Majority of Jamaica Bay Designated “No Discharge Zone”

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (l.) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg sign new agreements to improve Jamaica Bay.

(Photo courtesy Bloomberg administration)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 27, 2011

No. 384

www.nyc.gov<http://www.nyc.gov/>

MAYOR BLOOMBERG, U.S. INTERIOR SECRETARY SALAZAR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ANNOUNCE NEW AGREEMENTS TO IMPROVE PARKS AND WATER QUALITY AT JAMAICA BAY

Advances PlaNYC and Waterfront Vision & Enhancement Strategy Goals

Grants From the Rockefeller Foundation and National Grid will Support the Planning Process

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck today announced new agreements to improve the Federal and City parklands around Jamaica Bay and improve overall water quality in the Bay. The Mayor and Secretary Salazar signed an agreement committing to a joint planning process that will devise a new, unified governing model and new, common objectives for the 10,000 acres of publicly-owned land in south Brooklyn and Queens. The Rockefeller Foundation and National Grid have generously agreed to support the design of a conceptual master plan for the Jamaica Bay Parks. As part of this effort, at the request of the City and the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection will designate the majority of Jamaica Bay a “No Discharge Zone,” which bans boats from discharged sewage into the bay, improving water quality.

“The agreements with our Federal, State and philanthropic partners will have with far-reaching benefits for what may be the greatest natural treasure lying within the borders of any city in the nation – Jamaica Bay,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The partnership with Secretary Ken Salazar and the Department of Interior will allow us to be bolder, more innovative, and more cooperative, by managing these extraordinary public lands around the bay as one great urban park. And with the new ‘No Discharge Zone’ enforced by the EPA, we are going to improve water quality throughout the bay. It’s all in keeping with PlaNYC and our ongoing transformation of New York City’s waterfront as a place for New Yorkers can live, work, and play.”

“One of the primary goals of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative is to work with local communities to reconnect people with nature and outdoor recreation,” said Secretary Salazar. “By coordinating more closely with the City of New York, we will create a seamless network of urban parks that are easily accessible to people who live in nearby communities.”

The Mayor and Secretary announced that joint projects would begin with the development of a jointly-managed vision and governance structure to establish where Federal and City lands and programs could better connect and be more efficiently managed. The Rockefeller Foundation and National Grid have agreed to fund part of the development of the Jamaica Bay Parks master plan particularly related to research projects on resilience to climate change in coastal environments and improving park access for the surrounding communities.

The Mayor and Secretary Salazar also were joined at the announcement at the Salt Marsh Nature Center by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability Director David Bragdon, National Parks of New York Harbor Commissioner Maria Burks, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck. The philanthropic and advocacy community was represented by Marian Heiskell, founder and board chair, and Marie Salerno, Executive Director, from the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy, the official cooperating partner of the National Parks Service under Federal law.

“It's so encouraging that the National Park Service, City of New York and Harbor Conservancy are endeavoring on this new partnership as it has been my passion for nearly 40 years for Gateway to provide a national park experience for those who can’t afford a trip to our other, more distant national parks,” said National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy Chair and Co-Founder Marian S. Heiskell. “I believe that Gateway can be the envy of America's great national urban park system, and now both the Mayor and Secretary Salazar stand ready to help us achieve its greatness.”

“As coastal cities throughout the world continue to grow and are increasingly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, the restoration of Jamaica Bay provides an incredible opportunity to build our understanding of resilience in urban coastal areas,” said Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. “Jamaica Bay is a beautiful, but often overlooked pocket of our City’s landscape, and The Rockefeller Foundation is thrilled to help give back to the community parkland that will serve as both a recreational and educational space. I would like to thank Mayor Bloomberg and Secretary Salazar for all their efforts to make today possible.”

“Today we’ve taken an important step towards making Jamaica Bay safe for local residents, who will no longer have to worry about harmful sewage pumped out by boats in the area,” said Senator Charles Schumer. “I applaud the Department of the Interior, the EPA, and New York City for agreeing to establish this no-discharge zone that will mean cleaner and clearer waters for Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island residents.”

“The parks in and around Jamaica Bay are natural and recreational treasures, all the more so because of their location right in the heart of the Nation’s largest metropolitan area” said Robert D. Yaro, President of Regional Plan Association. “We congratulate Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for establishing the framework that was needed to make this area a premier regional destination.”

At the same time, the US EPA announced that it was issuing a no discharge regulation for Jamaica Bay

“If you don’t have clean air, land and water, you can’t enjoy the great outdoors and banning boat sewage from Jamaica Bay stops one source of pollution that is both harmful and completely unnecessary,” said EPA Regional Administrator Enck. “This action will improve water quality in this magnificent bay that is right in the backyards of millions of New Yorkers.”

