Save Ridgewood Reservoir

Four Sparrow Marsh Meeting

2012-01-14T17:41:00.001-05:00

Community Board 18 will present the NEW PLANS for the Four Sparrow Marsh area -
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18 @ 8 PM, Kings Plaza Community Room (enter near the garage on Flatbush Ave., the community room is to your right)

Four Sparrow Marsh is located on southbound Flatbush Ave, just past Toys R Us but before Floyd Bennet Field. It bears the NYC Parks Dept's "Forever Wild" logo. The NYC Parks Dept. website says:

"Named by naturalists Ron and Jean Bourque, Four Sparrow Marsh Preserve is home to four native species which require undisturbed marshland for nesting: Sharptailed, Seaside, Swamp, and Song Sparrows. Because of its relative isolation from residential areas in Brooklyn, Four Sparrow Marsh Preserve has been allowed to remain in a fairly natural condition. This makes it ideal for many permanently nesting species, including several types of ducks, gulls, and wading and woodland birds, as well as for the common seashore mollusks and crustaceans which feed those birds. It is an important part of the Jamaica Bay estuary system. "

Note the final sentence: "It is an important part of the Jamaica Bay estuary system".

Last winter, the NYC Economic Development Corp. announced plans to turn a sizable portion of the marsh into a shopping mall. Although the site was marked by Parks Dept. signs, it turned out that the land had never been officially turned over to the Parks Dept.!!!

A number of us went to the Feb. 2011 Scoping Meeting. We've been to a lot of these meetings, but there was something really off kilter about this one. I remember turning to my colleagues & saying "something isn't right here". Several weeks later, we learned that State Senator Carl Kruger had been indicted, for among other things, being in cahoots with the developer. That was why things didn't feel right.

In the fall of 2011, the plan for the retail center was withdrawn. However, there are still plans in the works which may impact a small portion of the area that everyone thought was parkland. The new plans for development on the Toys R Us site are similar to what was previously announced (a car dealership & renovation/expansion of the existing marina). This will be built on the existing parking lot, etc. of Toys R Us. But there is an additional strip of land south of Toys R Us that is also included in the development. We need to see if this will intrude on the parkland of Four Sparrow Marsh.

We also need to insist that the remaining 60+ acres of land is OFFICIALLY turned over to the Parks Dept. Otherwise, there is a good possibility that sooner or later this site will be turned over to developers.

We lost the Vandalia Dunes to the Gateway Mall. Let's make sure that Four Sparrow Marsh does not suffer the same fate."

**********

Read more about the Four Sparrow Marsh land grab here.

Send us an email

Phase 1 Delayed

2012-01-12T16:08:00.000-05:00

The following was just published in the Times Newsweekly:

CRACKS AT RESERVOIR
Renovations Delayed By Structural Instability
by Robert Pozarycki

Improvements to the perimeter of the Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn/Queens border have hit a snag after contractors working for the Parks Department found defects in retaining walls within one of the basins.

The Parks Department began work last year on the $7.2 million first phase of renovations, which include the installation of new lighting, fencing and a pathway around the 55- acre site adjacent to Highland Park. The project also involves the creation of a pedestrian ramp leading to the elevated reservoir from Vermont Place.

But in completing the scheduled work, crews found debris inside one of the basins. In the process of cleaning it up, “several unfavorable conditions were uncovered,” according to a statement from the Parks Department, “including structurally unstable paths and walls that will require extensive technical revision.”

Though workers were preparing to resurface the 1 1/4-mile pathway around the reservoir just before the damage was discovered, the repairs to the defective basin walls “require that we postpone laying asphalt until this spring,” the statement noted. As a result, the first phase of the project will likely be completed by the summer of 2012; originally, it was projected that work would be finished by the spring.

Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, told the Times Newsweekly in a phone interview that he is trying to arrange a meeting with the Parks Department to discuss the emergency repairs as well as other aspects of the project. The meeting would also focus on planning the second phase of the reservoir’s renovations, which remain unplanned.

-SEE RESERVOIR ON PG. 28-

“We’d like to talk with the Parks Department with regard to what could be done based on the amount of money that may be available,” Giordano said. He hoped that the first phase of the renovations to the reservoir would “attract more people and hopefully a lot of nature lovers.”

Defunct since 1989, the reservoir has naturally evolved over the last two decades to become a habitat for various plant and wildlife. The center basin of the reservoir’s three chambers remains filled with water and resembles a natural lake.

The city’s Parks Department took control of the site in 2004 and in the years that followed, set out a plan to redevelop the site and Highland Park as one of eight “regional parks” around the city. Initial plans, conceived through the PlaNYC 2030 master plan, called for one of the reservoir’s three basins to be cleared and developed with new ball fields and play areas.

Community activists voiced opposition to the plans, observing that the reservoir should remain at a nature preserve and that ball fields at Highland Park should be improved instead. Numerous community meetings were held by the Parks Department over the last several years, gathering opinions from residents in both Brooklyn and Queens.

Though the city had planned to spend up to $50 million to renovate the reservoir for park use, recent fiscal constraints forced the city to scale back its improvements.

Giordano reiterated his belief that the Ridgewood Reservoir should be maintained as a nature preserve and opposed any ideas to transform one of its basins into athletic fields.

“To me, it’s senseless, but there have been people who have been advocating for ballfields,” he said. “Well, there’s got to be a better place to put ballfields other than the Ridgewood Reservoir site.”

He hoped that the second phase of the reservoir’s renovation would include improvements to maintain the “natural habitat” while also transforming one of the former pump houses on the site into an environmental center to educate visitors young and old.

“Some of us envision it as a place where students could go on school trips or not-for-profit organizations could take a trip there,” he said.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is also considering declaring the reservoir as a “state-regulated freshwater wetland.” If the site is given that designation, the state DEC would have the authority to review any potential activities at the reservoir and require permits for any specific improvements.

Giordano noted that the DEC recently completed hydrology tests at the site and has sent the results to the Parks Department for review. The Parks Department statement indicated that the agency is “currently reviewing the hydrology report and will share with DEC once our review is completed.”

*********

The final paragraph is confusing. Why would the city be reviewing hydrology tests that the DEC performed then submitting them to the DEC? Besides that bit of weirdness, shouldn't the DEC be doing the wetlands mapping not the city agency who has a vested interest in preventing the area from having wetlands protection?

Send us an email

Phase 1 Delayed

2011-12-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

From the "Queens Chronicle":

**********

Reservoir rehab deadline extended

by Michael Gannon, Associate Editor
Thursday, December 1, 2011 12:00 pm

Completion of the first phase of construction at the Ridgewood Reservoir is being pushed back to next summer based on safety hazards uncovered by the city’s Parks Department in recent months.

“After debris was removed from the site, several unfavorable conditions were uncovered, including structurally unstable paths and walls that will require extensive technical revision,” said a spokesman for the Parks Department in an e-mail on Wednesday.

“As always, safety is of paramount concern, and correcting these conditions will require that we postpone laying asphalt replacement until next spring,” the e-mail continued.

The changes mean completion of phase one, which included a resurfaced trail, new lights and fencing, will be pushed back slightly from its original spring 2012 date.

Many residents of Ridgewood and surrounding areas want to see the site of the former water basins kept as they are and allowed to return undisturbed to their natural state.

The aim would be to establish a nature preserve open to hikers, nature lovers and educational groups.

Others are calling for at least part of the site to be converted to public athletic fields.

The future of the site could depend largely on the results of hydrological and soil tests being conducted by the city.

Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, told the board’s Parks Committee Monday that those test results were scheduled to be turned over to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation as of Nov. 30.

Wednesday’s e-mail said the hydrology report is being reviewed by city personnel, and will be shared with the state as soon as it is completed, and that the report must be completely analyzed before determining specifics for phase two.

Approximately $3 million is available in the city’s FY 2013 budget for a second phase.

The testing might or might not support the claims of those who want the state to declare the site a wetland. Such a designation would make it far more difficult to construct ballfields.

The reservoir sits in Highland Park on the border with Brooklyn. It was built as a reservoir in 1858 and continued to serve Brooklyn until 1959, when basins one and three were drained.

Basin 2 served as a backup supply for Brooklyn from 1960 to 1989, and was decommissioned in 1990. It was transferred to the Parks Department in 2004 with the intention of turning it into a public park.

The major point of contention between the city and CB 5 is the planed installation of a four-foot fence around the reservoir as opposed to the six-foot one CB 5 wanted.

“Four feet won’t protect people or the reservoir,” said Steven Fiedler, chairman of the Parks Committee. “But we’ve already lost that fight.”

In other business at the meeting, the Parks Department announced a $750,000 initiative to renovate and expand the bocce courts at Juniper Valley Park.

Jane Couch, a department landscape architect, told the committee that they will add metal-framed, shading canopies at the ends of both existing courts. Both existing courts may receive minor upgrades or repairs as deemed necessary during construction, and a third court will be constructed on the site of an existing shuffleboard court.

Andrew Penzi of the Parks Department said construction could start by next fall and would take about one year to finish.

**********

I don't think that the Department of Parks and Recreation can be trusted to carry out an unbiased hydrology report.

Send us an email

Four Sparrow Marsh Project

2011-10-28T09:33:00.000-04:00

Looks like this travesty has been cancelled ... for now:

Forest City Ratner project in Mill Basin, touched by corruption indictment, "has been withdrawn;" indicted developer had role in City Point, whose lead developer didn't pay bribes but made gifts to Markowitz charities

Send us an email

2011-10-28T08:51:00.000-04:00

The following just appeared in the publication "International Business Times":

Thursday, October 27, 2011 4:53 PM EDT
Ridgewood Reservoir Changes Met With Approval, Degree of Skepticism

By Cristina Merrill

Preservationists call the Ridgewood Reservoir an environmental gem in New York City.

However, development plans to spruce up the over 50-acre site have reservoir advocates concerned that planned changes might transform the lush wilderness into an unrecognizable landscape.

Located in Highland Park, which covers land in the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood and the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cypress Hills, the Ridgewood Reservoir is one of a handful of reservoirs remaining in New York City. Other reservoirs in the city are the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Manhattan's Central Park, the Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx, and the Silver Lake reservoir in Staten Island.

"You feel like you're not in New York City," said Gary Comorau, president of the Highland Park Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance, an advocacy group that promotes the reservoir.

The area has been left alone in recent years, but that changed in April when the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation started developing the land. The first phase of the project will cost taxpayers $7.6 million and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2012, according to department spokeswoman Patricia Bertuccio and the department Web site.

The initial changes are meant to spruce up the area and make it more accessible to the public. This includes fixing surrounding pathways and installing a ramp.

"Invasive species that are compromising the infrastructure and threatening the delicate biodiversity of the Reservoir basins will be removed," Bertuccio wrote in an email.

While these changes are welcome, others have been met with criticism.

One point of contention is a new perimeter four-foot tall steel bar fence, shorter than the current chain link fence. Some residents believe the new fence will not be enough to protect the area.

"There have been times in the past where people have jumped the fence and were up to no good or cut the fence and were up to no good," Queens Community Board 5 Parks Committee chairperson Gary Giordano told IB Times. "I mean, I'm over 50 and I could do it no problem," he said of going over the new fence. "You make an investment of that size and you want to protect it."

Comorau echoed this sentiment, noting that two of the three basins have already made for popular paintball locations.

"That's very destructive to the environment," he said.

The Future

Reservoir advocates expressed concern about what will happen after the first phase. The next phase of the project remains in the design stage, according to Bertuccio, as the Parks department is working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the city's Department of Environmental Protection. She noted that because of post-Hurricane Katrina regulations, further hydrology studies are required.

"Future development of the basins will be based on the findings and interpretation of the hydrologic studies," Bertuccio wrote.

Locals worry that plant life in the basins will be wiped out during future developments.

Christina Wilkinson, president of the Newtown Historical Society in Ridgewood, remembers hearing about the Ridgewood Reservoir from older locals. The New York native saw the reservoir for the first time in 2007 when she participated in a breeding bird survey with other volunteers.

"We descended into the third basin and walked around fields and forest," Wilkinson told IB Times in an email. "I saw fascinating plants and insects that I have never seen before and I knew at that moment that it needed to be preserved."

Like other reservoir enthusiasts, she wants the area to be accessible to the public, but believes that changes should only go so far.

"The Ridgewood Reservoir has evolved into three distinct ecosystems that should be accessible to the public but be left in their natural states," Wilkinson said. "There is no need to remove the flora and fauna that have found a home in the reservoir basins."

Keeping it Natural

Reservoir advocates recently sent a proposal that suggested two sections of the Ridgewood Reservoir be classified as wetlands, which would incur stricter regulations for development. Comorau noted that the Highland Park Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance sent the request to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

"The question from day one has been 'are these basins, in fact, wetlands?'" Comorau said, adding "We think they should be classified as wetlands." If the Ridgewood Reservoir does qualify, he said, that should limit what the city can do to the basins.

According to a 2010 NYC Department of City Planning land use chart, Brooklyn has 13,182 acres of open space, the most of the NYC boroughs. This acreage makes up 34.5 percent of the borough. Queens has 10,968 acres of open space, according to the Planning chart, making up for 20.6 percent of the borough.

Reservoir supporters also see the reservoir as an educational opportunity to teach New Yorkers a thing or two about nature.

"The reservoir is a site that can be used to teach urban residents about the natural world as well as the history of the Brooklyn Water Works," Wilkinson said in an email.

The Parks department seems to be on board with this. Bertuccio wrote that other developments in the area "may include interpretive and educational signage to relay the Reservoir's rich natural history, wildlife and plant life."

Send us an email

Waterworks Tour

2011-08-16T12:59:00.000-04:00

Tickets and more information can be found by clicking here.

Send us an email

Upcoming Event

2011-08-16T09:54:00.000-04:00

The Newtown Historical Society presents:

History of the Flushing River
Water body separates Newtown and Flushing

Sergey Kadinsky

The Newtown Historical Society is proud to present "The History of the Flushing River" slideshow and lecture by journalist historian and licensed tour guide, Sergey Kadinsky.

He will discuss its geologic history, tributaries, development, the plans of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs and its future.

Date: Sunday, August 28th
Time: 2pm
Location: 1883 Stockholm Street, Ridgewood, Queens (in the Stockholm Street Historic District)
Cost: $10 for non-members, $5 for members

Space is limited! Please RSVP to newtownhistory [AT] gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Send us an email

Inept Parks Department Begins Work

2011-07-08T14:37:00.000-04:00

Despite the local community board's outrage over a poorly thought-out fencing and lighting design for the Ridgewood Reservoir's perimeter, the Department of Parks and Recreation is proceeding with their plans.

Crime is up in parks citywide, yet NYC Park Commissioner Benepe and Queens Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski think that leaving the 50 acre basins essentially wide open to anyone who wants to jump the fence and disappear into the forests below is a really good idea. Anyone with half a brain can figure out what is going to occur once all the 8 foot fences are removed. This blog has been documenting the travesties involved with the "community input" process and the parks department has been summarily ignoring the people from the surrounding neighborhoods. The removal of the protective fences marks the beginning of the end of the most unique habitat in all of New York City and a historically important landmark. When the first dead bodies are found in the basin and the city decides it would be best to raze the evolving forests and bogs, remember the name Dorothy Lewandowski as she is the city official who should be held responsible.

The following was just published in the Astoria Times:

Construction begins at Ridgewood Reservoir

By Joe Anuta
Thursday, July 7, 2011 10:57 AM EDT

A worker grinds down a stump along the path surrounding the Ridgewood Reservoir.
Photo by Joe Anuta

Construction on the Ridgewood Reservoir is in full swing, which pleased some park-goers but continued to enrage community activists.

Nearly half of the path that winds around the parcel of wilderness is closed to the public as construction crews tear out sections of fence and cut down trees along the edge.

“It’s going to be beautiful, we’re very happy to be working on it,” said one of the construction workers from a Maspeth construction company, who won the contract bid to revamp the green space.

The company will be replacing some of the stone slabs on the edge of the reservoir, installing new lights around the inner circumference of the path and placing benches near especially scenic views. A path that cuts down the middle of the reservoir between two of the large basins was previously off limits, but will also be open to the public under the new plan.

The company will also be installing a ramp to allow disabled residents access to the reservoir.

But one contentious change will be the new fence that is set to replace the chain link barrier that currently surrounds the reservoir.

The new fence will be about 4 feet tall instead of the nearly 8-foot version and has generated friction between the city Parks Department and Community Board 5. Representatives from the board believe the fence is too short and would allow curious explorers unencumbered access to the nature preserve.

“I can step over a 4-foot fence,” said Steve Fiedler, chairman of the board’s Parks Committee. “We want a deterrent.”

People already slip into the reservoir through the dilapidated, porous fence to sleep, consume alcohol, do drugs or even stage paintball matches, he said.

“There is no security there, no cops,” Fiedler said. “It’s a free-for-all.”

But Parks said the shorter fence will allow visitors to actually see the foliage.

Residents were split on whether the shorter fence would be an improvement.

“I think a smaller one is better,” said resident Jose Estebec. “You can actually see everything.”

Kamesha Scott disagreed, saying a taller fence is needed to keep out adventurous kids.

“If you have the kids who want to explore, they’re better off keeping it higher,” she said.

The construction is set to be complete in next spring.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

Send us an email

More on St. Savior's "Park"

2011-06-29T16:11:00.000-04:00

The following video from WPIX is just another chapter in the travesty at St. Savior's in Maspeth:

Send us an email

Four Sparrow Marsh tour

2011-06-20T18:13:00.001-04:00

NYC Wildflower Week
Botanical Tour of Four Sparrow Marsh
Sunday, June 26, 2011, 10 – 11:30 am
Location: Meet at the parking lot of the Toys R Us, 2875 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn
Guide: Matthew Wills, Naturalist and Blogger
Register for this event
Description: Four Sparrow Marsh in Mill Basin, Brooklyn is one of the last remaining salt marshes on the north shore of Jamaica Bay. The marsh provides critical filtration services for the bay and is habitat for numerous nesting and migratory bird species. Consisting of mudflat, salt marsh, upland meadow, and a sprinkling of deciduous trees, the Four Sparrow landscape hosts a mixture of native and invasive plant species. The marsh’s meadow is currently the site of a proposed retail center which threatens to degrade if not destroy this nearly unique corner of the city.

**********

Here is a short video that clearly illustrates how the parks department would be complicate in the theft of public lands for the use of a private developer. Note how the parks departments own documentation shows the ecological significance of Four Sparrow Marsh.

Four Sparrow Marsh Preserve Key

Send us an email

Queens Park Rally

2011-05-16T12:27:00.001-04:00

The following is from our friends at the Newtown Historical Society:

**********

Dear all,

The last time we held a rally at the St. Saviour's site, it was 2008, and the historic church building was about to be razed. Our elected officials were not interested in supporting our effort to create a park there and neither was the Parks Department. Things were looking grim.

My, how things have changed in 3 years!

Today, the church is in storage, awaiting its new home. The Parks Department is in negotiations with the property owner in the hopes of coming to a purchase agreement. Our elected officials at every level of government are all on board with obtaining the site and converting it into a public park. They have secured enough funding for the City to start the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) required to take possession of the property. The only problem is that the City has been dragging its feet on starting this, and it may take up to 2 1/2 years for the City to obtain permission to purchase the property. We fear the developer will not wait that long and may either sell or develop the property in the meantime.

We will be therefore be hosting a rally calling on the City to initiate the ULURP process ASAP. We ask that you join us.

What: St. Saviour's park rally
Date: Saturday, May 21st, 2011
Time: 1pm
Place: 57th Road and 58th Street, Maspeth, Queens
Who: Local residents, elected officials and community groups

Please see attached flier.

(Fliers in Spanish and Polish may be accessed here.)

Thank you for your past support and I hope to see you next Saturday.

Christina Wilkinson
President
Newtown Historical Society

Send us an email

Reservoir Construction Might Begin

2011-04-29T08:45:00.000-04:00

The following was just published in the "YourNabe":

Reservoir due for makeover
CB 5 questions wisdom of new lights, fences at Ridgewood water body

By Joe Anuta
Thursday, April 28, 2011 12:12 PM EDT

Construction could begin soon on new fencing surrounding the Ridgewood Reservoir despite objections from members of the community and borough lawmakers.

The contract has been awarded to a Maspeth construction company for $6.4 million, according to the city comptroller’s database, and the work is set to be complete by the end of the year.

But several members of Community Board 5 criticized the city’s plan for the renovation, citing unnecessary spending and inadequate protection of wildlife.

“I’m trying to fight them, but the contract is already awarded and registered in the comptroller’s office,” said Steve Fiedler, chairman of CB 5’s Parks Committee. “Nobody wants to listen.”

One of Fiedler’s objections shared by the rest of the board is that the proposed fence, at 4 feet tall, is too short and would invite trespassers into the natural enclave.

“Right now there is an 8-foot fence and they can’t keep [people] out of there,” Fiedler said.

There are innumerable holes cut into the current chain link fence that surrounds the three basins of the reservoirs. Some have been patched, but many still allow unencumbered access to the basins.

Fiedler said people also dump garbage and have been known to play paint ball in the wooded areas of the reservoir.

A representative from the city Parks Department said the new fencing will allow visitors to see the basins.

“New steel bar fencing around the perimeter and fencing of historical reference near seating areas between basins will allow visitors visual access to the natural environments in the basins,” said the representative, who asked not to be identified.

Currently, the 8-foot tall fence allows park-goers to see the park only through the wires and is overgrown with vines in many places.

The city will also combat invasive species like phragmites, a reed that takes over in watery soil, which have plagued the park over the years.

Fiedler and the board also took issue with the type of fencing.

The park currently has more than 4,000 feet of historic, wrought-iron fencing in and around the basins, Fiedler said. In fact, the fencing was so elaborately crafted that the city made a model of it to use in Central Park in Manhattan.

“You cannot get fencing like that anymore,” Fiedler said, lamenting the fact that the vintage metal will likely be thrown away or melted down.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) also had objections to the department’s plan to install new lighting.

The city plans on installing lights along the path at 15-foot intervals. There are currently dilapidated lampposts located on the outside of the path, but the city’s plan would move them to the inside and install a shade that would shield the animal and plant life from the lights at night.

“We could save money by building on the existing side,” Addabbo said. “I’m not an engineer, but ... I’d like to respectively disagree with the Parks Department.”

The contract is currently under review by city Comptroller John Liu.

In 2008, former city Comptroller William Thompson rejected a plan to turn the reservoir into sports fields.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

**********

You have to wonder what kind of political system we have in New York City when community boards and nearly an entire community can reject an expensive capital project, but the parks department is under no obligation to respond to those objections.

