House committees hear community warnings that Río Piedras channelization could harm older residents and local ecology

San Juan — The Puerto Rico House of Representatives' Commission on Older Adults and Social Welfare convened a public hearing on Feb. 10, 2026 to begin an investigation ordered by “la resolución de la cámara 4 38” into a proposed channelization project on the Río Piedras. Representative Ricardo Chino Reyes Ocasio Ramos, the commission chair, opened the session at 9:16 a.m. and said the joint review will evaluate the project's scope, social and environmental effects, and how older residents are being informed and involved.

Jorge del Río Pineda, president of Comunidad Protectoras del Río Piedras, Inc., testified that his group represents roughly 320 families in neighborhoods adjacent to the river and urged lawmakers to demand missing project records from the Department of Natural Resources. "Ustedes, como miembros de la asamblea legislativa, le tienen que exigir al departamento de recursos naturales que le provea esa documentación y que cumpla con su responsabilidad ministerial," he said, referencing a 2021 court filing (case DJ 2021 CV 003177) that, he said, documents the loss of historical files after a warehouse used to store DRN records flooded.

Del Río warned the project, as currently conceived by its contractor (identified in testimony as USASE), would remove mature trees and significant urban canopy along the riverbanks and bring construction noise, fugitive dust and diesel emissions into neighborhoods with high shares of older adults. "La eliminación de un corredor de árboles maduros... nos dejaría indefensos permanentemente ante cualquier tormenta," he said, and added that older residents are particularly vulnerable to chronic stress, sleep disruption and cardiovascular and cognitive harms from prolonged exposure to high noise and pollution.

Citing 2020 census figures for affected neighborhoods, Del Río said the share of residents 65 and older in places such as University Garden, Villa Nevares and Jardines Metropolitanos exceeds San Juan's average and noted that "1 de cada 3 adultos mayores vive solo," a factor he said increases emergency vulnerability during and after construction.

He urged the commissions to require the Department of Natural Resources to disclose existing project documentation, to clarify which agency is leading public outreach, and to consider alternatives that preserve tree corridors — including a proposal he described to establish an ecological corridor linking the north botanical garden (terrain identified as UPS grounds) and a pilot rum plant to Luis Muñoz Marín Park.

Representative Ocasio Ramos told attendees that this is the first of several hearings and that the commissions expect to hear multiple witnesses and follow up with additional sessions. The testimony on Feb. 10 was the initial public presentation of community concerns; the hearing record will continue as other scheduled deponents appear and as legislators seek the records Del Río and others requested.