Friday, October 28, 2011
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."
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Upcoming Event
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.
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Friday, July 8, 2011
Inept Parks Department Begins Work
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
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.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
More on St. Savior's "Park"
The following video from WPIX is just another chapter in the travesty at St. Savior's in Maspeth:
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Monday, June 20, 2011
More Four Sparrow Marsh Documentation
Two justifications that the parks department has been using for possibly destroying part of an important wetland that is owned by the city are:
- Four Sparrow Marsh is not parkland
- The acreage that they want to give to developers is not part of Four Sparrow Marsh
Fortunately there is plenty of public documentation that contradicts their public statements. Below is a list of links to New York City Department of Parks and Recreation webpages and downloads with information relevant to Four Sparrow Marsh. The list also includes a few links from other city agencies. If the any of those links mysteriously disappear, let us know as we've saved all the downloads and created PDF files of the webpages:
List of Parks by Total Acreage
Explore Your Park, Find A Park, List of Parks
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh Highlights
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh Highlights 2
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh Trip Planner
Natural Resource Group, Forever Wild, Four Sparrow Marsh Preserve
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh Highlights, Invasive Phragmites
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh Highlights, Salt Marshes in New York City Parks
Four Sparrow Marsh Forever Wild Map
About Parks - Divisions > Natural Resources Group, Forever Wild & Nature Preserve Sites
Natural Area Mapping and Inventory of Four Sparrow Marsh
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh, Capital Projects
About Parks Divisions - Natural Resources Group & Natural Resources Group Publications
About Parks Divisions - Natural Resources Group & Restoration Sites, Brooklyn Restoration Sites
Explore Your Park - Four Sparrow Marsh & News, NRG Restoration and Avian Monitoring
Explore Your Park - Marine Park & News, NRG Restoration and Avian Monitoring
Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team 2000 Annual Report
Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team Spring 2002 Summary
2002 Annual Report City of New York Parks & Recreation Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team
2003 Annual Report Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team
Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team Spring 2003 Summary
Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team Spring 2004 Summary
Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team Fall 2007 Summary
Natural Resources Group Forest Restoration Team Planting Report Spring 2009
Overview Map NYC Parklands Open Spaces NWI Wetlands
Parks & Recreation 2002-2003 Biennial Report Eight Seasons of Progress
Recommendations for the Transfer of City-Owned Properties Containing Wetlands
MillionsTreesNYC
Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan
New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan
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