To contact the office of Comptroller John C. Liu, click here or mail your letters here:

Office of the Comptroller
City of New York
One Centre Street, New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 669-3916

Send us an email

Water Conservation Blogs

2010-12-07T08:13:00.001-05:00

30 Best Water Conservation Blogs

Water is a valuable resource that we can't afford to waste, especially as the population continues to grow at a rapid rate. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at least 36 states could face water shortages by 2013, meaning that continuous action must be taken in order to ensure we don't face a crisis situation. Fortunately, there are numerous of resources that you can consult if you'd like to learn more about water conservation. The blogs listed below will equip you with everything you need to know so you can do your part.

General News and Information
Get updates on the latest news, studies, movements and legislation related to water in the US and beyond.

WaterWired: WaterWired is about "all-things fresh water," including news, analysis, humor and commentary by the accomplished and always involved Michael E. "Aquadoc" Campana.
Water Conserve: Water Conserve features a search tool that enables readers to find water conservation news, information, analysis and opportunities.
Water for the Ages: Abby Brown recognizes that water is life, so she has made it her mission to bring attention to important global water issues. She believes that we're not doing enough to preserve the precious resource, but realizes changes are attainable.
Blue Living Ideas: On Blue Living Ideas, you'll find topics related to water conservation tactics, water purification and filtration, and water politics and economics -- just to name a few.
Water -- Use It Wisely: Perhaps the most useful post on Water -- Use It Wisely is the "100 Ways to Conserve." Following them will have you saving thousands of gallons each month.
Water Crunch: Robert Osborne shares news both serious and humorous. Recent posts cover new water legislation and "7 Tips to Search for Water circa 1958" -- the latter of which offers perspective on how times have changed when it comes to water conservation.
Rainbow Water Coalition: Rainbow Water Coalition is "mostly about greywater," which is the waste water that comes from showers, baths, sinks and washing machines. The blog promotes "diversity in the color of water" in order to ensure efficient and healthy use of H2O.
Food & Water Watch: The Food & Water Watch site advocates strong conservation measures, promoting policies that'll result in quality drinking water for everyone.
WaterSISWEB: Researchers, scientists, students and other people interested in water resources gather on WaterSISWEB to share news and views.
AWRA's Water Resource Blog: The American Water Resource Association compiles news and info from respected sources, informing the reader of water conservation measures and their effects.
JAWRA Blog: The Journal of the American Water Resources Association, which publishes papers that examine water resources issues, composes a blog that essentially carries out the same function, highlighting interesting studies from numerous researchers.
Water Matters: The Columbia Water Center's experts observe the global efforts to protect and preserve our water resources.
On Water: On Water is composed by the Water Resource Center Archives at UC Berkeley, covering the latest research and news pertaining to water resources.
Aguanomics: Economist and former Wantrup Fellow at UC Davis David Zetland shares his immense knowledge on the economics of water.
The Water Law: Attorney Alex Basilevsky discusses "the legal issues impacting water rights and the water industry."

Rivers, Lakes and Wetlands Conservation
Our rivers, lakes and wetlands are characterized by their natural beauty and abundant resources. Conserving them now is essential to ensuring long-term sustainability.

American Rivers: The River Blog: The staff of American Rivers, a "leading conservation organization standing up for healthy rivers," authors The River Blog, which focuses on the efforts to preserve the nation's rivers.
Riparian Rap: Steve Gough documents the work of Little River Research and Design -- a service provider in river science and conservation. He also discusses the science of river ecosystem conservation and river geomorphology.
Lake Scientist: Learn about the news affecting the world's freshwater resources by perusing Lake Scientist.
The Compleat Wetlander: The official blog of the Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc. focuses on wetland management, science and policy issues.

Regional Water Blogs
Water conservation is particularly a big deal in the Western US, where the environment is strained and the efficient use of water resources is crucial.

H2ONCoast: Robert Emanuel of the Oregon Sea Grant Extension studies the North Coast of Oregon, introducing his knowledge on social and biophysical science.
The Water Cooler: "California's first official water blog" monitors water -- or the lack thereof -- in the Golden State.
Aquafornia: Affiliated with the Water Education Foundation, Aquafornia provides water news affecting the people of California. For example, it covers Colorado River basin, stormwater and desalination issues.
EDF's On the Waterfront: The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is committed to "protecting California's ecosystems and providing reliable water supplies" for the state's farms and cities.
On the Public Record: A "low level civil servant who reads a lot of government reports" writes about water in California.
Spouting Off: Mark Gold is committed to making Southern California coastal waters safe and clean, and hopes to inspire action from people who share his concerns.
Western Water Blog: The Western Water Blog examines water issues affecting California, Nevada and Colorado.
Waterblogged: Water issues in Arizona and the Western US are covered by Arizona Republic reporter Shaun McKinnon. Lake Mead and the Colorado River are both monitored on the blog.
JFleck at Inkstain: John Fleck, author and science writer for the Albuquerque Journal, watches and analyzes water resources in the Western US and the efforts to preserve them.
Wisdom in Water, Please: Kansans and other people curious about water issues in the Midwest can absorb the wisdom of Wayne Bossert, who has managed the Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District No. 4 for more than 33 years.
Great Lakes Law: Professor Noah Hall composes "a blog on all things wet and legal in the Great Lakes Region."

Send us an email

NYC Water System Event

2010-11-28T12:56:00.002-05:00

I thought that the following event would be of interest to this blog's readers:

Presents

Constructing the New York City Drinking Water System:

A Pictorial History

Construction on New York City’s first viable drinking water system began in 1838 with the Old Croton Aqueduct that brought fresh potable water from the Croton Reservoir in Westchester. As the city grew so did its demand for clean drinking water. Expansion and maintenance have been continuous ever since.

Engineers carefully documented and photographed many of the projects as they were being constructed. Over the years these archives got disorganized. Gina Pollara and a team from the Cooper Union school of Architecture put the archive back together. Come hear Gina, author of “WATER-WORKS: The Architecture and Engineering of the New York City Water Supply,” tell the story.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. (Students and teachers are free.)
For more info contact mm1566@nyu.edu

When: December 13, 2010: 7:00PM to December 17, 2010: 9:00PM
Where: St Jean Community Center, 184 east 76th street New York, NY 10021 map

This event is made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

NYC H2O is an endeavor on the part of Matt Malina to educate the NYC public about the amazing systems and natural resources that bring NYC high quality drinking water.

Send us an email

The City Concealed

2010-11-23T15:37:00.001-05:00

WNET's "The City Concealed" series just posted a piece on the Ridgewood Reservoir. You can read the entire posting here. Below is the video.

Ridgewood Reservoir is one of those places that defies the common imagination of New York City. A lake sits surrounded by reeds and two massive basins, each with its own habitat. Dirt paths lined with iron gates from previous centuries surround the basins, but this all hides within a chain-link fence that cuts off access. The fence is a patchwork in constant development, telling the story of repeated entries with wire cutters. A few people might circle the outer fence’s road on foot or bicycle, but for the most part the site is empty.

When we first visited the reservoir with Rob Jett, a birder and local activist, I was struck by the variety of habitat. Aside from the center water body, there were hardwood trees, soggy wetlands, some sort of bamboo, grasses, and a host of other plant clusters. Every moment things were changing, even the ground. Some areas were rocky. Some had compacted dirt, others had soft soil. One wooded zone had trees growing on thin soil, roots exposed, trees slightly bouncing as we walked carefully between them.

Rob Jett and the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance see the reservoir as an educational opportunity, a chance to take students and locals through distinct environments in a controlled space, but the city Parks department has on its eyes on the park for development.

Ridgewood Reservoir is one of a handful of PLANYC projects, in which the New York City Department of Parks & Recreations seeks to find new and creative uses for open or unused spaces. Although no master plan has been selected, active recreation (such as ballfields) are on the table, which has some local residents worried.

For active recreation the city is focused on one basin in particular, which has shallow soil on top of clay, a ground that they claim may never sustainably support a healthy native habitat. The Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir alliance points out that these same drainage issues could also make the site inappropriate for ballfields.

As the city moves forward on an early development phase, making improvements to the perimeter walkway, it’s clear that any thoughtful improvement will likely benefit this long overlooked space.

- bijan rezvani, producer

Send us an email

Wetlands Designation Still Pending

2010-11-05T09:38:00.000-04:00

The following was just published in the Times Newsweekly regarding NYSDEC wetlands designation for the reservoir:

Agency Is Still Weighing Wetland Ruling For Reservoir
Designation Could Alter Park Plans
by Robert Pozarycki

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) remains no closer to making a decision regarding the potential declaration of the Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn/Queens border as a wetland, according to an agency spokesperson.

“At this time, DEC has not made any determination to map the ponded or vegetated areas within the Ridgewood Reservoir as regulated freshwater wetlands,” said Thomas Panzone in an e-mail to the Times Newsweekly in response to a statement made during Community Board 5’s Oct. 13 meeting that the agency was “90 percent certain” that it would classify the 55-acre site as a wetland.

The co-chairperson of Board 5’s Parks Committee, Steven Fiedler, told board members on Oct. 13 that the statement was made by a DEC representative during a recent meeting convened by State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and community residents regarding the fate of the reservoir.

According to Panzone, “DEC is in communication with New York City Parks and DEP, which have committed to conduct hydrological studies of the reservoir district to determine the current sources of water entering and leaving the reservoir basins.”

“Once these studies are concluded, the [DEC] will determine whether to conduct further studies of the vegetation and make a decision regarding whether to map this area as freshwater wetlands,” Panzone said.

Should the agency declare the reservoir as a wetland, the spokesperson said, the city’s Parks Department would then be required to submit permits to the state agency for any potential improvements it wishes to make in any or all of the basins. All applications would be restricted to “certain regulated future activities in the freshwater wetland or 100-foot freshwater wetland adjacent area.”

“The designation would mean that the city would have to demonstrate, through a permit application, that future uses of the area would be consistent with protection and preser- vation of the wetland resources,” Panzone added. He noted that the Parks Department would maintain responsibility for the management and maintenance of the reservoir if the wetland designation is administered.

Formerly used as the source of drinking water for Brooklyn and Queens, the Ridgewood Reservoir was taken completely out of the city’s water system in the late 1980s. Since being shuttered and left inactive, the site has evolved into a natural habitat filled with a wide assortment of plant and wildlife.

In 2004, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection transferred ownership of the reservoir to the Parks Department. The agency later declared its intention of developing the site—along with the adjacent Highland Park—into one of eight regional parks as part of the PlaNYC 2030 master plan launched by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007.

Community and environmental activists fought plans initially put forth by the Parks Department to develop athletic fields in one of the reservoir’s three basins as part of a $50 million overhaul. Funds for the project were eventually scaled back due to the fiscal crisis that gripped the city and country in 2008.

Currently, the Parks Department is in the midst of the first phase of improvements to the reservoir, which includes installing new fencing and lighting around the perimeter of the site. The project would not be affected in any way by any potential wetland declaration, it was noted.

Send us an email

Community Board Meeting

2010-09-29T17:38:00.002-04:00

Below is the agenda for the next meeting of Queens Community Board 5. Click to enlarge:

Send us an email

Wilderness at the edge of Bushwick

2010-09-29T09:25:00.000-04:00

Katharine Jose of "Capital New York" wrote a really good piece about the reservoir and the struggle to preserve it:

**********

Wilderness at the edge of Bushwick
By Katharine Jose
9:45 am Sep. 28, 2010

When something is left alone in New York, it usually falls apart, like Admiral's Row at the Brooklyn Navy Yards, or the shabby detritus of the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona-Park, and becomes something less than it was before. There's a place on the border of Brooklyn and Queens where neglect has led to something good, something bigger than the sum of the parts that were left.

On a 50-acre piece of land on the border between Brooklyn and Queens there is a three-basin reservoir that was once part of the Brooklyn water-supply system, and that hasn't been touched at all in more than 20 years, though it has been neglected for far longer. Inside the chain-link fence around it is an impossible landscape: thick forest, wet meadows, a small lake ringed with reeds; the Ridgewood Reservoir has been restoring itself to its original state for decades. From the one-and-a-quarter-mile path around the basins, the place smells, sounds and looks like the marshes on the coast of New England. And it's virtually unknown.

It's an unlikely secret, considering it is located just across Vermont Place from the large and popular Highland Park. Construction on the first two basins of the reservoir, as a place to collect water flowing from streams in Queens and on Long Island, began in 1856. A third basin was added later, but when Brooklyn joined Manhattan to become part of New York City in 1898, the borough had access to a superior water supply, from the Croton Reservoir in Westchester. The last time the Ridgewood Reservoir was used to store water was during a major drought in 1965. The outer basins were drained in 1989, and it has essentially been sitting there, right next to the Interboro (now Jackie Robinson) Parkway.

In the last five years or so, and particularly since the Bloomberg administration's PlaNYC was introduced in 2007, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has been testing out human-reclamation plans, the most recent of which would fill in one of the basins in order to build baseball fields. For the relatively few people who live nearby, for hikers and birders and people who run or walk their dogs on the path around the reservoir, the idea of disturbing the site in the service of something so mundane is an unmitigated travesty.

**********

Read the entire article here.

Send us an email

ILand Art Event

2010-09-27T11:11:00.000-04:00

We just received the following announcement. More information on Jennifer Monson's projects can be found here.

Send us an email

Queens Historian Support

2010-09-25T10:08:00.001-04:00

The following was just published in the Times Newsweekly:

Keep Reservoir As Natural As Possible
Times Newsweekly 9/23/10
Editor's note: The following letter was originally sent to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Alexander B. Grannis.

Dear Commissioner Grannis:

I am writing to urge you to support the continued evolution of the Ridgewood Reservoir in Queens as it returns to a forest ecology. This is more educational and economical land use than new sports facilities.

In recent years, I have led walking tours that focus on Brooklyn's historical water supply and its symbiosis with Queens. The walks begin at the end of Conduit Avenue in Brooklyn, follow Force Tube Avenue and ascend the terminal glacial moraine to the edge of the Ridgewood Reservoir in Queens, with marvelous views to the south.

The reservoir is the most visible element of this walk. It marks the historical and ecological symbiosis of the two counties in the late 19th century - one rural and higher, the other urban and lower. Over the years, it has been fascinating to observe the regrowth of vegetation in the reservoir bowl.

This can be a unique nature study area for young people on both sides of the borough divide.

Dr. Jack Eichenbaum
Queens Borough Historian

Send us an email

Another Supporter

2010-09-23T07:36:00.000-04:00

New York City Wildflower Week has added a support page on their website for the Ridgewood Reservoir. You can check it out here.

Send us an email

Community Board Meeting

2010-09-01T20:12:00.000-04:00

Below is the agenda for the next meeting of Queens Community Board 5. Click to enlarge:

Send us an email

Commissioner Lewandowski's Response

2010-08-25T11:58:00.001-04:00

Below is Queens Parks Commissioner Lewandowski's response to City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley:

A 4' fence for unobstructed views? Why doesn't the parks department have a problem with the 8' around the Hallett Nature Sanctuary in Central Park? For reasons yet to be uncovered, Ms. Lewandowski (and the entire parks department, for that matter) is deceiving the public. Also, Ms. Lewandowski is incorrect - The historic fences exist not only between basins 2 & 3, but also basins 1 & 2. Notice her carefully worded "replicated fences will be used at the overlook areas". You can be certain that their plan is to remove the remainder of the 1/4 mile of historic fences and ONLY install a few yards of replicas at the overlooks.

It doesn't take much thought to understand that placing a 4' fence around ANYTHING does nothing to protect it. When the parks department took over ownership of the reservoir from the Department of Environmental Protection in 2004, there were homeless encampments throughout two of the three basins. Parks employees eventually removed these people, cleaned up their mess of garbage and built an 8' fence around the three basins. More recently, the parks department also spent considerable man hours clearing out truckloads of garbage from illegal paintball courses which had been set up in the basins. Currently, maintenance crews repair holes in the surrounding fence on a weekly basis. Last year, representatives of the organization "World Science Festival" requested permission to enter the basins to carry out a scientific bioblitz. Park Administrator Debbie Kuha denied them permission on the grounds that it would be too dangerous for people to enter the basins.

For 6 years the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation have been restricting access to the Ridgewood Reservoir basins because of various safety concerns, but now think that it would be perfectly acceptable to remove an 8' protective fence and replace it with a 4' fence. Once that happens, if anyone decides to step over the fence and enter the wooded basins, there will be no patrols by either the Parks Enforcement Patrols or NYPD to monitor potential illegal activities. It would become the only 50 acre park in New York City without a law enforcement presence! What is now a unique, nearly pristine grouping of natural habitats will quickly devolve into an unenforced, hidden, no-mans land where anything goes. How long will it take before bodies begin to turn up in the basins? When crimes within the basins do become rampant, will Ms. Kuha and Ms. Lewandowski merely suggest that the forests be cut down and wetlands drained to eliminate illegal activities? Maybe that has been the plan all along.

Send us an email

More Fencing Debate

2010-08-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

The following article was published in the Times Newsweekly:

CB5 Parks Chair: Proposal for Fencing Falls Short
Hopes study scuttles reservoir project build
by Patrick Clark

The Parks Dept has agreed to include historical replica fencing in its design for the Ridgewood Reservoir project, but the chairman of Community Board 5's Parks Committee does not think that the city agency is going far enough.

Parks' design for $7.6 million Phase 1 of the project originally called for standard 4'-high wrought iron or chain-link fencing throughout the reservoir, a fact which does not sit well with many community members, including Board 5 Parks Chair Steven Fiedler.

In a telephone interview with the Times Newsweekly, Fiedler said that the 4' fencing would do little to deter would-be trespassers, and replacing the historical fencing amounted to "throwing away our heritage."

In a letter dated May 28, City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley took up the cause, imploring Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski to preserve the architectural feel of the original fencing.

Noting that in the past, the city has used examples from the Ridgewood Reservoir to model replica fencing, Crowley asked Lewandowski to "ensure that a fence much like the one that was installed in Central Park in 2003 is placed along the main basin at the Ridgewood Reservoir."

In response, Lewandowski assured Crowley, in a letter dated July 15, that "replicated fence will be used at the overlook areas between basins 2 and 3 to maintain the historical integrity of the site."

Fiedler, however, is not satisfied.

"It's nothing," he said. "We have 3,000 ft of historical fencing. They want to throw it all out and put in a few feet of replica."

"All I'm asking them to do is give us a price assessment on taking it out," Fiedler continued, "sandblasting it, and putting it back in. If the cost turns out to be prohibitive, I can accept that."

Fiedler also expressed hope that a state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) study currently underway would prevent Parks from getting started on Phase 1 of the project.

Speaking to residents at the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood meeting on Monday, July 26, Fiedler expressed his belief that Parks would hold off on awarding the contract until the DEC had determined whether the reservoir would be designated as a wetlands.

"That changes the whole scheme of things for the city," Fiedler said. "If it's declared a wetland, the city can't design anything without state approval."

Parks spokesperson Trish Bertuccio told the Times Newsweekly that the department is currently reviewing proposals for the project, and that Phase 1 is unaffected by the State's wetlands study.

Send us an email

Audubon Society Support

2010-08-25T10:45:00.001-04:00

The New York City Audubon Society has strengthened their stand on protecting the Ridgewood Reservoir by adding a section to their "Get Involved" webpage. In their latest newsletter they called on their membership for assistance:

*****

Help Save Ridgewood Reservoir!

The natural area within the former Ridgewood Reservoir is a thriving mosaic of bird habitat. Although plans are currently on hold, New York City Parks and Recreation intends to build ballfields within a portion of the basins. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will soon be reviewing the site to determine whether the wetlands that have formed on the site qualify as protected under state regulations.  As part of Highland Park, Ridgewood Reservoir lies between Brooklyn and Queens and was last used as a water source during the drought of the 1960s. The reservoir was drained and decommissioned in 1989 after the expansion of New York City's Catskill and Delaware water systems. A stopover for migratory songbirds and seasonal shorebirds, it is also home to a variety of non-migratory and breeding birds. To date, over 150 species of birds have been recorded at the reservoir.

NYC Audubon is asking you to support the protection of Ridgewood Reservoir. Please go to our website for more information about how you can help.

*****

The webpage includes a sample letter to the Commissioner of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Visit their website here.

Send us an email

Habitat Protection for Endangered Species

2010-08-25T10:39:00.000-04:00

The following article published in the "Times Union" is relevant to the Ridgewood Reservoir's habitats because several species of endangered, threatened and special concern designation have been identified within the basins.

Habitat Protection New Possibility for Endangered Species
By Brian Nearing - Staff Writer

ALBANY -- For the first time, the state is spelling out rules that would treat a potential threat to an endangered species' habitat as if it were a direct threat to the animal itself.

State rules have long protected endangered animals from being killed or harassed due to new development. A proposal released Thursday by the Department of Environmental Conservation would formally extend that protection to lands that such animals rely upon to live, feed and reproduce.

There are 53 endangered species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insect and mollusks in the state. Some are well-known, like the Karner blue butterfly and the peregrine falcon; others remain obscure, like the bog buckmoth and gilt darter fish. Another 35 species are considered threatened.

DEC intends to create a new process, which would produce an "incidental taking permit," to consider potential habitat damage that might harm these animals before deciding whether development can go forward.

"With this proposal, we are codifying practices that had been in place for several years as a result of court decisions over the past decade," DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said in a statement. "While improving the protection of rare species, these revisions also will benefit landowners, developers, local planners and others by providing clear guidance and predictability in planning and designing projects."

"This is a positive step," said John Kostyack, director of wildlife and global warming for the National Wildlife Federation. "Endangered species laws are evolving around the country to recognize that (a threat) is not just pulling out a gun and shooting an animal, but also destroying its habitat."

Chris Amato, DEC's assistant commissioner for natural resources, said the agency has been considering habitat impacts for endangered or threatened species on a case-by-case basis since 2007, but had no formal rules in place.

"People have been confused over what the requirements for endangered and threatened species were -- whether they needed a permit and how to get one," he said. "These regulations are designed to inform the public exactly what the process is."

Amato said that the permit will depend on a "biological judgment call" of whether land was an occupied habitat of a particular species. That area would have to fulfill an "essential behavior," including "breeding, hibernation, reproduction, feeding, sheltering, migration, movement and overwintering," according to the proposed rules.

Developers could choose to either steer around such lands, or get a permit that would also require a mitigation plan, such as acquiring other suitable habitat elsewhere for conservation purposes.

"The overriding purpose of these rules is to protect these species' survival and foster their recovery, so they can be taken off the lists," Amato said.

Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by e-mail at nearing [AT] timesunion.com.

