By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
UPPER EAST SIDE — Without the clean water Old Croton Aqueduct started bringing into the city in 1842, New York would never have grown into the metropolitan hub it is today.
But an effort to recognize the role the waterway has played in the city's development is getting a thumbs down from Upper East Siders worried commemorative signs would be a blight on their neighborhood.
"You can learn about the Croton Aqueduct on the Internet," said Peggy Price, co-chair of Community Board 8's parks committee.
The Parks Department plans to erect 13 signs along the aqueduct's route, from Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx down to Bryant Park.
When Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Central Park in 1858, they built Belvedere Castle as a place from which to view the aqueduct’s receiving reservoir.
Two Manhattan community boards where signs will be placed (5 and 7) enthusiastically welcomed the project. But the Upper East Side's Community Board 8 was less than welcoming.
"How many signs are we going to put in Central Park?" asked Price.
Two would be in Central Park. Their designer, Nancy Owens Studios, brought a mock-up of the three-sided, vertical signs to the board's parks committee meeting Thursday night.
But one board member worried that the vertical nature of the sign would affect the park's scenery.
Others complained of the sign’s height, or said the font seemed illegible. There were also concerns that the modern sign made of a special resin would mar the historic nature of the park. But the signs did have fans.
"The last time we were asked to consider signage was eight or nine years ago," said board member M. Barry Schneider. "It's not as if we're being inundated with signage. Once every 10 years, I think we can allow it."
The committee’s vote was a 5-5 draw. The issue will come before the full board on Wednesday.
The Parks Department hopes to begin installing the signs by fall of 2011.
