park where he was examined by a veterinarian and monitored as the tranquilizer dart wore off.

These are the photos taken of Hal as he awoke from sedation.

Hal later died on March 30 while in the custody of the state Dept. of Environmental Preservation. Hal stopped breathing as he was being tagged to be released into the wild, and resuscitation attempts failed. A necropsy by the DEC revealed that a combination of heartworms and internal bleeding from the ingestion of rodenticide (possibly from eating rats that were already poisoned), altogether with the stress of the capture and tagging proceure was the cause of the coyote's cardiac/respitory failure.

All gallery content property of New York City Dept. of Parks and Recreation, used with permission.

Hal the Central Park Coyote

Raising of the Highline : Photos property of NYC dept. of Parks and Recreation, used with permission.

Raising of the Highline

Tagging of the Eagles : On June 2nd 2006, four bald eagle chicks, approximately five weeks of age, arrived from The State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and were placed in their "hack box" nest in Inwood Hill Park in Northern Manhattan. Prior to arrival, the eaglets received their certificate of health from a veterinarian specializing in raptor medicine at the Raptor Center of the University of Minnesota. Each eaglet was then outfitted with Federal and State leg bands for identification. On June 20 2006, all four eagles were tagged with GPS locators by NYC Urban Park Rangers so they may be tracked as they learn to fly out of their new home.

All images property of NYC dept. of Parks and Recreation, used with permission.

Tagging of the Eagles

Hawk with Prey : Francis Lewis Park - Queens, NY - January 9th, 2007

Rail Jam 2007 : Union Square Park, New York. February 8th, 2007.

All Images Copyright © Daniel G. Avila