Send us an email

Summary of Wetland Delineation

2010-06-30T10:51:00.004-04:00

Last year Micky Cohen, a Certified Wetlands Delineator, surveyed the Ridgewood Reservoir and surrounding environs. Here is a brief section of his final report. You can download and view his entire summary here.

**********

The 50-acre reservoir complex consists essentially of three containment basins, generally referred to as the West, East and Central Basins, separated from one another by elevated levees, which serve as walking paths, and access routes to each of the basins. Although officially drained, the basins still contain water and support a variety of aquatic and emergent plants. The basin fringes support a mixed flora of herbs, shrubs and vines typical of wetland and wetland-adjacent uplands. At elevations of just two feet above the level of standing water, extending to and including the steep sides of the reservoir area, are developing woodlands at various stages of succession.

THE BASINS

The West Basin is the largest of the three basins. The northern section is dominated by upland shrubs and trees, giving way to wetlands, confined mostly to the southern half of basin. It was pointed out in the Round Mountain report (2007) that at least three New York threatened and/or endangered herbaceous species had been found in this area (not observed during the February 2009 delineation)

The East Basin contains a significant wetland area confined to southern portion of the basin. Further north in the East Basin is a classic northern wetland and wetland-adjacent woodland, carpeted, to a large extent by Hair-cap moss, Polytrichum. The entire East Basin is unusual in its display of diverse native flora. There are, however, major patches of a variety of invasive species (including Mugwort, Phragmites, Ailanthus, Oriental Bittersweet), posing a threat to the continued development of the native forms. {see INVASIVE SPECIES, below.}

The Central Basin. Surrounded by Giant Reed, Phragmites australis, inhibiting further investigation and comment.

The special attributes of the Ridgewood Reservoir demand that after lying fallow since the basins were drained, over twenty years ago, the established wetlands, developing upland woodlands, and open grassy areas be given the protection they require for proper natural ecological succession. The removal of invasive species and replanting with appropriate native forms, while laborious, requires a greater level of commitment than skill and surely lends itself to the volunteer efforts of a cadre of neighborhood protectors and armies of volunteers from well known social and environmental groups.

Adaptive reuse, other than conservation, has been recommended for the area now occupied by the Ridgewood Reservoir. Athletic facilities, including ball fields covered by artificial turf, and stadia have been mentioned. It must be pointed out, however, that Highland Park, a New York City Park, contiguous with the Ridgewood Reservoir, is currently equipped with several ball fields, a grandstand, restroom facilities, a parking area and dressing rooms -- all underutilized and in a deplorable state of decay.

IT WOULD BE FAR BETTER TO UPGRADE NEARBY HIGHLAND PARK TO BETTER SERVE THE RECREATIONAL NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY THAN TO DESTROY A UNIQUE AND VIABLE WETLAND ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF DEVELOPING TREES AND SHRUBS.

Send us an email

Appeal For Protection

2010-06-29T11:29:00.007-04:00

Below is a letter from the President of the Ridgewood Reservoir/Highland Park Alliance. He is appealing to all those interested in protecting the habitats at the reservoir to write to the New York State Department of Conservation (click letter for full size):

Here are some important facts to include in your letter:

• Ridgewood Reservoir is the highest point in the Jamaica Bay watershed. The reservoir and its environmentally significant attributes should be incorporated into the ongoing planning for the Jamaica Bay Watershed plan.

• Ridgewood Reservoir is the highest point in the Newtown Creek sewershed and protects Newtown Creek from Combined Sewage Overflow.

• The site’s ponds and wetlands are key storm water filters.

• The site’s vegetation and wetlands help to mitigate Urban Heat Island Effect.

• New York City law 71 requires protection of the city’s wetlands

• The basins contain diverse ecologies: fresh water wetlands, mesic and wet forest and successional open fields. Three-quarters of the acreage is wetland or ecotonal habitat.

• The site is developing a mature canopy forest with some strong native plant presence. Plant species include three with a Conservation Status of either Endangered or Threatened in New York State.

• Bog-like open areas and forest fringes are unique within New York City. Large freshwater wetlands are uncommon in our region and provide critical habitat for native birds, mammals and amphibians.

• A stopover for migratory songbirds and seasonal shorebirds, it is also home to a variety of non-migratory and breeding birds.

• To date over 150 species of birds have been recorded. (See the Cornell eBird website here)

- The species list includes 7 birds with conservation status in New York State of Endangered, Threatened or Special Concern.

- An additional 7 species of birds were observed that are on the most recent Audubon Watchlist. All seven birds were listed in the yellow category, which designates species that are either declining or rare. These are typically species of national conservation concern.

• The habitat at the reservoir also provides important breeding habitat.
- 18 species have been confirmed to breed there.
- 17 are probable nesters.
- 3 additional species possibly nest at the reservoir.

Send us an email

John Lui Supports Community

2010-06-21T11:49:00.002-04:00

The following is a recent article from the Queens Tribune:

Reservoir Plan Foes Get Big Ally
Queens Tribune, 6/10/10

The Parks Departments planned renovation of the former Ridgewood Reservoir may be on life support after local activists opposed to the plan got a powerful ally, City Comptroller John Liu.

Some activists, including members of Community Board 5, have come out against a plan to renovate the site of the defunct reservoir. Though no plans have been finalized, the renovations could include athletic fields and new parkland. The reservoir, which became inactive in 1989, has since become a natural swampland and many locals want to keep it that way. They met with Liu last week, asking him to freeze contracts awarded in relation to the renovation of the site, which Liu hinted he might do.

"We"re working to figure out a way to make sure the project addresses the concerns, and meets the needs of the community, Liu said. Even in a city like New York, there are many opportunities to preserve natural environments."

The Parks Department renovations would include the removal of dozens of decades-old trees and a century old fence, according to Community Board 5's Parks Committee.

The Ridgewood Reservoir sits between Ridgewood, Glendale and Cypress Hills, Brooklyn right on the border of Queens and Brooklyn just south of the Jackie Robinson Parkway. It was constructed in 1856 and was used for 133 years as a location to store the back-up water supply for Brooklyn and Queens.

Since closing, the 58-acre site has become a natural marshland teeming with wildlife.

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125.
--Domenick Rafter

Send us an email

New Quick Link

2010-06-14T19:01:00.002-04:00

You can now download our most recent handout from the "Quick Links" sections to the right.

Send us an email

Letter from Council Member Crowley

2010-06-11T20:19:00.006-04:00

Click to enlarge:

Send us an email

Stop Work Order?

2010-06-10T17:30:00.003-04:00

The following was just published in the Times Newsweekly:

A Red Light on Park Project?
Stop Work Order Sought For Ridgewood Reservoir Rehab
by Ralph Mancini

The co-chair of Community Board 5’s Parks Committee announced during the panel’s May 24 meeting at Principe Park in Maspeth that he would seek a stop work order barring the start of the first phase of the renovations to the Ridgewood Reservoir.

Steven Fiedler told attendees that the panel would seek to halt plans by the Parks Department to install new lighting and fencing around the perimeter of the 55-acre site on the Brooklyn/Queens border, which the city plans to transform along with adjacent Highland Park into a new regional park.

According to Fiedler, the main point of contention centers around the proposed installation of a 4’-high fence surrounding the site, which he charged would not be tall enough to keep potential vandals and other trespassers out of the basins. Reportedly, the work would also require the removal of several trees.

Concerns about the height of the fencing were brought to the attention of Queens Borough Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski, but Fiedler charged that his opinions were not well received.

“She won’t listen and she catches an attitude,” he claimed regarding his past attempts to reach out to Lewandowski about his gripes with the project, which is scheduled to commence in the fall.

The Parks Department is reportedly in the process of receiving bids for phase one work, which would include the installation of stairs and an ADA-compliant ramp.

Send us an email

State Senator Support

2010-06-10T17:26:00.003-04:00

The following article just appeared in the Glendale Register:

For Addabbo, No Town Hall is Too Small
by Daniel Bush, Queens Ledger

All politics is local all the time for State Senator Joseph Addabbo, who held another yet another town hall-style meeting, this one at I.S. 93 in Ridgewood.

Only three dozen residents braved the heat to hear Addabbo speak June 3, but the longtime elected official, who clearly relishes such meetings, appeared unmoved by the low turnout.

After losing his suit jacket (the tie stayed on), Addabbo jumped into a host of issues, from the Ridgewood Reservoir to the census to the elections this fall.

Community residents are battling the city over its plan to redevelop part of the Ridgewood Reservoir, the slice of overgrown wilderness on the Brooklyn-Queens border. Without referencing the Parks Department specifically, Addabbo said he opposes plans to build in the area.

“I am not in favor of any construction being done at the Ridgewood Reservoir,” he said.

A group of opponents recently met with Comptroller John Liu's office in a bid to block the city's plan, which Liu could do by freezing the Parks contract for the project.

Phase one work would upgrade pathways, fencing, and lighting around the three-basin reservoir, which is also being eyed by the state for possible protection. More controversial still is a proposed phase two plan that could include recreational fields for the reservoir's third basin.

Residents say the city should improve the ball fields at Highland Park, just steps from the reservoir, and leave the space as a nature preserve. Addabbo echoed that feeling.

“I love parkland and playgrounds, but I'm not going to destroy nature for another playground” when Highland Park is right nearby, he said.

Send us an email

Times Ledger Article

2010-06-03T12:07:00.002-04:00

The following article just appeared in the Times Ledger:

Reservoir Plans in Limbo
Ridgewood project delayed more than a year by city Parks Dept.
By Chauncey Alcorn
Thursday, June 3, 2010 9:11 AM EDT

Queens park officials last year were scheduled to begin phase one of renovating the former Ridgewood Reservoir, but more than a year later no construction has begun and those same officials Tuesday said that is not going to change anytime soon.

The city Parks Department and Ridgewood residents have battled for years over what to do with the former reservoir, located in Highland Park, which was built in 1856 and used until 1989 to store a back-up water supply for Brooklyn and Queens.

Presently, the site, three wooded basins totaling at least 58 acres, is filled with wildlife, including 100 bird species, according to Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, which wants the city to leave the reservoir alone.

“Why take a natural place and make it into ballfields when you have ballfields that aren’t being taken care of right nearby in the same park?” he asked. “Thankfully, the mayor had a vision five years ago for a nature preserve and got this project funded with millions of dollars .... If the mayor didn’t have the vision environmentally to do something with the reservoir, that project would never have gotten done.”

But the project has not been completed. Years later, in fact, it has not even begun.

The Queens Parks Department last year hosted a series of meetings with community residents in Ridgewood and Glendale to find out what they want to happen with the reservoir and it became apparent the communities were divided over whether to make it into park space, a natural reserve or a combination of the two.

“None of that stuff has been decided yet,” Queens Parks spokeswoman Trish Bertuccio said.

But the department did decide to move forward with phase one of the project, improving safety measures, which includes repairing concrete stairs in the reservoir, widening turns in the perimeter path, installing or repairing lighting along the path and building an observation path on a causeway between two of the three basins.

Phase one also included building a perimeter fence around the basin, but city officials and the community board disagree on how tall the fence should be.

“We’ve had issues as far as phase one of the project goes with regards to the Parks Department only wanting a 4-foot fence for a good portion of the reservoir perimeter,” Giordano said. “We don’t think a 4-foot fence is tall enough to keep out the vandals.”

Indecision aside, a Parks official said the phase one proposal first must be approved by city Comptroller John Liu before the project can move forward and that has not happened yet.

“I think it’s safe to say a minimum of six months before anything actually gets on the ground, but that all depends on if the comptroller actually signs off on it and other things,” the official said Tuesday.

After the plan is signed, it must go up for a construction bid.

“Usually the bid cycle lasts about three months. Then we will approve them and that might take another three months,” the official said.

That means the project proposed no later than 2005 is not likely to begin until around December or later, but Giordano said that is not a problem.

“Sometimes it’s worth waiting a little longer to do a better job as opposed to doing something wrong and having to redo it,” he said. “It’s usually better to have it done the first time.”

Reach Reporter Chauncey Alcorn by e-mail at calcorn@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

Send us an email

Daily News Article

2010-06-01T17:06:00.003-04:00

The following just appeared in the New York Daily News:

Locals want new Ridgewood Reservoir plan
By Lisa L. Colangelo

Tuesday, June 1st 2010, 9:33 AM

LOCAL ACTIVISTS unhappy with a Parks Department plan to fix up the area surrounding the Ridgewood Reservoir are hoping city Controller John Liu will champion their cause.

They met with members of Liu's staff last week and asked them to freeze a Parks contract on the project unless changes are made.

"We're working to figure out a way to make sure the project addresses the concerns, and meets the needs of the community," Liu said in a statement. "Even in a city like New York, there are many opportunities to preserve natural environments."

Parks officials are still deciding how to turn the decommissioned reservoir - which has naturally devolved into a swampy oasis of green on the Brooklyn-Queens border - into a park. Many community activists and elected officials have said they want the spot to remain wild while others said some of the space should be used for recreational fields.

During his tenure as controller, William Thompson held up contracts until the city agreed to reconsider plans for the site.

The first phase of the project includes fixing up walkways, fencing and lighting, along with a new handicapped-accessible ramp.

But Steve Fiedler, chairman of Community Board 5's parks committee, said that plan would require the removal of dozens of trees and discard 100-year-old historic fencing.

And instead of creating a new ramp near busy Vermont Place, Fiedler and others said the city should fix up an existing ramp on the other side of the reservoir or build an overhead ramp.

"Look at how hard it is to get across," Fiedler said as he tried to cross the street during a recent visit to the site with other supporters.

"It also doesn't make sense to place a 4-foot fence around this," he said. "You really need a 6-foot fence."

Parks officials pointed out only three trees would be removed to create the ramp.

"The first phase of the Ridgewood Reservoir enhancements were extensively discussed with the community and vetted by Queens Community Board 5 in July 2009," said Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. "This phase is essential because it will address security, lighting and improve access to the park."

She also said that only "invasive species that are compromising the infrastructure and threatening the delicate biodiversity of the reservoir" will be removed.

Send us an email

Reservoir Bids Out

2010-05-27T07:07:00.002-04:00

The following was just published in the Queens Ledger:

Bids go out on phase one Rez work
by Daniel Bush

The phase one redevelopment of Ridgewood Reservoir is moving forward, despite continued opposition from community leaders who want to see the plan tweaked.

The Parks Department will begin accepting bids for the $7.6 million project May 28, according to Steve Fiedler, chairman of Community Board Five's Parks Committee. He said construction is scheduled to begin in the fall, which gives the board a few more months to make its case.

“Hopefully we can get the Parks Department to realize the community doesn't like what's going on,” he said.

Phase one work includes new lighting, pathways, stairs, an ADA-compliant ramp, and a controversial four-foot fence around the three-basin reservoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border.

CB5, numerous elected officials, and community groups all support the creation of a taller six-foot perimeter fence to ward off vandals and an enclosed pedestrian bridge over Vermont Place, among other changes.

So far, the Parks Department has rejected the recommendations.

Parks told Fielder a taller fence would disturb views of the reservoir, but he pointed out that thick summer foliage does that anyway. “We don't believe the reason they gave holds any merit at all,” he said.

Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski caused a stir at a meeting last week when she announced that dozens of trees would be cut to accommodate phase one construction.

The work is part of a larger, $26 million redevelopment of the reservoir, which was decommissioned in 1989.

Read more: Queens Ledger - Bids go out on phase one Rez work

Send us an email

Reservoir Fencing

2010-05-25T15:16:00.009-04:00

In a January 6th Daily News article, Kevin Quinn, director of Queens capital projects for the Parks Department, was quoted as saying that the historic fences at the reservoir needed to be removed because, the "spacing of the pickets no longer meets code as a guardrail." As far as I've been able to determine, the city's code requires that the spacing on railings be not more than 6".

There are two style of fences at the Ridgewood Reservoir. The first is a circa 1850s Hecla Ironworks fence that surrounds the central basin. In 2003, the department of parks had a replica of that fence created for the Central Park reservoir. The cost for the reproduction was $2 million. Here is a parks department 2003 press release about that installation. Welding Works, the company that built the fence received an industry award for the project.

The parks department was more than happy to spend $2 million to create a copy of the Ridgewood Reservoir fencing for Central Park. The same agency now wants to tear down the original, historic ones in Ridgewood for something that doesn't even try to look like a period piece. Why do you suppose they would do that?

Below is a series of photos which compare the replica fence around the Central Park Reservoir with the existing historic fence at the Ridgewood Reservoir.

Below are photos of a slightly newer design fence that was installed around basin #3 at the Ridgewood Reservoir. The parks department actually removed a section of the fencing to block off access to the path between basins 2 and 3. It's curious that they would go through so much trouble, yet leave a large opening at the left edge of the fence. I guess they didn't really want to stop people from entering the pathway.

These are photos that show the measurements of the new fence, including the space between the pickets. This fence also seems to fall within the 6" spacing requirement.

Send us an email

Forum West Article

2010-05-20T18:49:00.003-04:00

The following just appeared in the "Forum West":

State Delays Reservoir Redevelopment
Parks Explains Need to Cut Down 65 Trees for Phase One
By Conor Greene

While the city Parks Department is prepared to move forward with its phase one redevelopment of Ridgewood Reservoir, it appears that the second phase - which will determine the future use of the property - is on hold as the state decides whether the land should be designated a wetland.

As has been reported, the state Department of Environmental Conservation is currently investigating whether to classify the property on the Queens-Brooklyn border, which contains three basins, as wetlands. Doing so would complicate the Parks Department’s proposed plans for the site, which range from keeping it entirely natural to building ball fields in one of the basins.

“The determination to regulate an area is based on its characteristics and functions as a wetland,” wrote DEC spokesman Thomas Panzone. “In the years since the reservoir was decommissioned, the basins, or part of the basins, have developed some wetland characteristics such as seasonally or permanently wet areas and wetland-dependant vegetation.”

Panzone added that the agency’s investigation comes as a result of a request to map the reservoir as a wetland. That request was made by the public through local elected officials, according to activists that have been lobbying for the site to be kept in its natural state.

Those activists, including David Quintana of Ozone Park, were surprised to learn this week that Parks plans to cut down 65 trees as part of phase one. That aspect of the project, estimated at $7.6 million, includes new lighting and fencing along the perimeter of the basins and better handicap accessibility.

Parks says that, of the 65 trees, nine are dead and the remaining 56 are invasive species, have weak root systems or are compromising existing infrastructure. Three are being removed to create the ADA path. A parks spokeswoman added that “all of our plans for phase one were approved by all the appropriate agencies, and we will continue working with them as we move forward to develop this site.”

Quintana and others who attended a recent Queens Civic Congress meeting on parks say they were also surprised by comments made by borough Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski regarding the potential wetlands designation. According to several in attendance, she suggested the site might not qualify for wetland designation because the basins are not large enough individually, and would have to be connected to meet the size standards.

The DEC said that while wetland designation is normally based on size, “under certain circumstances other factors can be considered.”

There was also talk the DEC might instead classify the site a dam, which could require stripping the basins of vegetation, according to several attendees. The DEC noted that, while the Ridgewood Reservoir system contains a dam, it “can be managed in a number of reasonable ways.” Panzone added, “DEC is not aware of any proposal for stripping the basins and has not issued any such order.”

When asked about Lewandowski’s comments that the DEC is looking at it as a dam, the Parks spokeswoman responded, “That is not what the commissioner said and there is no discussion or plans of stripping the basins. As mentioned in the [prior] statement, the conditions on the site are being reviewed.”

Parks had been set to present three options for phase two to local community boards earlier this year, but that was delayed by the possible DEC intervention and wetland classification. Those pushing for the site to remain natural say they are hopeful the state’s involvement will prevent the city from building ball fields on the property.

“I think DEC is going to stall them, and that should be a long process,” said Quintana.

Steven Fiedler, who attended the meeting as a member of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said there is another complicating factor aside from the potential wetland investigation. He says there are two 46-inch pipes on Seneca Avenue and Vermont Place that the DEC wants sealed before any phase two work moves forward.

“That’s a huge undertaking that sets phase two back,” said Fiedler, who also chairs Community Board 5’s Parks Committee. “In my opinion, you are not going to see it for five years.”

Gary Giordano, district manager of CB 5, echoed the sentiment that state involvement is a good thing. “Whatever the technicalities of classification are, speaking for myself, and I think for some board members too, I’m hopeful that with the state DEC being involved, there is more of a likelihood that the reservoir basins will remain in very much a natural state,” he said.

Giordano added that he doesn’t expect to see any phase two plans in the near future. “I don’t think they are going to show anything, even to the community boards, until [the DEC investigation is complete] because one of the options may be an issue with DEC if it is to put ball fields in one of the basins,” he said. “I would think that certainly would be an issue with DEC. Sometimes more is less, and I don’t think anyone on our board wants to see those ball fields in the basins.”

A number of elected officials have thrown their support behind keeping the site dedicated for passive recreation, including Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven).

“It’s a positive thing to keep the basin as wetlands,” he said in a statement. “My colleagues and I are doing our part to prevent development of the reservoir. Here in Queens, unpaved and undeveloped land is becoming increasingly hard to find, which is why it is important to protect these beautiful areas we still have left.

Send us an email

Queens Parks Commissioner Bombshell

2010-05-18T22:46:00.003-04:00

The following report was sent to me by a member of Queens Community Board 5:

Tonight the Queens Civic Congress held a civic roundtable about Parks. Queens Parks Commissioner [Dorothy] Lewandowski and Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito were to attend. [Dorothy] made it but Melissa "had business to attend to in Atlanta." Queens Coalition for Parks and Green Space Chair Fred Kress was also a panelist.

David Quintana, Henry Euler and Steve Fiedler from the Ridgewood Reservoir group were in the audience. A number of park questions were posed to Commissioner Lewandowski by the moderator, Kim O'Hanion, but none were about the future of the reservoir. Then she opened it up to questions from the audience.

David Quintana was called on and asked Ms. Lewandowski why she was not being straightforward about the Parks Dept's plan to cut down about 100 mature trees during phase 1 which is scheduled to start this Fall. That's right - 65 trees will be removed around the edge of the basins and 35 near the Jackie Robinson Parkway to allow for a handicapped entrance. [Dorothy] replied that the trees being cut down were more like weeds that had implanted themselves in the walls of the basins and would have to be removed anyway. She said that a forester was consulted and approved the removal of each tree.

Quintana pressed on about the DEC possibly declaring the area as a wetland. Lewandowski replied that the DEC has not declared it a wetland because they would have to consider each basin individually and that each basin is not large enough to be designated. She claimed those are the rules and expressed confidence that the reservoir will not be declared a wetland for that reason showing no concern whatsoever about the diverse life found within the basins.

