The Bronx: Yes Thonx!

Beyond expectation, beyond reason, turns out you can canoe and kayak through the Bronx. The 240,000-year-old Bronx River is making a comeback, thanks to the Bronx River Alliance. We did. Starting in the South Bronx, about 20 yards from the Sheridan Expressay, we paddled through water that stank worse than it actually is. At least that is what Michael Hunter, canoe program coordinater for the alliance, told us. The Alliance has hauled more than 80 abandoned cars and 40,000 tires from the river. And though Hunter doesn’t advise swimming, he says a rich variety of aquatic species–including the sensitive-to-toxins sea anemone–thrive. During the trip, that took us down-river, we worked on our tan, spotted a dying cormorant (fish hook in mouth), a baby crab, tons of floating garbage (including, bizarrely, hundreds of soccer balls), a recycling plant with mountains of discarded refrigerators, an abandoned concrete plant, a new concrete plant, public parks, fishermen, the Hunts Point Market, and, at long last, love (just kidding). Actually, the Long Island Sound. We were within eyeshot of Rikers Island, La Guardia Airport and Shea Stadium, the latter mercifully shrouded in mist. The River was here long before even the Indians made it to the east coast; it will be here long after the Yankees, god willing, rot in hell.

The Bronx River Alliance runs canoe trips every weekend.