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In The News: Finally! The Brooklyn Bridge Park plan


The draft master plan to remake the downtown Brooklyn waterfront into a park will be unveiled for public comment April 30 and May 1. The plan was created through a series of public workshops held this past fall and winter. Community residents and businesses, elected officials, and neighborhood groups met with park planners to discuss what they did and did not want in the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park.

"This is the only planning process we know of where the community has been involved on this scale from the beginning," said Lee Silberstein, the spokesman for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation (BBPDC), the non-profit local development corporation charged with planning the park.

For much of the last two decades, Brooklyn community groups and elected officials have been building support for a grand waterfront park with views of the harbor, bridges, and the Manhattan skyline. In 1998, the state funded the BBPDC to develop a plan for the park. The proposed parkland runs 1.3 miles along the waterfront, from Atlantic Avenue to the Manhattan Bridge. It includes piers owned by the Port Authority, City parking lots, Civil War-era warehouses, and the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park.

Although there were the inevitable disagreements (which will certainly continue when the draft plan is released), in the public workshops a consensus emerged to create the park in three sections, each with a different type of use. Piers 2, 3, and 4, as well as the state park between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, are designated the "green heart" of the park, for open space and outdoor recreation. A "node of activity," including an indoor recreational center and possible housing, is envisioned at the Atlantic Avenue gateway to the park -- pier 5 and the land next to pier 6. Pier 1 and the adjacent land would have a concentration of commercial uses - including a proposed hotel and conference center - that are supposed to generate the $3 to $5 million needed to maintain the park. A center of arts and cultural activities is also planned for Pier 1 and the nearby historic warehouses.

In the last set of workshops held in late February, the design team presented drawings and models of several alternatives. Throughout the process, the most contentious issues were how to provide access to the park without bringing too much car and pedestrian traffic to any one neighborhood, and the nature of the development proposed for the park. The community will have a chance to review the draft master plan at the workshops on April 30 and May 1.

Waterfront Shorts

Empire Fulton Ferry State Park - Community Board 2 recently approved a new design for repairing the bulkhead at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. Community members and the groups working on the Brooklyn Bridge Park objected to the original design, and collaborated with the state to develop a more natural, landscaped solution. At the same meeting, the State presented a proposal for creating a grassy marsh in a cove north of the bulkhead. The marsh plan will be addressed in the overall Brooklyn Bridge Park planning process.

Port Authority Piers - The Port Authority took an important step that brings the Brooklyn Bridge Park closer to reality. On February 10, the Port Authority signed an agreement to sell piers 1-5 to the BBPDC as public parkland. It also agreed to continue a $5 million project to repair the piers. At the same time, the state announced it was committing more than $1 million for the development and upkeep of Brooklyn waterfront parks, with $500,000 earmarked for the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Anne Sounds Off:

People don't usually mention New York City and wildlife in the same breath unless they're thinking: rats and pigeons. Of course, the City does have wildlife, even rare species like the peregrine falcon that nests in Manhattan's concrete canyons. Wild plants and birds, fish, and other animals find habitats in our parks, in wetlands, and in the harbor.

One way to help keep wildlife in the City is make a contribution on the New York State income tax form to Return a Gift to Wildlife. (If you're getting a refund, it's almost painless. And even $5 contributions add up.) Last year's tax check-off gave more than $600,000 to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's fish and wildlife program. This money helped fund a number of statewide programs, including the New York Natural Heritage Program, which tracks the location of rare and endangered wildlife and ecological communities; a revised Atlas of Breeding Birds, which will determine changes in breeding bird distribution since the landmark study of the 1980s; and the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Program, which responds to strandings on the shores of Long Island and in New York City's harbor.

Anne Schwartz is a freelance writer specializing in environmental issues. Previously, she was the editor of the Audubon Activist, a news journal for environmental action published by the National Audubon Society, and an editor at The New York Botanical Garden.

In The News: Field of Dreams in Staten Island?


A Staten Island conservation group, Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, is fighting a City plan to create a complex of recreational fields in Bloomingdale Park. Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari and City Councilman Stephen Fiala originated the project to build three baseball and two soccer fields; six tennis and six basketball courts; as well as a parking lot and access road. The complex is slated for the 41-acre eastern section of the South Shore park, a forested, hilly natural area containing streams and wetlands.