Later on, Henry Euler asked about whether budget cuts would affect the plans for phase 1. She responded that the money was still there for phase 1 and again said that the Parks Dept planned to move ahead with it in coming months. She said they were also ready to present their 3 plans for phase 2 to the Community Boards, but that the DEC stepped in and said they were investigating whether the reservoir could be classified as a dam and not a wetland. She claimed that if the DEC does classify the reservoir as a dam, then all three basins would have to be denuded of vegetation in order to prepare them to receive water again. She claimed that Parks is working hard to ensure that doesn't happen.

Her entire explanation made no sense and does not jibe with the statements that DEC released to the press when asked about the issue. Two attendees sitting in front of me turned around and suggested that she had been making these things up as she went along.

Note that this was a public meeting and although there were no members of the press there, everyone was taking notes and she will have a hard time denying what she said should a reporter question her about this.

Send us an email

Another Wetlands Story

2010-05-12T07:47:00.002-04:00

The "Leader/Observer" just published the following story about possible wetlands designation for the reservoir:

State's wetlands investigation comes after years of rapid change
by Matthew Bultman
May 11, 2010

The Ridgewood Reservoir was only decommissioned in 1989. So how is it possible that just two decades later the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering the site for potential wetlands status?

The answer says as much about the changing nature of New York City's landscape as it does about the possible struggle between the Bloomberg Administration and the state over control of the reservoir, where a wetlands designation could impinge on city plans for a $26 million upgrade.

The reservoir could be ripe for wetlands designation today precisely because of its rapid transformation over the past 20 years, said DEC spokesman Thomas Panzone.

“In the years since the reservoir was decommissioned, the basins, or parts of the basins, have developed some wetland characteristics such as seasonally or permanently wet areas and wetland-dependent vegetation,” Panzone said in an email.

There are currently 21 designated wetlands in Queens consisting of a total of 260 acres, or less than one percent of the total land in the borough. The DEC defines a wetland as a transition area between uplands and aquatic habitats. While standing water is often a sign of a wetland, it doesn’t have to be present in order for a wetland to exist.

Wetlands are valuable in the sense they provide the community with a variety of services, including flood and storm control, as well as a productive wildlife habitat. The reservoir is currently home to over 100 species of birds, many of which may be in danger if the wetland were altered.

Panzone said the final decision of whether or not to label the area as a wetland will rest upon the basic characteristics of the reservoir's basins and whether or not they match the criteria set by the DEC for qualification as a wetland.

The DEC is continuing to gather information on the basins to determine whether or not it meets that criteria.

The city's $26 million upgrade would involve building a recreation area over a portion of the reservoir's third basin, a move that is unpopular with local residents and preservationists.

But Panzone said the city’s plan was not the reason for the DEC’s wetland designation investigation. “The DEC has received letters of concern about the Ridgewood Reservoir over the past couple years,” Panzone said. “This included a request to designate the area as a wetland.”

Panzone said a wetlands designation might not interfere with the city's plans, depending on what the city intends to do with the site.

“The Freshwater Wetlands Act and regulations are designed to ensure that activities within a 100-foot ‘adjacent area’ around a wetland do not result in harm to wetland functions and values,” Panzone said. “Public park-related activities can often be designed carefully enough to be compatible with these legal standards.”

He said that a specific timetable for a decision by the DEC has not been made.

“In the meantime, however,” he said, “the DEC has communicated to the Department of Parks and Recreations its interest in the area and the advisability of considering designs that will protect the natural resources in the area.”

The 50-acre Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border was an active water source until 1959. It served as a backup reservoir for Queens and Brooklyn until it was decommissioned three decades later.

Send us an email

More About Wetlands Protection

2010-05-07T10:07:00.005-04:00

The following just appeared in the New York Daily News:

Debate over wetlands stalls Ridgewood Reservoir fixup

By Lisa L. Colangelo
Friday, May 7th 2010, 4:00 AM

William C. Thompson walks through the Ridgewood Reservoir with preservation community member Rob Jett, talking about the importance of preserving and maintain the area.

Koester for News

Plans to redevelop the Ridgewood Reservoir site are on hold while state officials decide whether it should be designated a wetlands area.

The city Parks Department had been poised to unveil three potential redesigns for the site. But officials said that won't happen until the state Department of Environmental Conservation makes its decision.

"The DEC has received letters of concern about the Ridgewood Reservoir over the past couple of years, including a request to designate the area as a wetland," said DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren.

"More information is being gathered to determine whether or not it meets criteria for state mapping as a wetland," she said.

The decommissioned reservoir, which straddles the Brooklyn-Queens border, is made up of three basins on 50 acres of land.

Nature has reclaimed the site and the basins are filled with various trees, mosses and wetland plants.

The city has been mulling plans to transform the area into a park and possibly place much-needed sports fields on the grounds.

But local residents and elected officials have been lobbying to keep the reservoir a wild nature preserve.

"The community has said all along that this is wetlands and it should be protected," said David Quintana, a local activist. "The money they are wasting on designs and other things should go toward renovating the fields that exist at Highland Park."

Parks officials said this week they are pushing ahead with plans to fix perimeter paths and lighting around the reservoir.

"We're working closely with the city Department of Environmental Protection and state Department of Environmental Conservation to investigate conditions on the site," the Parks Department said in a statement. "The environmental considerations at this site have been taken into account since the start of the project."

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

Send us an email

New Page

2010-05-06T18:50:00.001-04:00

Save Ridgewood Reservoir is now on Facebook.

Send us an email

Times Newsweekly Article

2010-05-06T18:42:00.002-04:00

The following article appeared in Times Newsweekly:

State Agency Eyes Ridgewood Reservoir As Possible Wetland
First Phase Of Project Moves Forward
by Robert Pozarycki

Though the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering instituting wetland status to the Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn/Queens border, the New York City Parks Department maintains that the first phase of improvements to the site will be moving as scheduled.

According to a DEC statement sent to the Times Newsweekly, the agency is currently reviewing the 55- acre site adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Parkway and Vermont Place as a possible “state-regulated freshwater wetland.” If the site is given that designation, the state DEC would have the authority to review any potential activities at the reservoir and require permits for any specific improvements.

In a statement, the Parks Department indicated that the agency has been working closely with the DEC and the city Department of Environmental Protection “to investigate conditions on the site,” adding that “[t]he environmental conditions at this site have been taken into account since the start of the project.”

Even with the DEC review underway, the Parks Department noted that it intends to start the first phase of improvements to the Ridgewood Reservoir beginning this fall. The work includes the installation of new fenc- ing around the former basins as well, new lighting as improvements to the pathway around the perimeter of the site.

The agency’s review has become a cause of concern for those close to the project. Gary Giordano, district manager of Queens Community Board 5, told the Times Newsweekly that he would contact state and city officials in the weeks ahead to ascertain further information regarding the DEC’s concerns and how the Parks Department will move forward with improvements.

Plans for the redevelopment of the Ridgewood Reservoir as a public park have been the subject of much controversy since 2004, the year when Mayor Michael Bloomberg transferred control of the property from the DEP to the Parks Department.

Defunct since 1989, the reservoir has naturally evolved over the last two decades to become a habitat for various plant and wildlife. The center basin of the reservoir’s three chambers remains filled with water and resembles a natural lake.

As part of its PlaNYC 2030 master plan, the city announced in 2007 that it would redevelop the Ridgewood Reservoir as well as the adjacent Highland Park, making it one of eight “regional parks” around the city. Initial plans called for one of the reservoir’s three basins to be cleared and developed with new ball fields and play areas.

Community activists voiced opposition to the plans, observing that the reservoir should remain at a nature preserve and that ball fields at Highland Park should be improved instead. Numerous community meetings were held by the Parks Department over the last several years, gathering opinions from residents in both Brooklyn and Queens.

Send us an email

Queens Ledger Editorial

2010-04-29T10:32:00.002-04:00

The following editorial was recently published in the Queens Ledger:

Wetlands designation right for Ridge Rez
Apr 27, 2010, Queens Ledger

We welcome the news that the state is considering protecting the Ridgewood Reservoir with a wetlands designation. It would be the right thing to do, for several reasons.

First, the reservoir- with its beautiful, lake-like second basin and winding pathways- is a gem of a natural habitat the likes of which can never be replaced. The site is home to over 100 species of birds, other animals and a rich variety of flora. It is a community resource, and by any measure more-than-deserving of environmental oversight and protection.

The issue of preservation hits roundly on the second- and perhaps most important- reason why the state plan makes sense. If the DEC classifies the site as a state-regulated wetlands, that could impede the city from pursuing a misguided redevelopment plan for the site, one that has been soundly rejected by the community board and neighborhood preservationists alike.

To be fair, the city isn't planning to raze the reservoir and replace it with high-rise apartment buildings or a large mall. But the city's vision for the reservoir- the final version of which has not been chosen, or made public- suggests a keen desire to build ball fields on the reservoir's third basin.

This makes no sense. It would disrupt the site's fragile ecosystem, and does not take into account Highland Park, which is adjacent to the reservoir and has plenty of recreational areas of its own. If the city, in these tough fiscal times, is committed to spending millions of dollars on a parks project on the border of Queens and Brooklyn, why not invest the money in improving Highland Park and leave the reservoir alone?

In that scenario, the entire site could be converted into a nature preserve with educational facilities, as many wish. The Bloomberg Administration, though, is not known for backing development compromises when it could instead spend more money, and build new projects.

So unless the state steps in, its very likely the city will proceed with its plans, regardless of any opposition to them. It is still unclear how a wetlands designation would impact the city's plans. And of course the DEC might decide not to follow through with the wetlands designation after all.

But if it does, that might be enough to protect the reservoir for generations of Queens and Brooklyn residents. And we might get an improved Highland Park in the bargain. How about that?
Send us an email

NYSDEC Wants to Protect Reservoir

2010-04-22T16:40:00.003-04:00

The following breaking news was just published in the Queens Ledger:

State Eyeing Ridgewood Reservoir for Wetlands Protection
by Daniel Bush, Queens Ledger
Apr 22, 2010

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering classifying the Ridgewood Reservoir a state-regulated freshwater wetlands, this paper has learned.

The designation would subject the city's planned redevelopment of the reservoir to a state review, and would set the stage for a possible confrontation over the site with the Bloomberg Administration.

The city is planning a $26 million project that would convert part of the three-basin reservoir into a recreation area, despite objections from residents who want the site protected as a natural preserve.

Thomas Panzone, a DEC spokesperson, confirmed the state is eyeing the 160-year-old reservoir, which was decommissioned in 1989 and has reverted back into unkempt parkland.

“DEC is reviewing whether or not the Ridgewood Reservoir should be classified as a state-regulated freshwater wetland,” Panzone said in an email. If that happens any planned changes to the site would be subject to review by the state, and could require a permit under the state's Freshwater Wetland regulations, he said.

The Parks Department was not immediately available for comment.

The full implications of a wetlands designation on the city's plans for the reservoir remain unclear. But someone with knowledge of the negotiations between the city and state said the DEC's interest has complicated the city's efforts to remake the reservoir.

It appears likely the city could proceed easily with its phase one plans - to upgrade lights and fencing around the reservoir and rebuild a pathway between the second and third basins - regardless of any state involvement.

But the thought of complex wetlands regulations has raised concerns inside the Parks Department over its phase two plans to replace part of the third basin with an active recreation area. The work could prove difficult if the site were protected.

The phase two plan is deeply unpopular with local preservationists and Community Board 5, which recommended improving the existing ball fields in adjacent Highland Park instead of building new ones inside the reservoir.

“We'd like to see it be a nature preserve,” said Gary Giordano, CB5's district manager. If the wetlands designation allows for passive recreation on the reservoir's pathways “that's a lot more palatable than any kind of recreation development inside the reservoir,” he said.

Assemblyman Mike Miller said a state-regulated wetlands would provide important protection for wildlife within the reservoir, home to over 100 bird species. “It would curtail some of the changes the parks department wants to make,” Miller said, “but it would protect the basins the community wants protected.”

Send us an email

Benefits of Open Space

2010-04-04T12:28:00.004-04:00

The following article about the economic benefits of preserving open space was just published on the website for the New York League for Conservation Voters:

Report: Open Space Is Good For NY's Economy

Submitted by Elizabeth Mooney on Thu, 2010-04-01 11:05.

The benefits outweigh the costs of preserving open space, according to a new report by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Take farmland, which occupies a quarter of the total acreage in New York. It generates about $4.5 billion annually, with an additional multiplier effect from interrelated industries of approximately $31 billion. Forestry, tourism and outdoor recreation also provide substantial economic activity, the report concludes.

DiNapoli also noted that open space often requires fewer municipal services than lands in other use and tend to generate more in municipal tax revenue. Open space helps control storm water runoff, preserves surface water quality and stream flows, and aids in the infiltration of surface water to replenish aquifers. When lands are converted to other uses, the natural benefits provided by open space often must be replaced through the construction of water-treatment facilities and infrastructure to control storm water, all paid for through local tax revenue. A series of studies have found the preservation of open space to be a more economical way to address storm water requirements.

The comptroller’s report recommends that New York State consider: allowing municipalities to establish community preservation funds; evaluating the adequacy of protections for lands providing benefits for municipalities; improving state-level planning for open space to address long-term funding needs; improving the administration of funds for open space programs; encouraging private land conservation.

Send us an email

Parks Committee Budget Hearing

2010-03-19T17:09:00.000-04:00

What: Park and Recreation Committee Budget Hearing
When: Wednesday - March 24, 2:00
Where: City Hall Council Chambers -2nd floor.

As concerned New Yorkers who live, work and care about our parks, open spaces and public recreation programs it is very important that the public comes out to testify for an appropriate parks budget. Our elected officials need to hear how vital these services are and the importance of properly funding them. This is also the first budget hearing for Melissa Mark-Viverito as Parks Chair, and for many new committee members.

Over the last 40 years no other city agency has lost a greater percentage of its workforce than the Parks Department. Despite a $ 3 Billion Surplus this year (IBO - March 4, 2010) Mayor Bloomberg is proposing allocating a historic low amount of city funds to maintain the operate the Parks Department. Under Bloomberg's $ 63.6 Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2011 the Parks Department’s budget from city funds would be reduced from $264 million - to $239 million.

This would represent only a 0.37% allocation of the city budget in city funds to maintain and operate parks which would be a historic low. The agency is responsible for 14% of the City's land. Mr. Bloomberg’s overall proposed budget is $560 million larger than last year.

Severe cuts being proposed under the Mayor's plan include staff and programs:

• The Mayor's forecast for the next year and a half calls for the Parks Department to lose 748 out of 3,722 full-time jobs (20%). And if you count full-time and full time equivalent head-count they lose 1,156 jobs.

• 450 seasonal jobs delayed or cut this year.

• Four pools will be closed all summer and the swimming season will be shortened by two weeks citywide. (NYC already ranks dead last in the provision of public swimming pools for a high density city) This would save $1.4 million in FY 2011 according to the mayor.

• Eliminate 173 full-time positions either voluntarily or through lay-offs. The target goal is 173 positions but according to the DPR's budget office "there is no cap."

• The full-time and seasonal hiring freeze will affect many staffing areas, including the maintenance and operation. Severe cuts include $ 4.5 million over the next few months for Job Training Participants, (JTP's) and $ 10 million reduction next year. The last number represents s 25% cut in the program. The federal government puts in fifty percent of the JTP's forty million dollar budget with the city and state splitting the rest. These positions are essential in providing basic cleaning services during the busiest season for parks.

These cuts would be devastating to all already decimated agency. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Geoffrey Croft at NYC Park Advocates - (212) 987-0565

Source:

IBO Testimony - March 4, 2010
http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/prelimbudgetcctestimony030410.pdf

Cuts, Layoffs Looming for Parks Department - A Walk In The Park - March 1, 2010 http://awalkintheparknyc.blogspot.com/2010/03/cuts-layoffs-looming-for-parks.html

Send us an email

Budget Hearing

2010-02-02T13:43:00.002-05:00

Just received the following from Queens Community Board 5:

From: CB5-Queens
Date: February 2, 2010 10:29:36 AM EST
Subject: Fw: Public Hearing on the Mayor's Fiscal Year 2011 Preliminary Capital and Expense Budget for NYC - next Tuesday, Feb 9th, 2010 starting at 9:30AM in Queens Boro Hall

Attached is a copy of the official notice RE: Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall's Public Hearing on the Mayor's Preliminary Budget for FY 2011. The hearing will be held in Room 213 in Queens Borough Hall on Tuesday, FEBRUARY 9th, 2010, beginning at 9:30AM. There is a maximum of 3 minutes speaking time. Please be prepared to submit 35 written copies of your testimony. RSVP no later than Monday, Feb. 8th. The sooner, the better, of course.

If you'd like our staff to call the Borough President's office to make arrangements for speaking time for your organization, please contact us at (718) 366-1834 during normal business hours.

Thank you for all your good work.

Sincerely,

Gary Giordano, DM
CB 5 - Queens

**********

January 22, 2010

Dear Constituent:

In accordance with Section 241 of the New York City Charter, the Queens Borough Board will hold a public hearing on the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2011 Preliminary Expense and Capital Budgets on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9th, 2010 beginning at 9:30 a.m. The hearing will be held in Room 213 in Queens Borough Hall.

Registration begins on Wednesday, January 27th. To register for speaking time, call 1-718- 286-2900 between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8th at 5:00 p.m. Times will be allotted to those testifying in the order in which they registered. THERE IS A MAXIMUM OF 3 MINUTES ON SPEAKING TIME! Anyone else wishing to provide testimony may appear in person the day of the hearing and will be added to the end of the list. If you are unable to attend the hearing, please feel free to mail your testimony to the Queens Borough President’s Office at 120-55 Queens Blvd., Room 250, Kew Gardens, NY 11424, attention, Carol Ricci.

We look forward to hearing your comments on the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2011 Preliminary Budget. This input will be used to develop the Queens Borough Board Budget Priorities for Fiscal Year 2011. Please be prepared to submit (35) thirty-five written copies of your testimony.

Sincerely,

HELEN M. MARSHALL
Queens Borough President

Send us an email

History Slideshow

2010-01-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Below is a slideshow presented to the Queens County Farm Museum by Christina Wilkinson, President of the Newtown Historical Society:

Send us an email

Another Parks Dept. Screw-up

2010-01-20T17:52:00.001-05:00

This is from the New York Post:

Bronx field now city's $14M blunder land
By RICH CALDER
Last Updated: 3:51 PM, January 19, 2010
Posted: 2:31 AM, January 19, 2010

A city plan to rebuild one of The Bronx's biggest sports fields has morphed into a money pit for taxpayers.

Workers renovating Harris Field in Bedford Park recently uncovered contaminated soil under the playing surfaces, helping push the anticipated cost to nearly $14 million, city officials told The Post.

The price tag for the renovation had already gone from the $6.6 million announced in 2007 to $8.7 million, records show.

Now the Parks Department is confirming that it has to add another $5.2 million for cleanup because of the high levels of lead unearthed while workers were preparing to install drainage-system tanks needed to restore the popular park's six playing fields.

Harris Field used to be part of a reservoir before the city acquired the 15-acre site in 1917.

Department spokeswoman Vickie Karp said it is believed that the park was created with "the use of incinerator ash as fill, which would explain the presence of lead."

The original playing fields at the park were grass, but the city plans to cover two with synthetic turf.

A Parks Department official wishing to remain anonymous said that contamination wouldn't be an issue if all the fields were going to be grass but that replacing two with turf requires digging deeper to install the drainage tanks. Karp says this is untrue.

A fiscal 2008 mayoral report showed the Parks Department topped city agencies in cost overruns with projects costing an average of 50 percent more than the original contract price. The city average was 17 percent.

Harris Field is in line to rise by more than 110 percent.

"The project shows just how poorly the city does its due diligence on parks projects," said Geoffrey Croft, of the nonprofit group New York City Park Advocates, when told of the costs.

The project's long delays are crippling a popular Little League that plays there.

"The Parks Department only cares about construction, not children," said Don Bluestone, executive director of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center.

Bluestone said the nonprofit group's youth baseball league has gone from 1,000 players to 500 since construction began. He ripped the department for closing the entire park and relocating the league miles away to parks filled with drug dealers and plagued by flooding.

The city's Web site says construction will be complete by the spring, but Bluestone was preparing to have his league play elsewhere this season.

rich.calder@nypost.com

Send us an email

More Parks Department Dissatisfaction

2010-01-08T10:25:00.002-05:00

The following article was just published in the Times Ledger:

CB 5, city clash over reservoir plans
Board to see proposals for revamp of Ridgewood site this month, Parks Dept. says
By Jeremy Walsh, Times Ledger 
Thursday, January 7, 2010 11:13 AM EST

The city Parks Department is planning to unveil three potential plans to revamp Ridgewood Reservoir at a meeting this month. After a two-month delay, plans for the future of Ridgewood Reservoir will finally be unveiled to Community Board 5 probably later this month, officials told a Borough Board meeting Monday night.

But the selection or implementation of any of these plans could still be years away as CB 5 and the city Parks Department continue to spar over details of the first phase of the plan, which will repair crumbling concrete stairs, widen turns in the perimeter path and build an observation path on a causeway between two of the three reservoir basins.

CB 5 wanted several concessions from the Parks Department, including a pedestrian bridge over Vermont Place between the parking lot and the park, eliminating a ramp for the physically disabled because it would be redundant with the proposed bridge and raising the height of fences from 4 to 6 feet.

“I could step over a 4-foot fence,” CB 5 Parks Committee Chairman Steve Fiedler said. “At least a 6-foot fence is going to deter somebody.”

But Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski has turned down most of the board’s requests. Kevin Quinn, director of Queens capital projects for the Parks Department, defended the agency’s firm stance at Monday’s meeting.

A pedestrian bridge would cost between $2 million and $3 million, eating up a substantial chunk of the $7.6 million allocated for the first phase of construction, he said.

“We’re really tight on funds here and we want to get this going as soon as possible,” he said.

CB 9 Chairwoman Andrea Crawford also slammed the current state of the crossing.

“If I’m in a wheelchair and I drive my wheelchair-accessible van [to the parking lot] ... then I have to play ‘Frogger’ to get across Vermont,” she said, referring to the classic video game depicting a frog attempting to cross a traffic-choked highway.

The fences will remain 4 feet tall in most locations because the Parks Department does not want to restrict parkgoers’ views of the reservoir basins, Quinn said. Quinn also said the Parks Department had petitioned the city Department of Transportation for a traffic signal and pedestrian crossing at the parking lot, but the DOT turned them down.

