Thanks to advocacy from FoBP and other allies, elected officials have been responding to our concerns and aspirations!
See this from Congress Member Serrano’s office:
Water Resources Development Act of 2010 Requests
Title of the Project: Bronx Kill Navigability/Shoreline Improvements
Description of the Project: The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation (Parks) seeks to improve environmental and recreational resources at the Bronx Kill, which forms the northern border of Randall’s Island Park. Parks aims to open access for all city residents and especially for visitors from the neighboring South Bronx, one of New York’s most under-resourced areas. A comprehensive management plan is in development. Anticipated improvements include the removal of obstructions, including concrete encased electric feeder lines, and other debris along the Kill to increase navigability; and creation/restoration of naturalized shoreline and wetland areas to bolster both environmental and recreational components. A possible launch site on Randall’s Island will increase access for small craft. Such improvements will begin to realize the great potential of the Kill, and will provide a much-needed upgrade to the in-water connection along the South Bronx waterfront from the Harlem River to the Long Island Sound.
Cost Estimate: $5,000,000
Click here to thank him and reinforce the need for the removal of the Con Ed cables asap!
Bronx Kill Information and background:
URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
Albert K. Butzel, Reed W. Super, Senior Counsel
To: Bronx Kill, Interested Parties
From: Harry Bubbins, Rob Buchanan, Al Butzel
Subject: Importance of Bronx Kill
We are working to clear the Bronx Kill of navigational obstacle and jumpstart the restoration of this vital waterway. Here we provide background information on the importance of the Bronx Kill and why we think it is both essential and justified to remove the obstruction created by Con Edison’s low-hanging concrete electric conduit between the Bronx mainland and Randall’s Island.
Read the report for your self and see how it can be done BEFORE the South Bronx Greenway bridge is completed and then we have to waste time and money to remove the cables then!
The Bronx Kill is a mile-long strait in New York City delineating the southern-most extent of the Bronx and the northern shore of Randall’s Island. It connects the Harlem River to the East River. It is a narrow, winding and protected ‘inside passage,’ and its edges provide a wonder of habitat for a variety of birds and water creatures, including blue crabs and mussels. For these reasons and others, the Kill offers a unique venue for canoes, kayaks and rowing skiffs – one that is particularly suited to human-powered craft because it does not involve conflicts with larger vessel traffic. 
However, the presence of the Con Edison conduit sharply reduces the feasibility of small-boat navigation of the Kill and will, if maintained, limit the value of the Kill as a recreational resource for thousands of New Yorkers. The questions and answers set out below elaborate on this concern.
Why does the Bronx Kill matter to the city’s human-powered boaters?
1. It offers a navigationally crucial shortcut between the East and Harlem Rivers and a means of avoiding the often-turbulent Hell Gate at the south end of Wards Island.
2. It connects the two halves of the South Bronx, a section of the city that has been working for a decade to reanimate its waterfront, and vastly expands the possibilities for water access to Randalls Island.
3. It is a key link in the rapidly expanding NYC Water Trail, tying together a number of current and future launch and landing sites, including Roberto Clemente State Park, Mott Haven, Randalls Island, North and South Brothers Islands, Barretto Point Park, Mill Rock and the Bronx River.
4. Its narrow waters are safe and protected, with interesting shoreline habitats. Boaters using the Kill avoid conflict with larger vessel traffic, so it is a good place to introduce young people and other beginners to boating in the harbor and around its many islands.
Why does the Con Edison conduit need to be removed?
The problem with the conduit is its extremely low height over the water – a foot or less at high tide, and sometimes actually in the water. And because the Bronx Kill is, in its degraded state, essentially dry at low tide, high tide is really the only time paddlers and rowers can transit it. The low clearance makes it difficult and sometimes impossible for even small human-powered boats, such as kayaks and canoes, to get in and out of the Kill, and all but eliminates access for larger craft like rowing skiffs and gigs. 
Isn’t $1.8 million a lot to spend on something that will benefit only a few boaters?
First of all, there are more than a few boaters out there. We should have a good idea of exactly how many by the end of the winter, thanks to a survey that’s being under-taken by the New York City Water Trail Association, an umbrella group formed to represent the common interests of the harbor’s human-powered boating organizations (of which there are now more than 20). In the meantime, we do know that the largest community boating organization, the Downtown Boathouse, put more than 28,000 people on the water last year, all of them for free. In the South Bronx alone there are now several human-powered boating groups, including Rocking the Boat, The Bronx River Alliance, The Friends of Brook Park and the Urban Divers, as well as others in close proximity in Manhattan and Queens, including the Boathouse at Swindlers Cove, East River Crew and the Long Island City Community Boathouse. With the removal of the conduit and other improvements to the Kill, and the development of new launch sites, the numbers will certainly increase.
Second, no, $1.8 million (or more if need be) is not too much for Con Edison or the government to spend on something that will restore access to a significant public waterway, complete a ‘blueway’ to complement the South Bronx Greenway, and generally send a message about our collective commitment to the future of the harbor and the estuary. Moreover, with the support of all concerned, there may be less expensive ways to eliminate the obstacle. 
OK, but is this really a high-priority project? Couldn’t it wait for a few years?
It could, but since the Randalls Island connector to the South Bronx Greenway will not open until the end of 2011 at the earliest, there is a two-year window in which the necessary work can be completed without any disruption of pedestrian traffic. If we delay in getting the work done now, the complications and disruption at a later date will add to the costs and could provide an excuse for not correcting the problem at all.
What other improvements need to be made to the Kill?
The bottom of it is strewn with debris that could potentially punch holes in boats, but a team of motivated volunteers could probably remove most of it in a weekend. Simple, low-tech boat landings need to be created at either end of it, so that people can beach
their boats and access Randalls Island. And its edges need to be ‘softened’ and replanted where possible. A more ambitious goal would be to dredge the entire waterway so as to recreate something like its original flow. But the ecological and navigational restoration of the Bronx Kill can begin without that expensive step, and in so doing a valuable precedent can be set for similar initiatives in other parts of the harbor.
Harry Bubbins Rob Buchanan Al Butzel