A buried river was uncovered in Yonkers; 6 months later, wildlife had a 14,000 sq ft habitat

Saw Mill River, Yonkers, New York For decades, a section of the Saw Mill River in downtown Yonkers, New York, ran underground beneath a parking lot. The river had once helped the city grow into an industrial town, but as land became scarce, parts of the waterway were squeezed into smaller spaces and eventually covered.The last section of the river in downtown Yonkers was covered in the 1920s. The area became a parking lot called Larkin Plaza. By 2000, the surroundings had changed sharply from their industrial past, with empty and boarded-up buildings around the parking lot and downtown.The city later moved to uncover the buried section of the Saw Mill River. According to ENR, the project replaced the parking lot with a three-acre public park featuring the restored river, waterfalls, a footbridge, boardwalks and a tidal basin.The process was completed in September 2012. Within six months of water flowing through the new river path, the area was already supporting aquatic life. The project created 14,000 square feet of new aquatic habitat, including a tidal pool and two freshwater pools.A buried river The Saw Mill River played an important role in the early development of Yonkers. It...