Planners have put forward three possible directions for developing the reservoir as a city park: making it a nature preserve with minimal facilities, turning it into an active recreation site with numerous ballfields and a combination of the first two plans. CB 5 favors the nature preserve course.

The community boards in both Brooklyn and Queens have faced pressure to support the active recreation model because Highland Park’s existing ballfields are overused and in poor condition.

CB 5 Chairman Vincent Arcuri said little money had been spent to maintain the Upper Highland Park athletic fields.

“That’s partly our fault,” he said. We haven’t been paying much attention to it over the years.”

But he and Fiedler also warned that the reservoir project essentially doubles the size of parkland that Forest Park is responsible for maintaining and both questioned where the funds would come from.

Quinn also pointed out that the city Public Design Committee had approved the Phase 1 plan, which made it complicated and time-consuming to alter.

“This is only the beginning of our process trying to get the Parks Department to listen to the community,” Fiedler said.

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

*********

Note the link to the posting on ACTUAL ballfield usage. I guess the parks department is hoping that residents forgot that we exposed their lies about how many permits are given out for field usage.

Send us an email

Queens Ledger Article

2010-01-06T17:21:00.003-05:00

The following article was just published in the Queens Ledger:

Community boards not happy with Ridgewood Reservoir plans
by Holly Tsang, Queens Ledger

On Monday, members of Queens and Brooklyn Community Boards 5 and Queens Community Board 9 were presented with the Parks Department’s plans for phase one of a new park at the Ridgewood Reservoir, which straddles Queens and Brooklyn, and they were not happy.

CB5Q submitted its recommendations in July consisting of seven points that needed to be addressed, including the construction of a six-foot wrought iron fence with spikes at the top to deter trespassers and the construction of a pedestrian bridge that goes over high-traffic Vermont Place to the reservoir.

Much to the dismay of CB5Q, the Queens Borough [Parks] Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski wrote back in August that the Parks Department would likely take a different direction on most of the points; to name a few, the wrought iron fence in question would be four feet tall and instead of a “cost-prohibitive” pedestrian bridge over Vermont Place, an ADA-approved ramp would be constructed at Vermont Place, where a stop sign would also be installed.

And while both parties agreed that they wanted as little light as possible spilling into the reservoir basins, which house many species of birds and plants and serve as an East Coast fly-by for birds heading south, they couldn’t agree on where to place the electrical service conduit and lighting fixtures.

The Parks Department’s lighting plan costs an extra $90,000. According to Kevin Quinn, Capitol Projects Team Leader for Queens under the Parks Department, the construction budget for phase one is $7.6 million.

“We always try to give the community what they want, but we need to operate the parks, so there are certain operational concerns we need to look at,” said Quinn.

Steven Fiedler, Co-Chair of CB5Q’s Parks Committee, disagreed. He said the Parks Department rejected CB5Q’s proposal just days after it was submitted, ignoring the suggestions made in the public listening sessions on the Ridgewood Reservoir that have been going on for the last two years.

“My objective here is to make sure the Parks Department realizes, one, they’re not listening to the community and, two, phase one has to enhance phases two and three,” said Fiedler, emphasizing the need for a high fence around the perimeter of the basins to ensure that the reservoir remains wild.

He said that, for example, a higher fence would protect the reservoir’s wildlife for the implementation of phases two and three, which may include something like a boardwalk down in the basins for exploratory and educational purposes.

The master plans for the next phase will be unveiled at the end of the month. Fiedler said the community boards are advocating for a plan that will leave the reservoir natural as it is now. Other options include the construction of on-site sports fields or mixed-use.

CB5Q enlisted the written and voiced support of over a dozen elected officials and community groups including Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Assemblyman Mike Miller, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, Queens Coalition for Parks and Green Spaces.

“They’re not listening to us. They’re designing in a box like they always do and they’re wasting money,” said Fiedler. “It’s a terrible waste of money.”

******

You can click the above links to send emails to Congresswoman Velasquez, Senator Addabbo, Assemblyman Miller and Councilwoman Crowley.

Send us an email

Phase I Article

2010-01-06T08:58:00.003-05:00

The following article in the New York Daily News describes the first phase of the reservoir renovation:

With some back and forth, Queens park will get upgrade

by Lisa L. Colangelo
Daily News Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 6th 2010, 4:00 AM

Crumbling staircases, poorly lit pathways and missing fencing will finally get fixed during the first phase of renovations to the Ridgewood Reservoir-Highland Park site, a city official said.

But the devil is in some of those details, according to members of several local community boards who got a chance to comment on the plan at the Queens Borough Board meeting on Monday.

The site, which straddles the Queens-Brooklyn border, has been slated for a multi-year, $26 million upgrade.

However, it's still unclear whether that includes the addition of ballfields and recreational facilities in some areas. Community members and elected officials have lobbied the city to the keep it a natural green space.

The project's first phase, which has not yet gone out to bid, includes infrastructure improvements such as paving, lighting and fencing. It's expected to cost about $7.6 million, a Parks Department official said.

But Steve Fiedler, chairman of Community Board 5's parks committee, said the 4-foot fences planned for certain portions of the reservoir will be inadequate to stop vandals.

"I can step over a 4-foot fence," he said. "At least a 6-foot fence will deter someone."

Local residents would also like to see a wheelchair-accessible ramp near one of the parking lots, he said. In addition, board members asked the Parks Department to keep some of the 19th-century gates that date back to the early days of the now-decommissioned reservoir.

"They don't make this design in heavy wrought-iron gates anymore," Fiedler said.

But Kevin Quinn, a Parks Department representative, said the old fencing isn't up to snuff.

"We fell in love with it also," Quinn told the Borough Board, which cconsists of community board leaders and the borough president. "But the spacing of the pickets no longer meets code as a guardrail."

The fencing will rise as high as 6 feet in some sections, he said, but it will stay lower in other areas to provide better sight lines.

"Why spoil the view?" Quinn asked. "If someone wants to get down there, they will get down there. This size works for Central Park."

The Parks Department is expected to release three preliminary plans in the coming weeks for the second phase. One will focus on using the site for passive recreation, another for active recreation and a third for a combination of the two.

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

Send us an email

ATV & Precinct Info

2009-12-01T10:48:00.006-05:00

I've posted all this information before, but given the current condition, thought it was time for a refresher.

First, riding an ATV anywhere in New York City, except on private property, is illegal. It violates a long list of city codes. You can download a PDF document that I put together with the specific sections of the city code here.

It was suggested to me by several people that the reason some police officers told the ATV riders not to ride in Lower Highland Park, but across the road was alright was because that puts them in a different precinct. Nice way to work together, officers. The 104th precinct is responsible for tackling the ATV abuses that occur either within the Ridgewood Reservoir boundaries or Upper Highland Park. The 75th precinct covers Lower Highland Park.

Here are the precinct maps and contact information:

Brooklyn 75th Precinct

Inspector Jeffrey B. Maddrey
Crime Statistics
1000 Sutter Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11208
(718) 827-3511

The 75th Precinct is located in the East New York section of Brooklyn. Included in this area are Cypress Hills, Starrett City and City Line. It is a residential and commercial community with eight major housing complexes. Shopping areas run along the east end of Fulton Street, Liberty Avenue and the south end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Contact Information:
Precinct: (718) 827-3511 / 3512
Community Affairs: (718) 827-3553
Community Policing: (718) 827-3329
Crime Prevention: (718) 827-3650
Domestic Violence: (718) 827-3502
Youth Officer: (718) 827-3519
Auxiliary Coordinator: (718) 827-3545
Detective Squad: (718) 827-3548 / 3549

Community Council:
President: Tony Forman
Vice President: Jennifer Fields
Recording Secretary: Evelina Rhodes
Treasurer: Jean Reynolds
Sergeant at Arms:Genes Thompson

Meetings: The precinct community council meeting is held the first Wednesday of the month at the precinct station house at 7:30 p.m.

Queens 104th Precinct

Deputy Inspector Keith E. Green
64-2 Catalpa Ave., Queens, NY, 11385
(718) 386-3004

The 104th Precinct is located in the northwest section of Queens, covering the areas of Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth. There are 60 Houses of Worship and 18 cemeteries, of all faiths located within this command.

Contact Information:
Precinct: (718) 386-3004
Community Affairs: (718) 386-2431/2446
Community Policing: (718) 386-4006
Crime Prevention: (718) 386-6223
Domestic Violence: (718) 386-3044
Youth Officer: (718) 386-2486
Auxiliary Coordinator: (718) 386-3674
Detective Squad: (718) 386-2735

Community Council:
President: Michael Hetzer
Vice President: Diane Cusimano-Timkin
Recording Secretary: Roseanne Rosado
Treasurer: Yetta Petronzi
Sergeant at Arms: Vincent Alberici

Meetings: Council meetings are combined with other civil groups on rotating schedule. For further information call Det. Kevin Weber at (718) 386-2446.

**********

Send us an email if you observe ATV activity at the reservoir or park. Including the day of the week and time would be very helpful.

Send us an email

NYPD Complicit in ATV Abuse

2009-11-21T15:58:00.004-05:00

Today I had an experience at the Ridgewood Reservoir which made it very clear to me that the local precincts have no intention to address the ATV problem and, in fact, are complicit in the abuse and destruction of New York City Department of Parks & Recreation property.

At 12:15pm today there was a man riding his ATV at Highland Park/Ridgewood Reservoir. He was with three children. I looked around for a patrol car or parks department vehicle. Fifteen minutes later I tracked down an unmarked, dark blue NYPD van in the Upper Highland Park parking lot. I approached the two officers in the van and told them about the ATV riders in the park. They explained that it is "very difficult" for them to pursue the scofflaws "up there" with their van and that the ATV riders always take off. I wondered why they assumed that the ATV owner was in an upper portion of the Ridgewood Reservoir property. I explained that, in fact, they were in the lower park between Highland Boulevard and the National Cemetery. They seemed reluctant to do anything about it, but finally said they'd look into it. I followed them as they left the parking lot heading towards Highland Boulevard. At the intersection, instead of turning left, towards the ATV, they turned right, away from the location and out of the park. They never returned.

By 12:50pm the ATV group had moved their activities higher up into the park, to an area directly adjacent to the reservoir. I called 311. The operator took my information, then transferred me to a 911 operator. At 12:54pm the 911 operator assured me that an NYPD vehicle was being dispatched. By 1:20pm, the ATV party was still in progress and the police hadn't arrived. While waiting for the police I spoke with the only adult in the group, who appeared to be the father of the children and owner of the ATV. He didn't think what he was doing was illegal. I asked if the police ever stopped them from riding in the park. I was shocked by what I was told. They had been told by the police that it was alright for them to ride in that area and to just avoid riding on the running paths and walkways! They also said that all the local ATV riders were given the same information, which would explain the sudden upsurge of ATV usage in the park. I left Ridgewood Reservoir and Highland Park at around 2:30pm. Nobody from the local precinct ever responded to the 911 operator's call.

Here is a video from today.

Send us an email

Forum Article

2009-10-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

"The Forum" just posted an article describing community questions for the Department of Parks & Recreation about their Phase 1 plans for the reservoir:

Questions Arise Over City's Plan for Ridgewood Reservoir
via Forum News by The Forum Newsgroup on 10/9/09
By Conor Greene

As the Parks Department prepares to begin the first phase of work at the Ridgewood Reservoir, local elected officials and community leaders have questioned aspects of the plan, and were not impressed with the response they received from the city on their input.

Parks is planning $7.7 million worth of improvements to Highland Park, which includes the Ridgewood Reservoir. Work will include replacing existing perimeter fencing around the reservoir’s three basins, upgrading the lighting and improving the pathways.

Phase one work will take place as the department and community continues to debate the overall future of the park and reservoir property. Many, including Community Board 5 members, want the city to preserve the reservoir in its natural state and upgrade existing ballfields in Highland Park, instead of filling in one of the basins and constructing fields there.

While the debate over the future of the property continues, CB 5 members and elected officials including State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) are asking Parks to reconsider aspects of the phase one plan.

In July, CB 5 informed Queens Borough Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski in a letter that the board had unanimously adopted several recommendations concern- ing phase one, including that perimeter fencing be six feet high, instead of four feet as planned; that the electrical service conduit be installed on the reservoir side of the pathway, where the lighting fixture will be installed and that an existing stone stairway not be removed.

In an August 24 response, Lewandowski informed the board that the fence is not meant as a security barrier, since public access to the basins is planned for the future. “The four foot proposal provides a clear view into the basins which will allow the public to better appreciate the interior as well as provide easier observation by the police and parks patrols.”

Regarding the electrical setup, Lewandowski said the decision to locate the light poles on the reservoir side “was made for both ecological and aesthetic reasons.” She argued that since the electrical conduit can’t be placed between the pathway and the basins due to a lack of soft surface, Parks “decided that spending an additional $90K now to locate the conduit in the grass area [on the other side of the path] is a price worth paying to make maintenance in future less complicated and less expensive.”

Parks did agree that facing the lamp post panels away from the path to help prevent vandalism and theft “is a very good idea” that has been incorporated into the design. In addition, Parks has accepted the board’s recommendation that the northeast stairway should be restored. This can be done within phase one “barring any costly surprises revealed in our ongoing structural investigations.” Either way, the stairs will not be removed as planned.

While the board’s push for a pedestrian bridge over Vermont Avenue “is an idea worth studying in-depth,” Parks has determined that it is “cost prohibitive at least in the initial phase of work at the reservoir.” However, the department has directed consultant Mark K. Morrison and Associates to ensure that the current plan would allow for a pedestrian bridge in the future.

Board members expressed displeasure at a meeting earlier this year after receiving Parks’ response to the suggestions. “We’re not dumb – we suggest things for a reason,” said CB 5 Chairman Vincent Arcuri, vowing at the time to “fight this politically.”

In September letter to Lewandowski, Addbbo noted that he generally agreed with the board’s suggestions and said he also has “concerns” over the current plan. He agreed that the light fixtures and related electrical wiring should be on the same side of the path to save money, and also called for a six-foot high perimeter fence. “While six foot fencing might hinder some public access viewing, that issue is far outweighed by the greater issue the of public safety and security of people visiting the site,” wrote Addabbo.

“As you are aware, in these difficult fiscal times, the city needs to allocate funding efficiently,” the senator continued. “I am hopeful that prior to any work commencing on Phase I at the reservoir, your department conducts the necessary research and public input consideration to create a safe and accommodating venue.”

Crowley also wrote a letter to Lewandowski last month, calling the board’s proposals “a good set of improvements to the current plan.” She agreed with the board and Addabbo on the issues of the electrical wiring and fence height. She also noted that she continues to support “ a passive recreation option” at the site and wants a portion of the $19 million earmarked for phase two on renovations of the existing ballfields in Highland Park “before even considering the decon- struction of a basin.”

A Parks Department spokeswoman did not provide information regarding when phase one construction is slated to begin, or a response to Addabbo and Crowley’s letters.

On Wednesday, Arcuri called Parks’ response “foolish” and said that six-foot-high fences are used in other projects around the city, including the promenade along Flushing Bay without complaints of obstructed views. “I think they’re a little hard-nosed; their consultant came up with a design and they want to stick with it,” said Arcuri. “I think part of it is the ego of the designer, and the ego of the agency.”

Looking ahead to phase two, Arcuri agreed that some of the remaining $19 million should be used at the existing ballfields. “They can develop a program for the restoration of the upper ballfields and playground so the reservoir can stay a natural preserved area as every- one wants it,” he said. “There really isn’t a need for additional facilities; the need is for the facilities that exist to be restored.”

Arcuri charged that recent surveys of parks users con- ducted by the city “weren’t realistic” and didn’t reflect the desires of many to preserve the reservoir. “The results of that survey were contradictory to the results of all the public meetings, so we question that... We think that if we have enough political support we could get them to go along with the idea of a nature preserve [at the reservoir] and fixing the upper ballfields. I think we need the mayor to come out and side with the people who are familiar with the area.”

Send us an email

Brooklyn Water Works and Sewers

2009-10-08T16:31:00.003-04:00

Thanks to the efforts of Google Books I am able to embed the entire memoir of D. Van Nostrand, an engineer for the Brooklyn Water Works. You can scroll directly to page 25 and read his description of the creation of the Ridgewood Reservoir.

Send us an email

Wasting Our Money

2009-09-29T11:00:00.019-04:00

Phase I of the Department of Parks & Recreation's redevelopment of the Ridgewood Reservoir includes a huge waste of taxpayer's money. As I mentioned in a previous posting, some of the lighting, pathway and fencing plan call for the replacement of the existing 7' high perimeter fences with 4' fences. That brilliant design concept would, essentially, allow open season on the forested and wetland basins to anyone desiring to climb over the fence. A closer examination of the design reveals another money wasting element.

Between basins 1 & 2 and 2 & 3 are a pair of pathways that were designed as maintenance roads when the reservoirs were in active use. The edges of those paths are lined with wrought iron coping fences. The parks department design for Phase I calls for the clearing and development of a walking path with limited seating between basins 2 & 3. In general, this is a good idea. Unfortunately, rather than just clearing the vines off of the existing 1/2 mile of coping fences, they want to completely remove it and replace it with a modern steel fence.

Somehow, the original, historic 19th century wrought iron coping fences managed to survive, intact. There are several short sections that appear to be missing, however, on close inspection those pieces can be seen either covered by dirt on the path or on the stone retaining wall in the basin interior. How many places in New York City can one still find 19th century fences at a public works site? I'm guessing none.

During the two World Wars many of the old fences were melted down and used for artillery or other war-related needs. Somehow, the fences designed by the Brooklyn Water & Sewer Works over 150 years ago escaped that fate. Now Adrian Benepe wants to just cut them all down and toss them into a landfill. For what? I'd like to see the cost comparison between the current design, which calls for removal and replacement, with a plan which just removes the vegetation from the fences and restores the missing sections. I'd also like to know (as would most NYC taxpayers) why Mark Morrison and Associates made no attempt to save the historic fences and incorporate them into their design.

All too often in New York City, planners and developers see no need for preserving our city's history. Had it not been for the ambition plans of the Brooklyn Water & Sewer Works and their vision of a clean water supply for the City of Brooklyn, we would not have seen the rapid growth and expansion of, what was once considered, the largest city in the United States.

Send us an email

Parks Department Final Design

2009-09-16T09:58:00.010-04:00

After nearly 2 years of community input, budget cuts and political wrangling, the Department of Parks & Recreation has submitted a final "Phase 1" design plan for the Ridgewood Reservoir to the Design Commission. Phase 1 only calls for improvements to the lighting and pathways surrounding the reservoir basins. It is clear from viewing the Powerpoint slideshow and listening to reaction from Queens Community Board 5 that the parks department pretty much ignored most of the community's input. I've converted the slideshow to a PDF file that can be downloaded here.

There are several areas of contention regarding the design, the most obvious being the height of the perimeter fences.

Since the start of the input process the parks department, namely Queens Commissioner Lewandowski and Park Administrator Kuha, have claimed that safety was their primary concern. Many of us commend them on their efforts to have openings in the existing 7' high chainlink fence repaired regularly and helping to increase patrols in the area. Homeless encampments in the basins, makeshift paintball areas and other illegal activities have been eliminated in the forested wetlands within the basins. In June, when the organization "World Science Festival" requested permission to host a bioblitz in the basins it was denied on grounds that it was too dangerous for people to scale down the basin embankments or walk around in the interiors. So why has Commission Lewandowski and Ms. Kuha given approval to a design that calls for removing the 7' high fence and replacing it with a 4' high fence? Was all their talk about safety just designed to keep people away from the reservoirs and create a negative image of the area? I suppose if you want to destroy "unique natural habitats" without any opposition the first thing you would want to do is make people think that it is a danger to the public. Does the parks department actually believe that people aren't going to jump over the fence to access the "dangerous" basins? And if anyone has difficulty climbing the fence, the proposed lighting design has the lampposts inline with the fences making for a convenient stepladder. Besides the obvious negative impact this will have on basins 1 and 3, there have been dozens of news articles posted over the decades about people drowning in the reservoir (basin 2 is a lake).

In Prospect Park an area call the Ravine was restored over an 8 year period. Tens of millions of dollars were spent on plantings, erosion control and other landscape repairs & improvements. When it was opened to the public, a 4' fence had been installed to prevent people from destroying the restored forest and waterway. Here is what happened; Fences were (and continue to be) climbed over or broken outright. In less than a year, much of the beautiful restoration was reversed. Understory plantings have been destroyed, the forest floor is badly eroded, compacted trails crisscross much of the forest, there are homeless encampments, parties, people having sex and the tons of trash. You can view some images of the destruction here. If Commissioner Lewandowski goes ahead with the plan for a low fence, she can expect the same or worse, since it is difficult for law enforcement to patrol the basin interiors.

There are also issues with the lighting plan. The design calls for nearly tripling the number of lampposts surrounding the basins. Another safety issue? Not likely as Highland Park and Ridgewood Reservoir have very low crime. In fact, according to NYPD statistics, it is much safer than Prospect Park. I don't think any other city park has lighting spaced so close. Another waste of money is the fact that the design calls for placing the lighting on the inside of the path and, rather than burying a single electrical line along the inside of the path, running it along the outside edge, with each lighting fixture then needing to have a separate lead splitting off from the outside of the path. Vincent Arcuri, the president of Queens Community Board 5, is a licensed electrician and pointed out this waste of money. Again, community voices were ignored.

The access path between basins 1 and 2 will not be available for public use. The path between basins 2 and 3, however, will be cleaned up and observation points created. This pathway will only be opened during specific hours and secured behind a short length of 7' fencing. There will be some seating added here. No additional seating or exercise stations (requested by the community) will be installed around the perimeter of the basins. Another design issue that was contested by the community board was the removal of a flight of stairs and access at the northeast corner of basin 1 near the Jackie Robinson Parkway service road. In this design feature anyone coming to the park from the area of Cypress Avenue and Cypress Hills Street wouldn't have an access point. It was in this area that many suggested Access-a-Ride vehicles or school buses pick-ups and drop offs. The department of parks wants, instead, to use this area only as an electronic card access point only for NYPD and park maintenance vehicles.

It is unclear to me whether the Department of Parks & Recreation had a design already in mind when they began the process of public input or if the parks commissioner just overruled any designs that included community recommendations. Either way, there is little question that the democratic process for this project has been seriously compromised. The community boards are preparing a joint statement and letter to the City Comptroller which I will post here shortly.

Send us an email

HPRRA Meeting

2009-09-09T08:16:00.002-04:00

The next meeting of the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance will be tomorrow evening, September 10th, 2009 at 7pm. Steve Fiedler of Queens Community Board 5 will show the Department of Parks & Recreation's final design presentation for the first phase of construction around the reservoir.

