Yesterday, the latest piece of this aquatic puzzle opened, a fun-looking 1.5-acre park in the Hunt's Point section of the borough.  It includes a new fishing pier, a kayak launch, and a restored shoreline with tidal pools that, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation, will naturally absorb storm water runoff.  The park is liberally sprinkled with large granite slabs of city history, remnants of the deconstructed Willis Avenue Bridge, which make up much of the comfortable looking boulder seating area and grass retaining wall.

Hunts Point Landing is one of five projects underway from the first phase of the South Bronx Greenway master plan, which represent a $48 million total investment by the city. EDC is currently seeking proposals for a food vendor to open up shop, too.  It's not a bad spot for business either, since the famous produce market is here, as well as a new green roof the EDC is working on. At approximately 200,000 square feet, the rooftop has the potential to accommodate what could be one of the largest rooftop farms in the world. And for a bit more of that aquatic flavor, there's the New Fulton Fish Market next door.

“Hunts Point Landing is a perfect example of the Bloomberg Administration’s vision for reactivating waterfront properties, both in the South Bronx and across the City,” EDC president Seth Pinsky said. “Thanks to our many dedicated partners in the local community, we have been able to transform what was once a dead-end street into publicly-accessible open space with exciting amenities for local residents and workers to enjoy.”

And then everyone went for a paddle.

The way redistricting works now is that legislators, usually in the majority party, take out a map and a pen and decide who they will represent. Ending this practice is a priority for good government groups and for the New York Times. But several New York Democrats who serve in Congress are nervous about the plan, and fearful that Democrats will lose seats if the politics are taken out of the equation. And less seats for Democrats in New York could mean a big shift nationally, since Democrats now occupy 27 of the state's 29 seats.

In an interview earlier today, Serrano noted his misgivings about the plan:

It always sounds good to say an independent commission. But to those of us who were there at the beginning of the struggle, for instance, for the Puerto Rican community to gain political recognition, it was much better we thought to go to the political leaders who are not Puerto Rican and say, 'Look we have grown in numbers. We have registered so many people, we want a piece of the American dream, the political dream.' And so many of the gains Puerto Ricans and Latinos made in those days were not based on any independent commission saying, 'Gee you guys deserve this.' It was the so-called political bosses realizing what they had to deal with. Now I know that sounds terrible to some people but I am both a modern man who learned a lot in the old school, and at times when it comes to issues like redistricting I'd rather deal with somebody who knows the district they are drawing than somebody who thinks that you can just draw a box. I mean these guys who get a bad rap in the old days for being political bosses. They knew that the Irish were here, the Puerto Ricans were there, the Jews were over there, the Italians were over there. And they knew that they had to spread the political wealth around. Some of these commissioners are not going to do that. Is it a good reform? Yes. Does it sound good? Yes. But I am nervous about what the results will be.

Serrano is not listed on Koch's website as having signed the pledge, but then again, only five sitting members of Congress have, and each of them have serious primary or general election challenges. And it is worth noting as well that some probably have not signed since as members of Congress they are not the ones who draw the lines. Rather, it is members of the legislature in Albany.

This morning, he repeated his warning during a press conference in the Bronx about waterfront development. Also there were Rep. Jerry Nadler and Rep. Jose Serrano, who later told reporters they support "progressive" taxation, which isn't exactly the same as taxing Wall Street, they said.

"It's not a question of bonuses. We believe in a progressive tax system," said Nadler. "There are people who are making a $1 million who should be paying more in taxes, proportionately, than people making $20,000."

"If New York happens to have a higher percentage of people making a million dollars than some place else, there's nothing wrong with saying those people are going to be taxed that way. And it is wrong to say, 'Well, this is hurting New York.' It's not hurting New York. We are lucky we have more rich people but we have to tax rich people more heavily than not-so-rich people."

