Another Wetlands Story

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.

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More About Wetlands Protection

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

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Save Ridgewood Reservoir is now on Facebook.

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Times Newsweekly Article

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.

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Queens Ledger Editorial

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?
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NYSDEC Wants to Protect Reservoir

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.”

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Benefits of Open Space

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.

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