The meeting will be held at:

Ridgewood Democratic Club
6070 Putnam Street

View Larger Map

Directions to The Ridgewood Democratic Club at 6070 Putnam Street. The
entrance is the first door on Stier Place

From Brooklyn:
Take Eastern Parkway until it ends at Bushwick Avenue.
Make a right turn onto Bushwick Avenue and move to the left lane.
Bear left onto the Jackie Robinson Parkway (formerly Interboro)
Exit at Cypress Hills Street (2nd exit)
At the top of the exit, make a left onto Cyrpress Hills Street
At the bottom of the hill make a left onto Cooper Avenue
Make a right at the 5th block (62nd Street)
62nd street ends in 2 blocks at Myrtle Ave
Make a left turn onto Myrtle and the make a right turn (about 50 feet) onto Fresh Pond Road (just at the end of the underpass; Fresh Pond starts at Myrtle and there is a carpet store on the right)
About 1/4 mile, 1 block after the M train station, Putnam Street is on the left.
It’s one block after the train station

From Manhattan:
Take the LIE
Exit to The Grand Central Parkway East (towards LI)
Stay in the right lane and exit onto the Jackie Robinson Parkway (formerly
Interboro)
Exit at Cypress Hills Street
At the top of the exit, make a right onto Cypress Hills Street
At the bottom of the hill make a left onto Cooper Avenue
Make a right at the 5th block (62nd Street)
62nd street ends in 2 blocks at Myrtle Ave
Make a left turn onto Myrtle and the make a right turn (about 50 feet) onto Fresh Pond Road (just at the end of the underpass; Fresh Pond starts at Myrtle and there is a carpet store on the right)
About 1/4 mile, 1 block after the M train station, Putnam Street is on the left.
It’s one block after the train station

From The Bronx:
Take the Triborough to the Grand Central Parkway and follow directions above
Parking can be sometimes be difficult in the area

By Subway:
Take the M train to the Fresh Pond Station or the L train to Myrtle Avenue and
then go upstairs and take the M to the Fresh Pond Station
Walk one block to Putnam and then left onto Putnam.

Send us an email

New Parks Blog

2009-08-29T19:52:00.003-04:00

A new blog called "A Walk in the Park" is a great information resource that helps keep communities up to date on the Department of Parks & Recreation's planning and other activities. Here is the description from their blog header:

"A news and information resource dedicated to transparency, accountability, community-based planning & consultation, and the health and public safety of visitors and employees in New York City's public park and recreation system."

Send us an email

Support from Riverkeeper

2009-08-29T19:46:00.002-04:00

The organization "Riverkeeper" supports our efforts to protect the reservoir basins as a nature sanctuary. From their website:

Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park, Queens

As noted in PlaNYC 2030, New York City is proposing to turn the largest of three basins in the 50-acre, Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park, Queens, which has become an urban forest and fresh water wetland, into a 60-acre recreation site. Riverkeeper opposes plans to alter these wetland areas for several reasons.

Ridgewood Reservoir absorbs stormwater that would otherwise enter the city’s already over burdened sewage system. Replacing woodlands with recreational fields will exacerbate flooding and the urban heat island effect, and destroy an important habitat for many bird and plant species. The additional fields and recreational areas at Ridgewood Reservoir would not be needed if resources were devoted to improving facilities at existing recreational areas, such as Highland Park.

Past efforts to fill in wetlands and turn them into ball fields, such as Strack Pond in Queens, have failed, raising the question of the overall feasibility of such an undertaking. Any proposed changes to the Ridgewood Reservoir should be subject to SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) and CEQR (City Environmental Quality Review) processes.

Send us an email

More about Artificial Turf

2009-08-18T13:45:00.002-04:00

The New York Daily News has just published another article on the dangers of artificial recreational surfaces. Note how parks commissioner Benepe describes using a watering system to reduce the heat. Didn't he previously claim as a benefit to using artificial recreational surfaces the fact that you don't need to water it? I'm guessing that he also never smelled the burning tire-like odor that fills the air around these fields on hot days.

Macombs park turf too hot for them to handle! Critic's thermometer hits 150 degrees

By Bill Egbert
Tuesday, August 18th 2009, 5:50 AM

Think it's hot running on a 90-degree day? Try running on a 150-degree track.

That's what joggers at the new Macombs Dam Park have to contend with on the interim running track painted on the still-unfinished artificial turf field.

During last week's sweltering temps, the turf reached temperatures in excess of 150 degrees, according to an infrared thermometer wielded by Geoff Croft, head of NYC Park Advocates and a longtime critic of the city's efforts to replace the parkland given to the Yankees for their new stadium.

For comparison, Croft measured the temperature of a patch of natural grass near the park on the same day and found it to be only 84 degrees.

Temperatures don't have to get into the 90s for the turf to overheat. Croft recorded similar readings of higher than 147 degrees on cloudy days when the air temperature never got higher than the low 80s.

"We understand that this is the one drawback of these turf fields," said city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, "and we're doing all we can to address it."

The city spent an extra $160,000 to use a green-colored crumb rubber fill, which stays cooler than cheaper fill made of recycled tires. The new park will also feature three misting devices designed to cool parkgoers at the push of a button.

Local residents who were used to running in the old Macombs Dam Park surrounded by tall shade trees can feel the difference.

"It feels really hot on my feet," said Enrique Martinez, 16, who runs every day on the interim track.

"The worst part," Enrique said, "is that when you want to rest, you can't lie down in the grass or you'll overheat."

When the park is complete next April, however, it will feature several natural grass berms around the field and 166 shade trees planted around the park.

Two boys practicing soccer at one end of the unfinished field agreed with Enrique.

"It's burning hot," said Joseph Cardozo, taking a break to rest in the limited shade of a construction fence. "I can feel the heat on my legs."

"You get easily dehydrated," said Eduardo Yanez, 15. "You have to stop more often and get some shade."

They fondly recalled playing on the real-grass field of their old park, dug up for the Yankees' new $1.5 billion stadium nearby.

"The old park was cooler," said Jospeh, "and more crowded, too. There were more people to play with."

The final design includes a large shade structure over a grandstand, as well as a new Olympic-quality running track wrapping around the soccer field.

Commissioner Benepe needs to get with the program. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to reduce the "Urban Heat Island Effect" in New York City and by Benepe replacing grass fields with artificial recreational surfaces he is actually increasing the temperature in NYC. It also doesn't help that Mr. Benepe seems to enjoy cutting down trees.

Send us an email

Parks Department Presentation

2009-08-12T12:35:00.007-04:00

On March 16, 2009, the Department of Parks & Recreation held the first of its second round of community meetings regarding the future of Ridgewood Reservoir. Queens Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski kindly provided us with a copy of the presentation. As you step through the slides pay special attention to the site hydrology, site ecology and survey results.

Send us an email

The Selling of New York Parks

2009-08-12T08:38:00.004-04:00

The following article appeared in New York Magazine last month:

The Selling of New York’s Parks
via Daily Intel by Erica Orden on 7/28/09

Just like condo developments and celebrity-chef restaurant empires, New York’s public-parks system expanded rapidly during the boom years. Prospect Park unleashed plans for a new $60 million complex, Washington Square Park began a thorough face-lift, and the High Line found the substantial funding it needed to transform from an abandoned railway into one of the city’s most hyped destinations. The catch is that the funding for these initiatives has become less public. And as the downturn continues, more compromises could be made to continue to pay for these privatized parks.

When New York began relying on public-private parks partnerships following the fiscal crisis of the seventies, the idea was that private philanthropic groups would pick up the slack. And they did. Groups like the Central Park Conservancy, the Prospect Park Alliance, and the Bryant Park Corporation rose to respond to that crisis. But the city’s newest parks, paid for and operated largely by nonpublic dollars, are girded tightly by their private patrons.

The High Line was invented as a park by Friends of the High Line, which raised $44 million in donations and helped select the design. Celebrity endorsements (Edward Norton, Diane Von Furstenberg), caps on visitor attendance, adjacent real-estate development, and a dense police presence compared to other parks have all contributed to the appearance of something less than fully public. Elsewhere, the Parks Department has met with a local interest group called Coalition for a Better Washington Square Park, which offered to hire its own security and maintenance forces for the newly renovated green. Parks turned them down but did “discuss the designs of the next phase of renovation.” And in order to build the $350 million Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation, a public agency, is using the private developers of luxury condos like One Brooklyn Bridge Park to pay for the maintenance of its public front yard (never mind what’ll happen if the condos don’t sell).

Expect more of the same. “What’s happening on a basic level is that the city does not feel that parks are its responsibility anymore,” says Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates. “But every community deserves to have healthy parks, not just ones that have wealthy benefactors.”

Earlier this month, the city awarded a no-bid contract to Friends of the High Line to run all concession stands on and below the park for the next ten years. The Prospect Park Alliance plans to sell naming rights to two new rinks to be built as part of its Lakeside Center development, and the sale of such rights has been proposed for McCarren Park Pool. The Tisch family marked its name on the Washington Square Park fountain after donating $2.5 million for its renovation. In coming months, the Parks Department is considering selling ten-year naming rights to existing ballparks and skating rinks, with the money going to the city’s general fund.

“Even with the budget cuts, the Parks Department is in decent shape, but you never know what might happen in the future,” says Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe. “In the past, there have been times when, in very bad fiscal times, the Parks Department was badly cut. And so if we can lock in some funding to make sure that things stay whole, that might not be a bad thing.”

But more and more private control — you can purchase time in a “public” basketball court for a fashion show, as happened in May with designer Joseph Abboud in Greenwich Village, or pay to park a branded exhibition in Central Park, as Chanel did last fall — has become the norm. The question is how much more that means. “While privatization has brought some very good management techniques, like at Bryant Park, the nice thing about it so far is that we don’t have ‘Exxon Bryant Park,’ ” says Christian DiPalermo, the executive director of New Yorkers for Parks. Well, not yet.

Send us an email

Another Parks Department Debacle

2009-08-03T10:38:00.003-04:00

The following exposé just appeared in the NY Post. Just imagine how much money the city could waste at the Ridgewood Reservoir:

Sky 'High' Costs
Tax-Seeking New Park Already NY'S Priciest
By Rich Calder

Operators of High Line Park are spending money like drunken sailors to maintain the brand-new hot spot -- even while trying to push a controversial new tax on neighborhood property owners so the managers can spend even more, a Post investigation found.

Park officials say the former Manhattan railway-turned-aerial-esplanade will now cost up to $4.5 million a year to maintain -- surpassing Midtown's Bryant Park as the city's most expensive green space per acre to operate, records show.

The 6.7-acre park - a huge economic boost for the Meatpacking District since partially opening in June - is expected to get $522,388 to $671,641 an acre for yearly maintenance and operations, based on its preliminary spending plan.

That's even more than Bryant Park, which spends $479,166 per acre. The average city park gets $9,555 an acre.

With the city already kicking in nearly $1 million in taxpayer funds for the new park's annual operations, the nonprofit group Friends of the High Line was supposed to fork over the rest of the money.

Instead, the group --whose daily operations are run by politically connected officials padding their pockets with six-figure salaries -- is pitching a 37-block "High Line Improvement District."

Its board of directors includes boldface names like actors Ed Norton and Kevin Bacon, designer Diane von Furstenberg and her media mogul husband Barry Diller, and actress Kyra Sedgwick.

The plan, endorsed by the Bloomberg administration last week, would levy local businesses and residents to raise another $1 million of the $4.5 million needed.

"It's a pay-for-play deal that sets a terrible precedent," said Geoffrey Croft of the watchdog group New York City Park Advocates, adding the park's budget is already "inflated with fat."

The city has 11 parks enforcement patrol officers working the High Line's 2.8 acres now open.

In comparison, only five PEP officers are assigned to cover all 6,970 acres of Bronx parkland and eight handle Queens' 7,300 acres, the city parks employee union says.

The High Line also has 20 laborers paid through its nonprofit group - including nine gardeners - and another 10 workers will be hired once the park is completed in 2011, officials said. Bryant Park, a much larger crown jewel in the city parks system at 9.6 acres, only uses five gardeners among its staff.

Meanwhile, Friends of the High Line's management staff features four people earning more than $100,000, including its co-founder Robert Hammond, who earned $280,000 last year and was the college roommate of former Council Speaker Gifford Miller.

Hammond defended the new tax proposal, saying the extra funds are needed to keep the park looking magnificent because crowds "are much larger than anticipated," and the park has quickly become of "one of the" most densely visited public spaces citywide.

More than a half million people have visited the park its first two months.

He blamed the massive maintenance costs on this "high volume combined with the challenges of operating an intensely planted public space on an elevated structure with limited access" while also having to enforce occupancy/public safety codes other parks don't have to deal with.

Friends of the High Line, which designed and operates the city-owned park, says it has raised $44 million, with $12.5 million already offsetting the project's construction costs, which are expected to exceed $172 million.

The group has no plans to use the rest of the money raised to supplement the funds it wants from the community. Instead, it says it wants to put some of the money into an endowment like Central Park does so the funds can be invested on behalf of the High Line.

Hammond said his group would only look to submit a formal application to the city for the improvement district if it believes the community is behind the tax following a public review process.

The annual fee for the owner of a 1,000-square-foot property would range anywhere from $30 to $90.

While Hammond says he believes most of the 5,000 or so property owners affected will support the idea because the park has already helped boost local property values in a slumping economy, some peeved residents last week kicked off a petition drive to collect signatures in opposition.

Send us an email

More Deception

2009-07-24T15:31:00.005-04:00

The "Queens Crap" blog has posted a piece that reveals more deception from the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, although, at this point, I can't say I'm surprised:

Friday, July 24, 2009
Parks caught lying about Highland Park again
From the Daily News:

In 2007, the agency issued 410 hours of permits for Highland Park's existing ballfields. That jumped to 753 hours last year, but included a two-week carnival that accounted for 195 hours.

Parks spokeswoman Patricia Bertuccio said the permit lists don't account for countless pickup games and practices on those fields that don't require prior approval from the agency.

The Parks Department's website displays this:

So, they are going to tear down a ready-made nature preserve to build ballfields for practices that are not supposed to be held on ballfields because there are too many people who want to play games on them, yet there was a documented lack of people playing games on the fields for the past few years. In Adrian's world, this makes sense.

These people are unbelievable. I just hope that the FBI and USDOJ is watching and looking into their activities like they did in New Jersey.

Send us an email

More Political Support

2009-07-23T19:27:00.003-04:00

Political hopeful, Albert Baldeo, has come out in favor of preserving the Ridgewood Reservoir as a unique nature sanctuary. The community advocate, who is running for Anthony Seminerio's vacated 38th District Assembly seat, was highlighted in an article in the Queens Chronicle. From the article:

"One neighborhood over, Baldeo has been trying to preserve the Ridgewood Reservoir. “There are so many species of birds and animals there. It’s a jewel in our district,” he said. “It could be made into a tourist attraction and we should preserve it, not turn it into baseball fields.”"

You can read the entire article here.

Send us an email

Queens Courier Article

2009-07-22T16:32:00.002-04:00

The Queens Courier just published an article about the plight of the reservoir:

Athletic fields may replace defunct reservoir
By Alice Lok
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:56 AM EDT

The decommissioned Ridgewood Reservoir-turned-nature preserve lying on the border of Queens and Brooklyn may be torn down if plans to install athletic fields are put into motion.

In a statement from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, it said the agency has held several public meetings, listening sessions, conducted surveys, met with elected officials and community groups to “get a broad sense of what users are interested in seeing at this park. All methods of input will help the Parks Department as we move forward in creating draft designs.”

As of now, contractors are in the process of developing three distinct master plans that take into account what was learned during the meetings. The three plans are stated to be released in October, and all of the plans are likely to include improvements to lighting and safety.

A chief concern of the Parks Department is installing more active recreational fields for baseball and soccer which would mean the preserve would be at least partially destroyed. The Parks Department has done surveys, which have shown a desire for more ball fields.

However, local protesters like David Quintana said they don’t want the natural habitat to be touched and instead of spending money to level the basins and install artificial turf, it would make more sense to fix up and maintain the baseball fields that already exist across the street in Highland Park.

Quintana said if the city were to fix up those fields then the necessity of tearing down all or part of the basin, “would be a moot point.”

In addition, local residents are casting doubt over the fairness of the survey. Quintana said he had obtained a copy and the questions were vague and some of the participants had never even visited the parks.

In another twist, the Parks Department announced a cut in the Ridgewood Reservoir budget plan from $48.8 million to $19.8 million in June.

In a study contracted by the Parks Department, the findings said “no less than 10 plant and animal species listed as Threatened, Endangered or Special Concern in New York State were found at the site.” In addition, the survey said 173 plant species and 127 bird species were observed at the Ridgewood Reservoir.

Quintana, who is focusing on educating the public about the importance of the preserve, said plans to alter the current state of the reservoir “makes absolutely no sense to me and many others in the community.”

Ridgewood Reservoir was active in 1848 to supply water to Brooklyn. The reservoir was then used as a back-up in 1959, after Brooklyn merged into New York City. Eventually, it was decommissioned and drained in 1989.

After it was decommissioned, Quintana said “the city basically neglected the property and Mother Nature has taken it back.”

Send us an email

Going Wild In Queens

2009-07-22T16:25:00.003-04:00

The Queens Tribune has a wonderful article about local naturalist David Burg. Dave and the late Al Ott helped guide the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance when we were just getting started. If it wasn't for their honest advice and enthusiasm, I'm not certain we would have gotten off the ground:

Going Wild In Queens: Naturalist Works To Encourage Next Generation Of Enthusiasts

By Vladic Ravich

“Do you hear that?” said David Burg as he led two of his interns through a winding trail in Cunningham Park, red hedge clippers in hand. “That sounds like a Woodthrush, which was Thoreau’s favorite bird.” We stopped and listened, waiting for another call to punctuate the dull hum of the Long Island Expressway that carried through the century old trees.

We heard a distant flutelike trill and knew it was the right one when Burg’s eyes lit up with recognition. Then he turned his attention back to the underbrush, resuming his hunt for the invasive Multifloral Rose, Japanese Snotwood, Garlic Mustard and many other species that crowd out the young native plants that make up the ecosystem of these urban islands of wilderness.

You can read the entire article here.

Send us an email

Lies and Deception

2009-07-21T08:48:00.007-04:00

We already know from a previous post that the Department of Parks & Recreation intentionally created a survey of park users that would produce skewed results. The results were designed to support their efforts to waste taxpayers dollars on a park that nobody wants, is not needed and would destroy natural habitats unique to New York City. I was also recently confronted by their feeble attempts at hiding the truth.

In 2007 the parks department held their first series of community listening sessions. After one of those sessions, Gary Comorau (the current president of the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance) asked Kevin Quinn, of parks Capital Projects, for a copy of their Powerpoint slide presentation. Kevin quickly obliged and images from that presentation have been used in handout by HPRRA. Another set of community listening sessions were carried out this year. On June 19th I sent an email to Kevin Quinn asking for a copy of the Powerpoint presentation that was used for the meeting at Oak Ridge on March 16th. I never heard back from him and, at the final listening session held at the end of June, I spoke with park administrator Debby Kuha. A few people in attendance at that meeting asked if parks could post the slide presentation online. I told Ms. Kuha that I had requested it from Kevin but that he never responded. She told me that if I send him another note and copied her, she'd make sure I received a copy. That email was sent out on July 1st and I still have not received any response from either Ms. Kuha or Mr. Quinn.

Subsequent to my conversation with Debby, I learned that Conor Greene from the "Forum" also asked Ms. Kuha for a copy of the presentation. He wanted the presentation because it contains the results of the original survey, not the new, phony survey. He was told by Debby that the results were not part of that slide presentation. I attended the March 16th meeting and the survey results were, in fact, part of the presentation. The results were presented by Melissa Hicks. Either Ms. Kuha has a very bad memory or she outright lied to Conor, knowing that he would learn the truth about the two different surveys. I realize that Ms. Kuha and other employees of the Department of Parks & Recreation read this blog, so I will ask the question publicly and let you know if I receive a response:

Debby - Do you have any intention of sending me a copy of the requested presentation, as you promised, or will I have to use legal means to acquire this public document?

UPDATE (7/22):
Today I received an email from Debby Kuha. She assured me that she'd ask Kevin "again", plus, she is "not a liar". Just to be clear, I did not say that Ms. Kuha WAS a liar, only that her response to Conor was either the result of bad memory or intentionally misrepresenting the truth.

Send us an email

Bloomberg "Green"? Think again

2009-07-11T14:15:00.002-04:00

In a recent interview with the Queens Chronicle Mayor Bloomberg was asked about plans for the Ridgewood Reservoir. For the self-proclaimed environmental mayor, his answer was a bit more revealing about his real "conservation" agenda than his questionable rhetoric:

Queens Chronicle: Proposals to develop the Ridgewood Reservoir site into a recreational area have caused a commotion among many community advocates. The local councilwoman and community board have opposed the plan and prefer proposals to preserve the site while making it more accessible. Where do you stand? What do you say to those who claim there is a push within the administration toward replacing the basins with ballfields despite public resistance?

Mayor Bloomberg: We are trying to come to some compromise. There is some evidence that the ballfields in the neighborhood are adequate. Others say, ‘absolutely not; we don’t have enough.’ Certain groups you’ll never do enough for. You can never do enough for bicyclists. That’s just the real world. The political pressure for ballfields is always there.

How's that for a non-answer? You'd think that someone who has been touting the benefits of conservation in NYC would have more to say about protecting the only habitat of its kind left in the five boroughs.

Send us an email

Toxic Fill

2009-07-11T13:43:00.002-04:00

City Comptroller William Thompson has called on Mayor Bloomberg to reveal to the public the risks of dredged toxic materials that the administration wants to use in public parks:

THOMPSON: IS CITY DUMPING TOXIC MATERIAL AT OUR PARKS?

View Letter

Citing possible health hazards, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today called on City Hall to disclose potential health risks associated with plans to dump dredged materials from New York Harbor as fill at various parks and development projects across the City.

“I am deeply concerned about the Administration’s embrace of processed dredged material in City parks and its plans to allow its use in both public and private development projects,”
Thompson said in a recent letter to Mayor Bloomberg. “At a minimum, the public must be provided with complete information and firm assurances that their families will be safe not only now, but in the years to come.”

The letter is available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov

The City currently plans to use the dredged material as fill at a number of parks including Heritage Field - on the site of the former Yankee Stadium - and Brooklyn Bridge Park at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. However, Thompson said, about two-thirds of the material in the harbor resulting from dredging is too contaminated to be placed in the federally designated offshore site, according to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. This toxic contamination includes unacceptably high levels of PCBs, dioxin, mercury and various heavy metals. Therefore, it must be “processed” and stored at alternative locations.