Gotbaum said in a public statement, “Having known Kirsten since before she became a Congresswoman, I know she is very bright, capable and extremely hard-working. Kirsten learned quickly now that she represents the entire state and has adapted very well to her role. She continues to be a strong and dedicated leader for New York's families, fighting for equal pay, quality and affordable health care, and the best educational opportunities for our children. I know that Kirsten Gillibrand will stand up for all New Yorkers and I am proud to support her."

The statement comes three days after Representative Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan announced she will not challenge Gillibrand. Maloney, who, like Gotbaum, is from Manhattan, has not said who she’ll support for senate.

Representative Jose Serrano is also not running, nor committing to supporting Gillibrand just yet.

Mendez’s passing was first reported by Gerson Borrero.

Mendez was defeated in 2004 by Jose Serrano, who was a City Council member at the time.

More on that in these 2004 stories from Michael Cooper and Jonathan Hicks.

I found Assemblyman Vito Lopez, also chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, on the floor of the chamber and asked him what he was waiting for.

"I initially supported Caroline Kennedy, and then when Caroline withdrew and the governor designated [Gillibrand], I was surprised because on issues like immigration, on guns, and several other issues are very different than my issues, and not only mine but some people in Brooklyn," she said. "What we really need to have her do is have her meet with some of the key leaders in Brooklyn before I could even consider an endorsement."

I noted that Gillibrand has visited Brooklyn, and asked what further contact was needed.

"We have to formalize it. If she comes in as the guest of certain people, some of them Congressional people, and that's fine. People come in, Brooklyn's a big place. But to get the endorsement of the Kings County Democratic Party is depending on getting the district leaders involved. They cast the vote. She hasn't, as of yet, met with one district leader. She is interested in meeting with us and having a dialogue, and I expect that will happen after we break."

I asked if there had been any pressure to offer an endorsement.

"She has called me maybe seven or eight times to talk and have a meeting. I have not responded to those calls. We've never spoken."

I asked if that was typical for a sitting U.S. senator.

"Let me say this: I believe whoever is putting together her campaign, they're pushing a lot of the good buttons. They've cleared the field except for maybe Carolyn Maloney, but they've got three or four: There was a big interest in Israel, another interest in Scott Stringer, all those people who, I think some have been called, have gotten out of the race. So you have to give her credit for her political operation. The fact that she is not known to the city, her positions have not been reflective of what the majority of people in New York City feel, is problematical. Is she doing well at getting endorsements? If she has 90 percent of the county leaders, I think she's doing very well."

I asked if, ideologically, the party might be more in sync with Maloney or Representative Jose Serrano Sr., who has said he might challenge Gillibrand in a primary.

"I would believe that those traditional Democrats, we would be much more—Carolyn Maloney or Jose Serrano, who I know as a member, we served together—would have issues and philosophies which would, initially, be very positive for them to gain the endorsement. She's changing, and she's changing rapidly, but why is she changing and what does that mean to the political leaders of Brooklyn? So I think the jury is still out in Brooklyn about what we do. I think in the next two months, we'll be resolving it."

In the days since Representative Steve Israel decided not to consider a primary against Gillibrand, following calls from President Barack Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer, other members of the New York Congressional delegation have quickly lined up in support of Gillibrand: Nita Lowey, Maurice Hinchey, Brian Higgins, Michael McMahon, Yvette Clarke, John Hall, Michael Arcuri. Soon Nydia Velasquez and Ed Towns are expected to make their support public. Anthony Weiner is considered supportive, too.

"I think what is happening, with all due respect to them, is that when you begin to get a lot of calls of people saying we have got to put this to bed and this has to end, if they get a call from higher-ups in the party they succumb to that," said Serrano. "I understand that. I was there in the early days when you lose sleep over a phone call and you don't know what to do with it. Those days aren't there for me anymore. I've been in office for 35 years."