The project addresses a "real shortage of ballparks for kids 3 a sore need," said Jennifer Nelson, Director of Public Information for the borough president. "The South Shore has been a growing area, with a lot of young families." With this plan, Nelson said, the fields would be in a natural setting, giving children an appreciation for the natural world.

The Parks Department hired the design and engineering firm Vollmer Associates to study the feasibility of the plan, comparing Bloomingdale Park with three other potential city- or state-owned sites in the area. The Vollmer report, issued in July, concluded that Bloomingdale Park was the least suitable, meeting only 3 of 12 criteria, while the other three sites met at least 11. Compared to what is known as the Pleasant Plains or Station Avenue site, where a similar ballfield complex was originally proposed, Bloomingdale Park would cost four times as much. The higher costs were associated with site clearing, earthmoving, and drainage, as well as environmental mitigation.

Parks Commissioner Henry Stern told Mayor Giuliani on a visit to the park last year that the department opposed building the complex there. "We feel at Parks that fields wouldn't work because of the slopes and wetlands in the park," he said. A week later the Mayor announced his support for the plan. The Parks Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Another group opposing the plan is New York City Audubon. "Our concern is that this is a misuse of parkland and natural resources," said Sean Andrews, the group's president. "They are proceeding with the project without consideration of other options." He added, "There are recreational needs, but they need to be planned in a way that doesn't destroy a legacy of great open space. This sets a dangerous precedent for other parks and natural areas around the city."

The outcome of this David-vs.-Goliath battle may depend on the definition of a wetland. State and federal agencies vary greatly in their criteria, which allows groups to interpret the law according to their interests. A consultant for the borough president found only 2.5 acres of wetlands in the area in question. A 1988 NYC Department of Environmental Protection Watershed Drainage Plan, however, identified 18 acres as freshwater wetlands. Protectors of Pine Oak Woods contends that there are 21 acres.

In January, the State Department of Environmental Conservation ruled that the park contains no state-regulated wetlands. Protectors has filed an appeal of the DEC decision to the State Freshwater Wetlands Appeals Board. The group claims that the DEC disregards state law -- which is broader in scope and definition than federal wetlands law - when preparing wetlands maps. The group also claims that the DEC decision is based on incomplete evidence, and objects to way the site was mapped: DEC staff visited the site just once, accompanied by only a representative for the borough president.

Meanwhile, the City is moving ahead with its plans. A public hearing on the draft Environmental Impact Statement was held on February 28, and the final EIS is due by the end of the year, with construction to begin soon after.

Anne Sounds Off:

New Yorkers might be surprised to learn that the New York/New Jersey harbor, degraded by centuries of urbanization, has been chosen by the U.S. Department of the Interior as one of eight "major areas of focus" in the President's Land Legacy Initiative, joining the ranks of such national treasures as the Everglades. To the state and local agencies and conservation groups working to preserve open space in the harbor, however, it's about time. Urban areas are largely neglected when the federal government allocates money for open space protection.

In recent years, our harbor has been undergoing an ecological revival. In the February 20 New York Times City section, scientist John Waldmanreveals some of the surprising, forgotten spots where fish thrive and herons nest. Waldman writes, "...many New Yorkers take a dim view of their watery backyard. They believe it to be a dank and dangerous cesspool featuring drifting corpses and gasping flounder..." But, he writes, "New York Harbor is no longer uninviting...I am among those privy to the signs that the harbor is coming back, and especially to its recent signals: reappearances of birds, shellfish, turtles, dolphins, and other creatures long absent or depressed."

The key to the continued reemergence of wildlife is the existence of fragments of salt marsh and other wetlands in the harbor watershed -- just a fraction of the original habitat, but enough to support colonies of birds and nurture fish populations. These wetlands also provide multiple economic benefits: They reduce the amount of sediment flowing into the harbor (which clogs shipping channels), and filter out pollutants. "Wetlands absorb flood flows better than any technology known to man," said Mark Matsil, director of the City parks department's Natural Resources Group, one of the agencies involved in the effort to preserve harbor wetlands. Matsil noted that the most flood-prone areas of the city were built on former wetlands.