Traditionally, processed dredged material has been used to fill mines in Pennsylvania and cap landfills and brownfields or sent to designated disposal locations out-of-state. In addition, some material has already been used at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. With appropriate safeguards, it also may have potential in commercial development projects.

Roughly 15,000 cubic yards of processed dredged material has already been placed at the Bronx Terminal Market Waterfront Park, and there are plans to place 200,000 cubic yards of dredged material at both Heritage Field and Brooklyn Bridge Park.

“While I am advised that the material will be tested by City contractors and its placement will be approved by the state, I must insist that the Administration provide appropriate details regarding the quality of this fill and the safeguards it intends to adopt before it continues to place this material in our City’s neighborhoods,” Thompson wrote.

“My office is awaiting additional information about the City’s Dredged Material Management Plan, but as of this moment has not received it,” Thompson said. “Given that this harbor sediment has already been placed in the Bronx Terminal Market Waterfront Park, and there is a question of the public’s safety, it is imperative that City Hall understand the urgency of providing the public with as much information as possible. The people of New York City deserve to know when and how this material was placed in their park and the potential for cross contamination.”

Send us an email

Rigged Surveys

2009-07-11T13:31:00.003-04:00

During the final community listening session parks department officials were frequently interrupted by shouts of outrage from members of the public. When the results of their "new, improved" survey and their methodology was revealed, it was clear that there was some serious rigging of the results. A reporter from the Queens Chronicle was present for the proceedings and filed the following story:

Did Parks rig reservoir survey?
by Michael Lanza, Assistant Editor
07/09/2009

The skewed results of a public survey presented last Tuesday is leading many Ridgewood Reservoir advocates to ask: is the Parks Department stuffing the ballot box?

Parks’ announcement of the results of a 253-person survey — which indicated a strong preference for replacing the reservoir basins with active recreational facilities — came as the city agency simultaneously presented data from public hearings showing overwhelming community support for preserving the site in its natural state.

The sudden shift in support indicated by the survey sparked serious questions and outlandish charges among area preservationists.

“Parks used people that Parks felt were going to give them the answers that they wanted,” said Steven Fiedler, a Community Board 5 member and reservoir preservation advocate.

But a recent disclosure by the Parks Department suggests that allegations refuting the poll’s integrity may have merit.

Three out of four local groups enlisted to help distribute the survey — the Cypress Hills Local Development Corp., Brooklyn East Youth Sports and Recreation and East Brooklyn Congregations — are vocal advocates for replacing the basins with ballfields.

The fourth group, the George J. Walker Community Coalition, did not have a confirmed position as of press time.

At the center of the controversial survey is Bishop David Benke, the leader of East Brooklyn Congregations and a board member on the Cypress Hills Local Development Corp.

“Anybody with Benke is gonna go with ballfields,” Fiedler said. Benke has been among the most vocal advocates for ballfields — lobbying the City Council with a public presentation at City Hall earlier this year.

Representing his parish in Bushwick, the Lutheran minister argued that Highland Park is simply too far a trek for his followers. Artificial and natural barriers are forcing Bushwick residents around the reservoir to access Highland Park, which they say is already too crowded and poorly maintained. He argued that the third basin is filled with invasive plant species and that eight of the 51 acres at the reservoir could be set aside for community baseball fields.

“That 8 acres does not really need to be a nature reserve, there’s nothing in there that needs to be preserved,” Benke said “Let’s use that for some sort of active use.”

But even he acknowledged that Parks’ decision to solicit their groups undermined the survey’s integrity.

“They said, ‘we need some people to hand out these surveys,’” Benke said. “You could make your case. You could say there are questions about the validity of a survey handed out by people who have already taken a position.”

The minister — confident that another survey would show similar results — said he would support a new survey distributed by an independent group.

Parks officials did not respond to allegations of bias within the survey.

The reservoir’s declining condition has become the center of a battle between preservationists and developers in recent years.

City Comptroller Bill Thompson shot down proposals by Mayor Mike Bloomberg to convert the reservoir into a sports field last summer, citing the ecological importance of the space.

“This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas,” Thompson wrote, protesting the plan. “The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call ‘highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.’”

Parks recently announced plans to slash development funds for the reservoir in its revised capital budget — cutting funds for Ridgewood Reservoir and Highland Park by more than half — from $48.8 million to $19.8 million. Approximately $7.7 million already allocated during phase one to restore lights and fencing around the reservoir will not be influenced by the cuts.

The cut was a mixed blessing for those who opposed razing the reservoir site to create ballfields — casting doubt on the most expensive of the propositions.

Three initial plans to develop the site included preserving the site as a natural habitat, filling in the reservoir basins and replacing them with baseball and soccer fields and a hybrid plan where only one of three basins — the largest one — would be converted into a recreational sporting area.

The reservoir, located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, was created in 1848 to provide drinking water to Brooklyn. But it was converted to a back-up in 1959 and finally taken off-line in 1989. The site is now a natural haven for plants, turtles, fish, frogs and more than 137 bird species —including eight rare species on the National Audubon Society’s “Watch List.”

Parks department officials asserted that surveys were available at this year's listening sessions. Despite those claims, nobody from the Highland Park-Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance had ever been given the opportunity to fill one out ... and members of this group have been present at every meeting. Someone needs to ask the parks commissioner what was wrong with the original survey and why those results were discarded.

Send us an email

The Bishop, Parks & Corruption

2009-06-30T16:01:00.002-04:00

"Queens Crap" just posted a stunning report on the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation's "interesting" relationship with the East Brooklyn Congregation's head bishop. Many people have wondered why this allegedly honest man did a complete 180 degree shift from his original position on not developing the reservoirs to cutting down the forest. Now we know:

"When the city sells you lots o'land for $1 (upon which you construct vast quantities of Brooklyn Crap) and then they call in a favor, you do what they ask, otherwise, you might get cut off..."

Read the entire exposé here.

Send us an email

NY Daily News Article Follow-up

2009-06-30T14:59:00.003-04:00

Denis Hamill just wrote a follow-up article to his piece blasting the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation for disgraceful conditions at park baseball fields. From the new article:

"Help is on the way.

Or so says Dorothy Lewandowski, Parks Department Queens borough commissioner, and Philip Sparacio, department chief of operations in the borough.

They have already responded to some of the issues raised in my recent column detailing the deplorable conditions of the Little League fields in Queens."

You can read the entire article here. Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski is quoted in the article:

"In Queens, we have under 500 full-time maintenance, recreation, administrative and forestry workers to service 7,000 acres in 400 parks and playgrounds, plus 350,000 street trees, and 800 planted triangles and 168 baseball fields"

This begs the question,; If there aren't enough workers to take care of the existing parks, why destroy the unique habitats at Ridgewood Reservoir to create another one?

Send us an email

Ridgewood Reservoir hearing in Oak Ridge

2009-06-27T16:49:00.002-04:00

The following was posted in the Queens Chronicle:

The final public hearing for plans to develop Ridgewood Reservoir has been scheduled for June 30 at Oak Ridge in Forest Park.

The Parks Department will present three development plans: preserving the site as a natural habitat; filling in the reservoir basins and replacing them with baseball and soccer fields; and a hybrid plan in which only one of three basins, the largest one, would be converted into a recreational sporting area.

The plans have been called into question in recent weeks after Parks officials cut funding for the project from $48.8 million to $19.8 million.

“If the reduction in funding is not restored or supplemented by another funding source, a new phasing strategy will be implemented,” Parks officials said in a statement.

Plans to raze the reservoir site and replace it with ballfields have sparked an ongoing battle between the city and preservationists.

Deactivated in 1989, the site has become a natural haven for plants, turtles, fish, frogs and more than 137 bird species — including eight rare species on the National Audubon Society’s “Watch List.”

The meeting is opened to the general public.

Send us an email

Highland Park Children's Garden

2009-06-26T19:03:00.003-04:00

I just received a copy of the Highland Park Children's Garden newsletter for early summer:

Highland Park Children's Garden Reader - Early Summer 2009

Overall spring was cooler than normal but most of our experienced gardeners realized you must plant as soon as possible for an early harvest. By mid-May almost all the plots were planted. We had sufficient rain - only had to use the hose once to fill the barrels. But by the end of spring we had one of the wettest!

Remember gardeners we need your cooperation and commitment. Please continue to care for your plots and the path. Keep the shed tidy and neat by putting tools and other items where they belong. Please do not allow children in the sheds. We have a total of 28 registered families. Please welcome our newcomers: Sam & Laura Franqui and 5 children, Doug & Theresa Cohn and 2 sons, Sabrina Hartzler and Melanie Peters.

WE HAVE A NEW COMPOST BENCH - thanks to Miguel, Domingo, & Frank Belizario. You can see it next to the compost tumbler.

PAST EVENTS:

The Secret Garden on Tues, April 14, was a big success and we hope it will return next year. What made this terriffic was the activities focused on gardening and nature.
The 3rd Annual Hoe Down was a success on Sat. April 18, where we had Boy Scouts from Troop 96, Cub Scouts from Packs 67 & 224 and Girl Scouts Troop 2503 as well as their parents to help divide plants and work on the compost. We are greatful for the gardeners who came out to clean the garden.
The Junior Garden Club held their 3rd season from May 2 - June 6 with an average of 15 children. This year we had 2 other gardening families participate besides the Moores. Among the participants were 3 homeschooling families from our homeschooling support group: LEAH - Loving Education At Home. We will have a fall session in Sept. & Oct. And yes, we will enter vegetables from the garden for the Queens County Farm Fair Contest. Our sponsor is the Independence Community Foundation. Register on Sat. Sept. 5, 10 -12. Starts Sat. Sept. 12, 10 -12.
Plant Giveaways from the Green Guerillas in early May were given to our new gardeners. Domingo Belizario went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden/GreenBridge giveaway. Dennis and Lucienne went on 6/6 to the GreenThumb spring supplies pickup. They were stuck in a big line but received a hose, hoe, bags, pruner and gloves. They brought daylilies and irises which were happily received by the gardeners.
It's My Park Day and Weed & Feed #1 on 5/16 was well attended and the path looked great. Begonia and geranium cuttings were given out as well as tomato and celosia seedlings: 45 adults & kids attended. No Rain!
The 3rd Annual Strawberry Festival on 6/13 was a success. The garden looked pretty and clean. The strawberry patch had more flowers and berries. It was not as large and sprawling as the first two years and there were less exhibits. But was much cozier and was as fun as ever. Plenty of entertainment and things to do. As in previous years, the garden received a donation of flowers from the greenhouse which was distributed among the plots and other areas. We are grateful for these beauties.

The Children's Garden is participating for a 2nd year in the Garden to Cafeteria Program with P.S. 89. The students will be growing and harvesting in their plots as well as the Junior Garden plots. Again, we ask the gardeners participation in harvesting and placing in a box for them in Sept. Many gardeners have surplus in Sept. and this a worthy cause to show children a healthy diet.

The Children's Garden is an official site of the Great Pollinator Project which is sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History. Ms. Josephine Scalia asked Joshua Moore if he will be an official Bee Watcher and he said yes. All the Moores went to the Bee Watcher workshop at the Alley Pond Environmental Center. We received native plants for the Great Pollinator Project which are planted in the Bird and Butterfly section. However, the milkweed plants are in the milkweed section and the mountain mint is in the mint section. Our first watching session was on June 25th. Thank you Nayda for helping set up the project site.

The Urban Park Rangers will host several nature workshops in the garden starting on Tues. July 21. Further details to be announced.

Our next Weed & Feed is Sat. July 4th, 10 -2. Weeding the path is first. If time permits we can weed in other areas. Please bring something to share at the BBQ. Nayda will have a cooking demo.

Remaining Weed & Feed #3 is Mon. Sept. 7 and #4 is Sat. Oct. 24, 10 -2. The last one will focus on getting the garden ready for winter. Pre-register for 2010 in Oct.

FREE HIGHLAND PARK ACTIVITIES FOR SUMMER & FALL:

Co-ed Sports Clinics for ages 7 -14: Soccer, 10 - 12, Mon, Wed, Fri; Basketball, 10 -12, Tues, Thurs; Flag Football, 1-3, Tues, Thurs.
City Parks Foundation Tennis to age 17: 9 - 11, Tues, Thurs.
Yoga: Tues. 11 - 12 for Seniors; 12 - 1 for Teens. Ashford St & Jamaica Ave.
July & August Thursday evenings @7:30 Family entertainment sponsored by Councilman Dilan. Please check bulletin board. Wading/Performance area.
Aug. 29, Sat. 5:30 - Family Fun Night - activities plus a movie
Sept. 5, Sat. 10 -12 - Register for Junior Garden Club. 1st session on Sept. 12, 10 -12.
Sept. 27, Sun. 2 - Fall Bird Migration with the Urban Park Rangers. Elton St & Jamaica Ave.
Oct. 17, Sat. 12 - 3, Harvest Festival, Wading/Performance area.

LAST DAY TO CLEAN YOUR PLOT AND TURN BACK TO 3-4 ROWS IS OCT. 31.

Send us an email

Channel 12 Story

2009-06-21T09:22:00.001-04:00

Here's a report from Channel 12 News about Ridgewood Reservoir:

Send us an email

Budget Cut Article

2009-06-20T17:59:00.004-04:00

The Queens Chronicle has an article about the recent budget cut to the Ridgewood Reservoir plan. City Comptroller Bill Thompson is quoted in the article. Unlike the mayor and parks commissioner, Comptroller Thompson views the 2030 plan as it should be seen - a complete waste of taxpayer's dollars:

"City Comptroller Bill Thompson shot down proposals by Mayor Mike Bloomberg to convert the reservoir into a sports field last June, citing the ecological importance of the space.

“This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas,” Thompson wrote, protesting the plan. “The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call ‘highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.

You can read the entire article here.

Send us an email

Final Listening Session

2009-06-18T15:07:00.001-04:00

This note from the parks department just arrived:

Parks is pleased to announce a fourth community meeting to discuss community ideas and concerns for the Ridgewood Reservoir PlaNYC Project. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 30th at 7:00PM at Oak Ridge in Forest Park.

The meeting is intended to summarize what we have learned at the previous meetings, and to relay the results of the paper surveys that have been distributed over the past weeks.

Here is a map to Oak Ridge:

View Oak Ridge in a larger map

Send us an email

NYC Park Advocate article

2009-06-16T17:28:00.002-04:00

Crain's New York Business just published an article on park advocate Geoffrey Croft. Geoffrey is a really important voice for New York City's residents and gave our group much needed advice when we first began organizing:

An army of one
By Daniel Massey
Published: June 14, 2009 - 5:59 am

Geoffrey Croft wolfed down a plate of rice and beans last week and hustled to City Hall, where he told a NY1 reporter that the new High Line elevated park in trendy Chelsea was getting more than its fair share of security guards. The camera had barely stopped rolling when he dashed around the corner to a press conference on the city's plan to allow private schools to pay for special access to ball fields on Randall's Island. “This is outrageous,” he said, echoing one of his signature refrains. “We need to stop this.”

You can read the article in its entirety here.

Send us an email

Mayor's Wacky Priorities

2009-06-16T15:13:00.002-04:00

Patrice O'Shaughnessy wrote a revealing piece about Mayor Bloomberg's bizarre priorities. His idea for the Ridgewood Reservoir's future is just one more example of his ridiculous vision for NYC:

Mayor Bloomberg's priorities out of whack
Tuesday, June 16th 2009, 4:02 AM

Years from now, people will look back in awe at the Alice's Wonderland that New York is becoming before our very eyes.

To build a billion-dollar major league ballpark, they took away Bronx parkland from kids.

Randalls Island is not for people in upper Manhattan and the South Bronx, but for elite private schools to use, because they pay for the privilege.

Ten years and $172 million went into building an elevated strip of park - the Highline - in Chelsea, which consists mostly of weeds poking through the ruins of railroad tracks. There are more dedicated park enforcement officers assigned there than to all of the Bronx, according to an advocacy group.

They shut down blocks of a major traffic artery in the heart of Manhattan so people can lounge in beach chairs on Broadway.

More and more, it feels like "Alice in Wonderland," but underlying the absurdity, it's like a tale of two cities, a story of the haves and the have-nots.

Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, had another literary reference.

"The Emperor's New Clothes," he said of elected officials' unquestioning acquiescence to the Bloomberg administration steamroller.

"They are destroying much of our parks system," Croft said. "It's out of control."

Consider the parks that the city gave to the Yankees so it could erect the new stadium and massive parking garages.

Three years after construction of the new ballpark began, none of the permanent parks that the city promised to replace Macombs and Mullaly are there.

The Department of Parks and Recreation had promised that seven of the eight replacement parks would be done in time for opening day. The schedule was pushed back, and a report by the Independent Budget Office revealed that costs had ballooned from $116 million to close to $200 million.

But Croft predicted, "Taxpayers will pay close to $400 million to replace parks that the city should never have taken."

And Heritage Field, a public park with baseball and softball fields, to be built on the site of the old stadium's diamond, isn't expected to be ready until the autumn of 2011. The old stadium hasn't been torn down yet.

"It troubled me that they could knock Shea down before the first pitch at the new Stadium," said Sean Sullivan, principal and assistant baseball coach of All Hallows High School on 164th St.

"And here, we still have two stadia on 161st St."

His baseball team ended the season with a 2-16 record (most games were lost by one or two runs), due to the youth of the team, but it didn't help that there wasn't enough practice time, due to lack of a field.

The diamond they had always played on vanished with the rise of the new Yankee Stadium.

"It was difficult to play home games in Staten Island," said Sullivan. "It was bizarre.

"We had an interim park for practice at 161st St. and Jerome Ave., but everyone was there. People were driving golf balls," said Sullivan.

"But now, that's been ripped up," he added.

Croft said he watched two weeks ago as that park was destroyed to make way for a five-story parking garage.

"Seventy percent of the mature trees in Macombs and Mullaly parks were destroyed," Croft lamented.

Maybe the kids in the Bronx should head on down to Times Square with balls and bats and play right there in the street.

Broadway is now closed for five blocks running through the Crossroads of the World.

The reasoning was to ease midtown traffic congestion. (It took me just 25 minutes to get from 12th Ave. to Sixth during the first week of the plan!)

But the real reason is to keep the tourists happy.

It's great that people from across the nation and the globe want to visit New York.

But do we really need to inconvenience people who live and work in the city?

Yes, the out-of-towners need to plop down and sprawl out after all the stress of seeing "Mamma Mia!" They are exhausted from all the New York things they've experienced, like visiting the Hard Rock Café, and shopping at The Gap.

They need a place to relax.

How about Central Park? Or the Highline? Or any of the other green gems throughout the city?

But don't look for a shady place to stop near 161st St. You can go to the new mall at the ballpark, though, with Applebee's, Babies R Us and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Yes, 10 years from now, we'll be looking back at former Mayor Bloomberg's absurd remaking of a city of unique character to one big homogenized mall, where the tourists feel right at home because it is exactly the same as their hometown.

Oh, wait. Bloomberg will probably still be in office, trying to close off E. Tremont Ave. to all but tourists in horse-drawn carriages.

poshaughnessy@nydailynews.com

Send us an email

NY Daily News Article

2009-06-16T14:57:00.002-04:00

Denis Hamill of the New York Daily News just wrote an article lambasting the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation for their "selective" maintenance of baseball fields:

Parks Department is a disgrace to city
Tuesday, June 16th 2009, 4:07 AM

The Parks Department should be ashamed.

If you want to see the arthritic hand of your government at work in the city's parks, become a Little League dad like me.

In the past two years, I have been on almost every sandlot in eastern Queens, as my kid has played for a Little League team and a CYO baseball team, in spring, summer, and fall seasons. We've played in Cunningham Park, Alley Pond Park, Harvey Park, McNeil Park, Golden Fields, Crocheron Park, College Point Fields, Flushing Park, Peck Park and more.

And I am very sad to report here that almost every single field is a disaster.

Every coach and parent I've talked to who uses these public fields - where our children are supposed to learn, love and excel in the great American pastime of baseball - says the same thing: The Parks Department is a DISGRACE!

Read the entire article here. Keep in mind when you read the article that the Bushwick Baseball Team told the parks department at the last listening session that, "If you just took care of the fields that we already have in Highland Park, you wouldn't need to build any in Ridgewood Reservoir." Out of the mouths of babes.

Send us an email

BushwickBK Article

2009-06-12T20:06:00.003-04:00

Diego Cupolo of BushwickBK wrote a really good article about last night's meeting and presentation by Steve Nanz:

"There are yellow-billed cuckoos, black-cap chickadees and ferocious snapping turtles living right in our backyard and local environmentalists credit the Ridgewood Reservoir for the area’s unusually diverse ecology. To prove the point, the Highland Park/Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance invited wildlife photographer Steve Nanz to share his pictures of the many species that have settle down in this accidental, but endangered nature reserve."

You can read the entire article here.

Send us an email

Parks Department Inequities

2009-06-10T09:13:00.002-04:00

The following is another article that illustrates how the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation unfairly distributes its limited resources to the wealthiest neighborhoods. As millions are being spent on this 2 1/2 acre park, the city refuses to lay out any money to fix the dilapidated ball fields at Highland Park.

Advocates for other parks angered by extra security for new High Line
By Joy Resmovits, Kenny Porpora and Erin Einhorn
Daily News writers

Wednesday, June 10th 2009, 5:14 AM

Manhattan's new celeb-backed park in the sky is getting more security resources than other, more sprawling parks in other boroughs, parks advocates charge.

"It's outrageous," steamed Geoffrey Croft of the nonprofit NYC Park Advocates. "One park is being adequately secured with taxpayer money while the rest of the park system is abandoned."

Parks officials counter that the High Line, which opened to the public Tuesday, is a special case.

The unique park lifts visitors 2-1/2 stories above the street in the path of an old elevated train trestle in Chelsea.

"Like many Parks facilities, including swimming pools and beaches, the High Line requires special attention," Parks Department spokeswoman Jama Adams said. "It is 30 feet in the air and has limited capacity and specific access and safety requirements."

She adds that the police patrol every city park and distribute security resources as needed.

Croft, and a leader from the union that represents patrol officers and rangers who do educational work, say the resources for the High Line underscore inequities in the park system.

The city has assigned 11 patrol officers and seven other eyes-and-ears workers to the 3-acre High Line. That's compared to 15 patrol officers, 17 rangers and 56 enforcement workers in all of the Bronx, which has thousands of acres of parkland.

"It's great that they have this amount of personnel at this park but ... the numbers [of safety workers] have dwindled citywide," said Joe Puleo of the urban park rangers union.