Serrano, who told Liz that he thinks Obama's White House acted like Tammany Hall in forcing out Israel, said that very few people in the delegation, including those who have endorsed her, are "jumping for joy" about the momentum building around her. He said he now counts himself with Carolyn Maloney and Carolyn McCarthy as potential challengers to Gillibrand.

"Maloney told me she is running," added Serrano. "McCarthy is still waiting to see who doesn't run. And if the field narrows down to no one running, she may do it."

It is quite possible that Serrano has no intention of running, and that his last-ditch effort to cause trouble for Gillibrand is mostly motivated by his objection to the fact that no one has seen fit to take him seriously enough to call. ("I think he is genuinely hurt that he wasn't considered," said one member of the delegation.)  But either way, the fact that he is making these kinds of noises—just as the Gillibrand campaign is attempting to convey momentum in gaining support from the once-aggrieved House delegation—is not great news for the party leaders looking to avoid making the 2010 Senate race any more interesting than it already is.

"As the dean, I wish we didn't have a primary," said Representative Charlie Rangel, the dean of the New York Congressional delegation. "But having said that, I don't think it's up to me or anyone else what their political ambitions should be kept at just for the sake of unity. It's just not fair. I'm not going to tell them not to run."  

Rangel, one of the most senior officials in the House, said that he himself has received no pressure from Gillibrand's office, from Schumer or from the White House to support her, and he said that he would endorse Gillibrand if she ran unchallenged. He said he didn't know what he would do if there was a primary.

"It depends on if there is anyone running," he said.  "And I don't think there would be."

Gillibrand has actively sought to ensure that there isn't one, and has worked to convince some of her former critics, like Velasquez, that she is not as conservative as she was when she represented a mostly Republican district upstate.

But there are still holdouts. And Serrano said they are senior enough to resist even the strongest institutional pressures.

Several sources echoed Serrano's claims that state and national party leaders have aggressively sought to pressure members of the delegation to get behind Gillibrand, and expressed frustration with the White House for injecting itself into a state primary. Gillibrand's office, one Congressional source noted, has offered to help carry pet legislation or talk to senior administration officials in order to get one member's bills moved along.

"When Senator Gillibrand was in the House, then Senator Clinton was always willing to work with her on her priorities," said Gillibrand's spokesman, Matt Canter. "That's the kind of senator she plans to be."

The support Gillibrand most covets is that of liberal downstate representatives, who have thus far been reluctant to endorse. Their support would amount to a kosherizing effect on Gillibrand for many progressives wary of her past positions.

Perhaps first among that class of legislator is Representative Jerry Nadler, who is yet to support Gillibrand.

"You get Jerry Nadler's endorsement, that means a lot to a lot of people," Serrano said. "Jerry is one of the finest legislators and progressive voices we have."

In addition to Nadler and Israel, Eliot Engel, Joe Crowley, Gary Ackerman, Louise Slaughter, Eric Massa, Paul Tonko and Timothy Bishop, all Democrats, have still not endorsed.

"I don't think any of this matters to their reelection," said a member of the delegation, speaking on background. "And if she is successful, they'll reestablish a connection."

And, of course, there is Serrano, who holds a grudge against Gillibrand for her past positions on immigration and what he considers the "botched" way in which she was appointed.

 "We don't have a relationship," he said.

"In the event additional federal stimulus funds become available, New York State must have in place a system that proves we have invested taxpayer money wisely," the letter, signed by State Senator Jose M. Serrano, reads. "At a time when the country once again faces economic hardship, seeking leadership and dynamism from the public sector, we believe New York is uniquely poised to become a model for accountable, vibrant and speedy revitalization."

Serrano told me yesterday that there has to be an opportunity to "drill the data" in one location to see how funds are being used and how wisely. "I think Governor Paterson has done a great job getting us the money, and we have a great opportunity to lead the nation in terms of openness and transparency."

This point was first raised by advocacy groups like Common Cause soon after the funds were announced. Last week, Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos held a press conference also calling for more transparency.