For next year's budget, the Interior Department is requesting substantial funds for the New York/New Jersey harbor initiative. The money would go to land acquisition as well as natural resource management, restoration, historic preservation, education, and recreation. Much of the money would be provided as matching grants for the two states. The local groups and agencies have compiled a list of key wetlands for acquisition. We should be asking our elected representatives to make sure that the final budget passed next fall ends up providing significant funds for New York harbor -- and that the states come up with matching grants. Anne Schwartz is a freelance writer specializing in environmental issues. Previously, she was the editor of the Audubon Activist, a news journal for environmental action published by the National Audubon Society, and an editor at The New York Botanical Garden.

 

 

 

 

Private Funding of Parks


Imagine yourself come spring, traipsing through Central Park. With a private nonprofit group raising millions each year to finance upkeep and restoration, the Park has never looked better. But will the City's other public spaces share the wealth, or will private funding create a two-tiered system of haves and have-nots?

THE LOWDOWN:

As a symbol of New York's resurgence, you can't beat Central Park. Decimated by budget and staff cuts during the City's fiscal collapse in the 1970s, Manhattan's most famous public space was once a national embarrassment. Today, after a slew of restoration projects, the Park draws 20 million visitors a year and has become the envy of urban park managers across the country.

Part of that jealousy stems from money. The Central Park Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization, has raised about $200 million since it was founded in 1980 to improve the Park's condition. No mere charity, the Conservancy has gradually taken over the day-to-day operation of the Park, and now funds about 75% of its annual $16.7 million budget, and pays the salaries of 150 Central Park employees.

New York spends 0.44% of its total municipal budget on parks -- the lowest percentage among major American cities. Though to most people "parks" and "public" may seem synonymous, increasingly, private citizens are footing the bill. According to a study prepared by the City's Independent Budget Office, the appropriations for parks fell from $218 million in 1987 to $151 million in 1996, a 31 percent drop. During that period, private spending grew more than threefold † from $5 million to $18 million.

Wealthy donors and businesses spend this money on "their" parks -- nearby locations where they can enjoy the fruits of their largesse every day. Although the City has launched efforts to develop community support and private funding for local parks in all the boroughs, privatization has primarily blessed a few high-profile parks in Manhattan, while budget cuts have fallen most heavily on the Bronx and Queens.

The City says efficient management has stretched current funding farther, and improved the overall condition of New York's parks, with Central Park in the lead. "A rising tide lifts all boats," says Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern, a statement that sums up the City's eager acceptance of park privatization. No one in government talks about increasing the budget for Parks anymore because privatization has undeniably succeeded beyond expectation -- for some of the City's parks.

RISING TIDE:

Central Park Conservancy - Includes a brief history of CPC and the Park itself, as well as a timeline of the CPC's accomplishments.

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation - The Parks department created the City Parks Foundation in 1989 to raise private parks funds citywide, but their annual budget--for all the city's parks--falls well below that of the Conservancy's. Search for information on the Parks Foundation, as well as news and information on any park in the five boroughs. The site also highlights selected examples of city-funded parks improvements.

Riverside Park, Success Story - As described by the Urban Parks Institute, this park used public/private partnership to compensate for cuts in public funding. Judge for yourself.

CityLaw - One way the Parks Department has done more with less: ensuring quality construction work by carefully selecting contractors. In "How Parks Weeds Out the Problem Contractors," published by The Center for New York City Law at New York Law School, Thomas Rozinski argues Parks is a model of efficient management for all city agencies.

SINK OR SWIM:

Trust For Public Land - An excellent overview of New York's shift towards privatizing parks management, detailing the city's spectacular successes in raising private funds while simultaneously cutting the city's Parks budget. Also at the TPL site, in the Toolbox section, reports on park privatization--with mostly happy endings--from around the country.

Neighborhood Open Space Coalition (NOSC) - Led by Executive Director Dave Lutz, NOSC has strongly criticized the city's parks funding policy. E-mail NOSC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive a free monthly bulletin, and watch for updates on the Campaign for Parks, a coalition effort to force city officials to increase the parks budget

Independent Budget Office - Read the 1997 report on parks spending trends, commissioned by the Parks Council, another tough critic of parks privatization.

 



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