In 2021, after Hurricane Ida flooded the Major Deegan Expressway, I started painting along the route where Tibbetts Brook once flowed openly through the Bronx. The brook has been buried underground since the 1910s — diverted into a sewer pipe beneath the old Putnam rail line. The daylighting project aims to bring it back to the surface.
I painted these watercolors on site across multiple seasons, working along the buried path from Van Cortlandt Park south toward the Harlem River. Each painting is paired with a journal entry from that day — what I saw, who I talked to, what was happening on the ground.
My family has a connection to this place. My grandparents traveled the Putnam line. I grew up near Van Cortlandt Park. Painting here isn’t observation from the outside — it’s participation.
Since I started this series, the daylighting project has moved forward significantly. These paintings have been exhibited at the KRVC gallery and at the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance’s spring benefit.
Of the 15 original watercolors, 3 are in private collections. The remaining works are available at $250 each. $50 from each sale goes directly to the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance.
Limited edition prints are also available.
Special thanks to the Kingsbridge Historical Society for their invaluable contribution of maps and historical documentation of the area.