Rangers and patrol officers can make arrests and issue tickets for offenses, but Puleo said rangers are mostly charged with educating parkgoers and giving tours.

Brooklyn has 23 patrol officers and 130 other safety and educational workers, the city says. Queens has 18 patrol officers and 121 other workers. Staten Island has 13 patrol officers and 57 other workers and Manhattan's total, including the High Line, is 43 patrol officers and 153 others.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the High Line is a "great deal for the city" because most of the ongoing expenses will be covered by contributions to the private Friends of the High Line, which will raise and spend $2 million a year.

Among celebrities who've supported that fund are designer Diane Von Furstenberg and her media mogul husband, Barry Diller, who this month made a $10 million contribution.

Parkgoers interviewed in the Bronx say they feel slighted.

"We can't send kids out to the park alone and feel safe," said Clarence Collins, who was visiting Crotona Park in the Bronx. "Don't let [patrol officers] be down there just because that's where the politicians and the people who vote for them are. If they're on the city payroll, they should be allocated throughout the neighborhoods."

eeinhorn@nydailynews.com

Send us an email

More Brilliant Planning by Parks

2009-06-09T16:18:00.003-04:00

The following article just appeared in AM-NY:

Air quality a concern at parks near busy streets
By Ryan Chatelain

At a ground-breaking last September, officials touted how CaVaLa Park, with its centerpiece 113-foot-long sculpted fountain, would soon serve as a striking gateway for people entering Manhattan through the Holland Tunnel.

But what can those looking outward from the half-acre park — on a triangular swath of land where Canal, Varick and Laight streets converge — expect when it opens this fall?

An endless string of noisy cars? A tunnel spewing polluted air a block away?

“Depending on where the air patterns are, you could be literally in the choking area,” said Michael Seilback, senior director of public policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association in New York.

The close proximity of many New York City parks to congested roadways has existed about as long as traffic itself. But even some new parks are being built in areas where the air might be less than pristine.

For example, in replacing parkland lost in the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, the city placed an artificial-turf soccer field atop a public parking garage used on game days. The South Bronx has one of the country’s highest rates of childhood asthma.

Daniel Kass, assistant commissioner of the city Department of Health’s Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, cautioned against concluding that air quality near busy streets or tunnels is worse than in other parts of the city.

“The reality is that we don’t know enough about how air quality varies in this city,” Kass said. “Some things are not necessarily intuitive. You could be running next to a highway along a river, and depending on the prevailing winds, the air quality could be substantially better than it could be elsewhere.”

Environmental impact studies are conducted before new parks are built, noted Philip Abramson, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Some New Yorkers, however, weren’t so sure that the air is safe.

“It’s not that healthy,” said Ben McDougald, 71, as he power-walked around the rooftop soccer field near Yankee Stadium, which partially opened last month. “But here we don’t have much of a choice.”

Those exercising near high-traffic areas may be at a greater risk of inhaling polluted air. The American Lung Association estimates that an endurance athlete, such as a marathon runner, breathes in up to 20 times as much air as someone at rest.

Poor air quality can contribute to heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks, researchers say.

The issue presents a catch-22 of sorts: Green spaces, after all, produce oxygen, which helps clean the air.

Geoffrey Croft, president of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, blamed poor city planning for hundreds of parks near congested streets.

“When they laid out our city, from 1811, the parks weren’t planned for,” Croft said. “We’ve been paying that price for a very, very long time.”

One thing the article didn't point out was that the Department of Parks and Recreation seems to be installing artificial recreational surfaces throughout the 5 boroughs at a much faster pace than the Mayor is able to plant trees. Someone also needs to look at how much more heat is being released into NYC's atmosphere once natural vegetation is replaced by plastic carpeted fields.

Send us an email

Meeting & Presentation

2009-06-08T08:27:00.006-04:00

Join us this Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 7:00pm for a slide presentation of the wildlife of the Ridgewood Reservoir. Nature photographer, Steve Nanz, will share his photographs of the birds, insects and other animal life that he has observed at the reservoir.

The meeting is free and opened to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The show will be followed by our regular monthly meeting.

Highland Park/Ridgewood Reservoir Alliance
Ridgewood Democratic Club
6070 Putnam Street

View Larger Map

Directions to The Ridgewood Democratic Club at 6070 Putnam Street. The
entrance is the first door on Stier Place

From Brooklyn:
Take Eastern Parkway until it ends at Bushwick Avenue.
Make a right turn onto Bushwick Avenue and move to the left lane.
Bear left onto the Jackie Robinson Parkway (formerly Interboro)
Exit at Cypress Hills Street (2nd exit)
At the top of the exit, make a left onto Cyrpress Hills Street
At the bottom of the hill make a left onto Cooper Avenue
Make a right at the 5th block (62nd Street)
62nd street ends in 2 blocks at Myrtle Ave
Make a left turn onto Myrtle and the make a right turn (about 50 feet) onto Fresh Pond Road (just at the end of the underpass; Fresh Pond starts at Myrtle and there is a carpet store on the right)
About 1/4 mile, 1 block after the M train station, Putnam Street is on the left.
It’s one block after the train station

From Manhattan:
Take the LIE
Exit to The Grand Central Parkway East (towards LI)
Stay in the right lane and exit onto the Jackie Robinson Parkway (formerly
Interboro)
Exit at Cypress Hills Street
At the top of the exit, make a right onto Cypress Hills Street
At the bottom of the hill make a left onto Cooper Avenue
Make a right at the 5th block (62nd Street)
62nd street ends in 2 blocks at Myrtle Ave
Make a left turn onto Myrtle and the make a right turn (about 50 feet) onto Fresh Pond Road (just at the end of the underpass; Fresh Pond starts at Myrtle and there is a carpet store on the right)
About 1/4 mile, 1 block after the M train station, Putnam Street is on the left.
It’s one block after the train station

From The Bronx:
Take the Triborough to the Grand Central Parkway and follow directions above
Parking can be sometimes be difficult in the area

By Subway:
Take the M train to the Fresh Pond Station or the L train to Myrtle Avenue and
then go upstairs and take the M to the Fresh Pond Station
Walk one block to Putnam and then left onto Putnam.

Send us an email

Daily News Article

2009-06-02T09:08:00.002-04:00

The New York Daily News picked up on our posting about the facilities use permits at Highland Park and published an article on May 22nd entitled "Preservationists at odds with city over ballfields in Ridgewood Reservoir".

"The City Parks Department has exaggerated the need for new ballfields in the forests of Ridgewood Reservoir, preservationists charge, pointing to newly unearthed documents."

Read the entire article here. Writer John Lauinger interviewed the only community leader who supports the ballfield plan:

"Everybody that we have talked to has said, 'If you want to give us anything in that reservoir, give us fields for active recreation," said Bishop David Benke, head of the Lutheran Church in the eastern region of the state."

Fortunately, Benke's allegations of wide support don't match what the parks department's own design team's surveys discovered or what two years worth of community listening sessions revealed.

Send us an email

Upcoming Area Tour

2009-06-02T08:47:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, June 13th, Charles Monaco and Rob Jett will lead a walk through Ridgewood and Highland Park. The walk will highlight both the rich American history and natural history of this area. Meet at the "J" train station on the corner of Cleveland Street and Fulton Street at 11am.

Charles, an area historian, will focus on the area's importance during the Battle for Brooklyn, its settlement, the creation of the neighborhood of Highland Park and the building of the Ridgewood Reservoir. Rob will point out the plants, insects and birds while describing the area's unique location along the Harbor Hill terminal moraine. The walk will last for approximately 2 hours and gradually work its way through some historic sites in Ridgewood, up to Highland Park, then around the Ridgewood Reservoir. Wear comfortable shoes.

View Ridgewood in a larger map

Send us an email

Helen Marshall Testimony

2009-05-27T11:51:00.002-04:00

On June 19th, 2008, the New York City Council, Committee on Parks and Recreation held a public hearing. The purpose was to decide if the Ridgewood Reservoir should be protected as wetlands or allowed to be developed by the Department of Parks and Recreation. One of the strongest opponents to Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 designs to develop this unique area was Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. Below is a transcript of her testimony:

"Good morning members of the New York City Council, Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Foster, Commissioner Adrian Benepe from the Department of Parks and Recreation, and other distinguished guests. Before I begin, I would like to thank the City Council for holding this oversight hearing and affording us the opportunity to voice our concerns regarding the Ridgewood Reservoir and Highland Park."

"Let me first begin by saying that I oppose the Department of Parks and Recreation's plans to convert the historic landmark into ballfields. Rather, I am a strong advocate to preserve the unique and important ecosystems that have developed in Ridgewood Reservoir. Ridgewood Reservoir and Highland Park total approximately 142.5 acres of woodlands, lakes, wetlands, and picnic areas and is located on the Brooklyn/Queens border within Highland Park. The Ridgewood Reservoir is an important area for resident, migratory and nesting birds and can serve as a place for environmental study, bird watching or simply just a place to enjoy the wonderful fruits that mother nature has to offer. In addition, the existing topography of Highland Park is not only permissable to scenic and serene walks, but if reconfigured and properly maintained, this area could serve for the site of many different sporting events, and help discount the need to build additional sports facilities. Unfortunately, Ridgewood Reservoir holds the distinction of being one of the eight "underdeveloped destination parks" to be completed under Mayor Bloomberg's plan. To that end, I support and recommend the following: (1) creation of an ecology research center and museum which would be available to students in the surrounding areas; (2) preserving all historic natural areas and ensuring that they receive the same treatment as historical landmarks; (3) installation of security lighting, new fencing, rehabilitation of walkways and railing, and the creation of a security system to protect the reservoir from unauthorized entry; and (4) establishment of an ongoing maintenance program for existing sports facilities located on Jamaica Avenue in Lower Highland Park as well as the four baseball fields located in Upper Highland Park."

"In closing, I know I have support from the community boards, as well as, various civic and sports related groups and the Parks Services Committee when I ask that we work together with the Mayor's Office, the City Council and the Department of Parks and Recreation to save the Ridgewood Reservoir and restore Highland Park. Through a jointly collaborative and cooperative effort, I feel we can maximize the full potential of this storied piece of land."

"Thank you once again for allowing me testify on this important issue."

Send us an email

Less Money to Destroy Ridgewood Reservoir

2009-05-26T17:02:00.001-04:00

I thought that I was stating the obvious then I pointed out in a recent posting that Mayor Bloomberg was planning to cut the NYPD & FDNY budgets while going ahead with a ridiculous waste of money at the Ridgewood Reservoir. Well, according to a report in today's NY Post, it appears all bets are off for the Department of Parks & Recreation, as well. In the story, it was revealed that Mayor Bloomberg cut the department's 5 year capital budget by $338 million. How will that affect Ridgewood Reservoir (or Highland Park, as the DoPR keeps referring to it despite the fact that none of the money would be spent on Upper or Lower Highland Park)? Here is a quote from the article:

"...while a $50 million plan to restore Ridgewood Reservoir and bring new athletic fields to Highland Park fell to $19.8 million."

Perhaps leadership within the parks department will make an astute observation and come to the conclusion that they could use the remaining funding to fix up Highland Park proper. Better yet, a project to maintain and upgrade the current fields so they could finally be used more frequently and by more people. Nah...

Send us an email

Birding tour

2009-05-22T13:10:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 23rd, Steve Nanz will be leading a birding walk at the reservoir. The event is free and open to the public. Meet Steve at the Upper Highland Park parking lot at 8am.

Send us an email

NYC Wetlands Conservation

2009-05-21T16:51:00.003-04:00

The following article just appeared in the "Queens Chronicle". It is relevant to our efforts to protect the Ridgewood Reservoir wetlands, especially since Mayor Bloomberg would have us believe that he is the "environmental" mayor.

Setting the Stage for Conservation
by Willow Belden, Assistant Editor
05/21/2009

New York City used to have over 300,000 acres of wetlands; today, less than one-tenth remain, due to development projects that have taken place over the past 150 years. Various federal and state laws regulate development in wetland areas, but there are gaps in the rules, which means many of the city’s marshy areas fall through the cracks.

To try to close the regulatory loopholes, the City Council recently passed a bill requiring that the city identify and document all remaining wetlands and develop a comprehensive conservation strategy for them. The goal is to prevent further net loss of wetlands in the city.

The bill passed unanimously in the council, and the mayor is expected to sign the legislation on Tuesday.

You might think the bill isn’t proposing anything that new. After all, don’t we already know where the city’s wetlands are?

“No, we don’t,” said Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee and author of the bill. “We know generally where they are, but generally knowing where they are is different than making a precise inventory and doing a detailed delineation of them.”

The state Department of Environmental Conservation inventoried and mapped the city’s tidal wetlands in 1975 and did the same for freshwater wetlands twice in the 1980s. But that was the last comprehensive documentation, and in 30-some years, the size and quantity of wetlands can change significantly.

Documentation is the first step in developing a conservation program for wetlands, according to Dan Montella, chief of the wetlands protection team for the Environmental Protection Agency Region 2.

“You can’t protect them if you don’t know where they are,” Montella said.

Documenting wetlands isn’t as easy as it sounds, though — in part because you don’t always know a wetland when you see one.

Wetlands are transition areas between water and land — places with enough surface or groundwater, enough of the time, to support vegetation that is “adapted for life in saturated soil conditions,” according to the bill.

“You know when you’re in a wetland if you’re up to your ankles in water,” Montella said, “but the boundaries can be difficult to discern,” especially since water levels typically fluctuate depending on the season.

Aerial photography and satellite imaging are often the first steps in identifying wetlands, but to determine exactly where the marshes begin and end, it’s necessary to examine soil characteristics and plant and animal life, Montella explained.

Documentation of the wetlands is to be completed by September 2010, according to the bill. After that, a conservation strategy can be developed.

Various federal regulations already govern wetlands. Most notably the Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into “navigable waters” and prohibits dredging and filling without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“Anyone who wants to fill a wetland has to show why they have to fill that wetland,” Montella said. “It can’t just be because it’s convenient.”

Those who fill in wetlands also have to mitigate the impact of the development, for example by creating or restoring wetlands elsewhere.

But the Clean Water Act doesn’t apply to all the city’s wetlands, because many aren’t considered “Waters of the United States.” For instance, small, isolated freshwater wetlands, such as the ones found in many of the city’s parks, aren’t generally considered WOTUS, Montella said. During the Bush administration, the scope of what qualifies as a federally protected wetland became even narrower, according to DEC Regional Spokesman Arturo Garcia-Costas.

State regulations pick up some of the slack left by federal law, but again there are loopholes. Most notably, the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act of 1975 doesn’t apply to wetlands smaller than 12.4 acres or to unmapped wetlands.

The size threshhold is “kind of ridiculous, because there are so many wetlands that are just under that acreage,” said Doug Adamo, chief of natural resources at the Gateway National Recreation Area, which encompasses the wetlands in Jamaica Bay.

At the local level, the city launched the Waterfront Revitalization Program in 2002, which seeks to prevent the net loss of wetlands. The city has also designated several areas — including Jamaica Bay — as “Special Natural Waterfront Areas,” which are recognized as having special natural habitat features “that should be considered in connection with any waterfront activity.”
But according to a report issued by PlaNYC, the oversight of wetlands mitigation is uneven, so the city’s standards do little to close the gaps in state and federal regulations.

The goal of the legislation by the City Council is to reverse that problem by creating a city conservation strategy, to be completed in 2012.

“What we really need is a local regulatory program to complement the federal and state plans and also in some cases to strengthen them,” Gennaro said.

Some progress has already been made. A comprehensive Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection bill was passed several years ago, setting restrictions for activities in the bay’s watershed area, which includes the bay, the wetlands and the drylands above the bay.

In addition, the City Council passed a bill requiring that public wetlands — those owned by city agencies — be inventoried. An effort is also underway to transfer most city-owned wetlands to the Parks Department for protection. Of the wetlands that have been transferred so far, 90 percent are in Queens.

So why are wetlands so important?

“Ecologically speaking, they’re the most precious lands that we have,” Gennaro said. “But back when we didn’t know any better, we filled them in.”

Two key functions of wetlands are water purification and flood control. Wetlands filter out pollutants, thus leaving the water cleaner as it flows from upland areas into estuaries and the ocean. They also help curb flooding by absorbing excess rainwater, and they control shore erosion and promote aquatic biodiversity. Finally, there’s the aesthetic factor; wetlands are often visually attractive and provide locations for birdwatching and other recreational activities.
Conservation of wetlands doesn’t mean they will never be developed, Gennaro said; it just means it will be more difficult to fill the areas, and it means more attention will be directed toward mitigation.

Send us an email

Highland Park Facilities Usage

2009-05-19T16:52:00.015-04:00

There have been ongoing public discussions about the fate of the Ridgewood Reservoir since 2007. Much of the argument for destroying the unique habitats within the reservoir by the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation has been the claim that Highland Park needs more baseball fields. Despite the fact that there are currently 6 poorly maintained fields within the surrounding Upper and Lower Highland Park, Park Commissioner Benepe continues to push for more athletic fields.

We recently acquired the facility permit forms for Highland Park for the years 2007 and 2008. The purpose was to analyze field usage to determine if, in fact, those claims were correct. What we found was startling, but not totally unexpected. The usage calendar had even more holes in it than the parks department's arguments for destroying the reservoir habitats. To give you an idea; the longest period of time in one day that the parks department appears to give out permits for is 8am - 11pm. That was for a carnival, but for baseball games the longest period was from 8am - 10pm or 14 hours. Let's do the math:

6 ball fields x 14 hours = 84 hours per day of available time.
84 hours x 7 days = 588 hours of available time per week.

The earliest date that the department of parks scheduled use of the fields was on April 13th, 2007. The latest date was on September 29th, 2007. That is a total of 170 days or 14,280 hours available for ball field usage per season.

According to the 2007 permits issued by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, a total of 410 hours were approved. That means that just 2.8% of the season's available ball field time was approved for usage.

For the calendar year 2008, 753.5 hours of usage were approved. Note that of those 753.5 hours, 210 hours were allocated for a carnival held on the lower fields, so in reality only 543.5 hours were approved for athletic events. Field usage for the year 2008 went up 1% giving us a total of 3.8% facility usage for that season.

These results are especially disturbing given that Mayor Bloomberg is willing to spend $40 million dollars on a project that nobody in the community wants, is unnecessary, but more important, is at a time when he is also discussing closing firehouses and cutting the budget for the NYPD.

Click here to download a copy of the permits (PDF file).
Click here to download a copy of the facilities usage for 2007 and 2008 (PDF file).

*I just received the following email:

"For 6.5 years I worked in either Sunset Park or the Bus Command Center which is located at the end of the Jackie Robinson Pkwy. On my way to work I entered the pkwy at Vermont Place and on my way home I exited at Cypress Hills St. In other words I drove past upper Highland twice a day. I also never had weekends off. The only time the 2 fields in upper Highland were consistently used was Sunday afternoon and then it was adults (25+) not kids that were using it."

Send us an email

Ridgewood Reservoir Sourcewater

2009-05-14T13:48:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to photos of Twin Lakes Preserve. According to the author, "Formerly the sourcewater for the Brooklyn Water Works (Ridgewood Ponds), now a nature preserve in Wantagh, NY consisting of Seaman and Wantagh Ponds."

Send us an email

Queens Tribune Article

2009-05-12T17:45:00.004-04:00

The following article appeared in the Queens Tribune. I couldn't find an online version, so this is a scan of the hardcopy.

Click to enlarge

Children's Garden Event

2009-04-23T07:53:00.002-04:00

The Junior Garden Club at Highland Park Children's Garden
 Jamaica Avenue between Ashford and Warwick Streets

Spring Sessions starts Saturday, May 2, 2009
 10:30 - 12:30 
Ages 7 - 13, children must be in 2nd grade or above. 
FREE lessons on gardening - each session will have hands on activities.

Register on May 2, 9:30 -10:30. Parents must be present. 
5 sessions to June 6 (none on 5/23) 
Dress appropriately to garden.  
Group size limited to 25.

Send us an email

Upcoming Event

2009-04-13T17:47:00.004-04:00

We just received the following information about a great, free event coming up. I highly recommend anyone interested in community activism (and not just regarding Ridgewood Reservoir) to attend.

Register now for the 2009 Livable Neighborhoods Training

More information here

Send us an email

Save Ridgewood Reservoir

Four Sparrow Marsh Meeting

Phase 1 Delayed

Phase 1 Delayed

Four Sparrow Marsh Project

Forest City Ratner project in Mill Basin, touched by corruption indictment, "has been withdrawn;" indicted developer had role in City Point, whose lead developer didn't pay bribes but made gifts to Markowitz charities

Waterworks Tour

Upcoming Event

Inept Parks Department Begins Work

More on St. Savior's "Park"

More Four Sparrow Marsh Documentation

Four Sparrow Marsh tour

Queens Park Rally

Reservoir Construction Might Begin

Water Conservation Blogs

NYC Water System Event

The City Concealed

Wetlands Designation Still Pending

Community Board Meeting

Wilderness at the edge of Bushwick

ILand Art Event

Queens Historian Support

Another Supporter

Community Board Meeting

Commissioner Lewandowski's Response

More Fencing Debate

Audubon Society Support

Habitat Protection for Endangered Species

Summary of Wetland Delineation

Appeal For Protection

John Lui Supports Community

New Quick Link

Letter from Council Member Crowley

Stop Work Order?

State Senator Support

Times Ledger Article

Daily News Article

Reservoir Bids Out

Reservoir Fencing

Forum West Article

Queens Parks Commissioner Bombshell

Another Wetlands Story

More About Wetlands Protection

New Page

Times Newsweekly Article

Queens Ledger Editorial

NYSDEC Wants to Protect Reservoir

Benefits of Open Space

Report: Open Space Is Good For NY's Economy

Parks Committee Budget Hearing

Budget Hearing

History Slideshow

Another Parks Dept. Screw-up

More Parks Department Dissatisfaction

Queens Ledger Article

Phase I Article

ATV & Precinct Info

NYPD Complicit in ATV Abuse

Forum Article

Brooklyn Water Works and Sewers

Wasting Our Money

Parks Department Final Design

HPRRA Meeting

New Parks Blog

Support from Riverkeeper

More about Artificial Turf

Parks Department Presentation

The Selling of New York Parks

Another Parks Department Debacle

More Deception

More Political Support

Queens Courier Article

Going Wild In Queens

Lies and Deception

Bloomberg "Green"? Think again

Toxic Fill

Rigged Surveys

The Bishop, Parks & Corruption

NY Daily News Article Follow-up

Ridgewood Reservoir hearing in Oak Ridge