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Person Place Thing
Person Place Thing

Activist Nilka Martell

By Randy Cohen
Published October 10, 2025 at 10:30 PM EDT
Courtesy of Susan Packard

Nilka Martell and her neighbors—untrained, uncredentialed—revived the Bronx River and are taking on the hideous Cross Bronx Expressway. “We’re just a group of Bronxites that have these ambitious ideas, and we’re just going to figure it out.” Presented with the Architectural League, in conjunction with the exhibition Cross Bronx/Living Legend at the Bronx River Art Center.

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Randy Cohen
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