Morningside trail development funding removed from City budget

A couple of months ago, we became aware that there were two requests for funding included in the City budgeting process, both related to trail development (through public and private properties) in northern Morningside. One request was for a million dollars and the other was an open-ended request. These apparently were long standing requests for funding. Given the overwhelming public opposition in Morningside Lenox Park to these proposed trails, expressed in Park Pride's Visioning process in 2012, we were surprised and alarmed.

We immediately went through the MLPA to get those funding requests removed from the City budgeting process. But having been unaware that those requests had been out there for some years, we were concerned that perhaps other funding requests might be lurking in the darker corners of the budgeting process, and in particular, concerned that requests might have been included in the finalized list of projects to be covered by the recently passed public infrastructure maintenance bond.

We now have confirmation from our City Councilman, Alex Wan, that there are no funds anywhere in the City budget for development of trails in Morningside Lenox Park. He also advised that he is aware of the community opposition and that the issue remains on his radar screen.