UPDATE: There are also 17 Assembly members who have signed on to the letter, including Michael Gianaris, who joined Serrano at a press conference this afternoon.

The governor's office sent along this letter, which was addressed to Susan Lerner of the advocacy group Common Cause by stimulus czar Tim Gilchrist. It details the efforts so far taken to ensure transparency, which Gilchrist says is high on Paterson's list of priorities.

Additionally, Erin Duggan, a Paterson spokeswoman, said the governor remains open to suggestions.

State Senator Martin Malave Dilan said he hasn't made up his mind on proposed tolls on bridges spanning the East and Harlem rivers, but his "inclination is to be opposed." The Brooklyn Democrat, who now chairs the Transportation Committee, said he will reserve judgment until after two hearings scheduled for mid-February. But as the relevant committee chairman, his support and advocacy for the proposal would be crucial.

"I was against congestion pricing, so my inclination is to be opposed," he allowed. Contrast that with the video below, in which Dilan doesn't address the topic directly.

It was taken last week after Ravitch met with Democratic state senators. Smith said there was "robust discussion" about bridge tolls, but "I am not prepared today to say the conference is 100 percent supportive of it. I will tell you what we are 100 percent supportive of is, and that is to make sure that the ridership does not have a difficulty moving around."

State Senator Daniel Squadron, whose district spans the East River, has come out against the tolls. (He was at a budget hearing and missed Ravitch's visit.) State Senator Jose Serrano is, not surprisingly, against tolling bridges on the Harlem River in his district.

Dilan and several other Democrats interviewed were supportive of the payroll tax. Smith addressed the proposal as "not something that we would have raised, nor did we raise, but clearly if the business community is supportive of that, we would have no problem supporting that issue with them."

Republicans, including State Senator John DeFrancisco, have cast the proposal as job-killing. It is expected to raise around $1.5 billion, while bridge tolls account for about $600 million. Dilan said he didn't know whether or how the revenue foregone by tolls could be made up.

David Paterson has made assisting the authority a rhetorical priority -- he mentioned it in the State of the State address -- but has said nothing specifically. On Tuesday, he said some form of the Ravitch proposal would be enacted within "a reasonable period of time." Sheldon Silver and Malcolm Smith nodded in agreement.

"I hope that we can make a distinction between the East River and Harlem River. If the ultimate goal is to raise revenue, you're going to do it on the backs of folks who can least afford it by doing it over the Harlem River," State Senator Jose Serrano said, noting that families commute to take children to school over the bridges. "If the goal is, from a different point of view, to remove cars from the road, ultimately to reduce the numbers of people endeavoring to drive in, then I'm supportive of that."

The commission recommended tolls on the bridges over both rivers, with the East River tollst comparable to other M.T.A. bridge fees, and the Harlem River tolls more like the cost of a single-ride subway fare.

I asked if he was implying that tolls on Harlem River bridges would be inherently more regressive given the socioeconomic backgrounds of people living in the bridged neighborhoods, as compared to the neighborhoods abutting the East River. He said not necessarily.

"Those are larger bridges, over which there's a lot of folks that come from Long Island. I think it's more of a mixed bag of folks that come from, financially," he said. "I am concerned, and I always will be concerned, about taxes and tolls that may disproportionately hurt a group of people."

Then a concluding caveat: "All that said, I don't have the strongest of opinions or knowledge on this issue."

The East River bridges fall within the district of State Senator Daniel Squadron, who supported congestion pricing, but opposes the tolls.

Members of the M.T.A.'s board of directors traveled yesterday to Albany to lobby legislators, but received an ambiguous reception. Transportation advocates were also in town (because an earlier train was canceled, they ended up on the same Amtrak as the M.T.A. folks), lobbying for something in the spirit of Ravitch's recommendations, not necessarily the Ravitch prescription.

David Paterson called on legislators to implement the Ravitch plan in his State of the State address last week.