Park Agreement

The agreement establishes a formal a partnership between the National Park Service and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for the agencies to collaborate in four areas: effective management of park lands; science and restoration of Jamaica Bay; access and transportation to park lands around Jamaica Bay; and engagement of New York City youth with hands-on science programs and fun public service projects to promote recreation, stewardship and “green” careers.

The four key components to the park management agreement are:

* Effective management through collaboration: The National Park Service and New York City Parks manage contiguous lands with overlapping missions. Through effective land use and program planning that ignores boundaries, they can create a seamless and interconnected network of natural, historical, and recreation spaces urban park that all New Yorkers can visit, with or without a car.

* Science and restoration: Through better coordination of research, data gathering restoration efforts and pilot projects, government agencies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions can work closer together to restore and conserve the health of Jamaica Bay.

* Access and transportation: The city and the Park Service will work to improve public access to Jamaica Bay and within Jamaica Bay through existing and new transportation choices, and through better public information about those options.

* Youth and education: The city and the National Park Service can jointly develop a series of programs in which urban youth can learn the values of stewardship through service activities.

The agreement may also be expanded in the future to include federal and city park lands on Staten Island.

Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone

The new Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone agreement between the City, the EPA and State Department of Environmental Conservation bans all boats from discharging sewage into a designated 20,000 acre area of Jamaica Bay. The area has adequate facilities for boats to pump out their sewage and boaters must now dispose of their sewage at these specially-designated pump-out stations. The new Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone is part of a joint EPA, Department of Environmental Conservation and City effort to eliminate the discharge of sewage from boats into the State’s waterways. Discharges of sewage from boats can contain harmful levels of pathogens and chemicals such as formaldehyde, phenols and chlorine, which have a negative impact on water quality, pose a health risk and impair marine life.

The Jamaica Bay No Discharge Zone encompasses 17,177 acres of open water and 2,695 acres of upland islands and salt marshes in Brooklyn and Queens.

The northeastern and southeastern parts of Jamaica Bay reach Nassau County, while the northern shore of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens forms the southern boundary of the bay. The bay is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Rockaway Inlet, and eight tributaries empty into Jamaica Bay: Sheepshead Bay, Paerdegat Basin, Fresh Creek, Hendrix Creek, Spring Creek, Shellbank Basin, Bergen Basin and Thurston Basin. The final affirmative determination from EPA of adequate pump-out facilities means that New York State may proceed to ban the discharge of boat sewage into Jamaica Bay and its tributaries.

Read More:

U.S. and N.Y.C. Unite to Aid Jamaica Bay

New York Times - October 27, 2011 - By Lisa W. Foderaro

City, fed agencies team up to create plan for Jamaica Bay

Times Ledger - November 3, 2011 - By Ivan Pereira

24/7 Goose Watch Established in Prospect Park

Volunteers and kids are organizing a full-time patrol inside Prospect Park to protect Canada geese from being slaughtered again, including the cute new baby goslings. (Photo by Tom Callan )

Brooklyn

Meet the goose patrol.

A group of watchdogs has launched “a 24/7 goose watch” in Prospect Park to prevent federal officials from once again slaughtering their feathered friends, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

The group — which consists of about 40 wildlife advocates, business leaders and residents — says it will plant night-vision cameras and set up “stakeouts” in the park until the killing season ends in July.

At least a dozen “core members” — ranging from 17 to 70 years old — met at an undisclosed Park Slope business for the first time late on Monday night, hoping to send the feds a message: We’ve got an eye on you.

One of six goslings that were born this month in Prospect Park, the first Canada Geese born in the park since federal authorities slaughtered 300 last year. (Photo by Peter Colen)

“If they come back [for the geese], it should be documented,” said Edita Birnkrant, an organizer and a director for the wildlife advocacy group Friends of Animals. “It’s an outrage; and people should see it.”

Appropriately titled “Goose Watch,” the group’s meetings are the first organized effort by citizens to monitor the behavior of theagency that secretly exterminated hundreds of geese in the park last July.

Plans for the military-style operation come after six geese hatched in the park last week — the first since last year’s massacre, and a triumph of nature against the efforts of biologists who tried to prevent their births in a humane attempt to keep the goose population from attracting federal attention.

“It’s heart-wrenching to think they might target those goslings,” said David Karopkin, a 26-year-old paralegal by day and goose-saver by night, who organized the group. “We’re committed to protecting them — and all of the wildlife in the park.”

A network of volunteers, many of whom are also 20-somethings, will be assigned rotating days of the month and will pair-off to monitor the park, even at night.

If volunteers spot suspicious behavior — including federal vehicles — they intend to alert Goose Watch leaders, who are prepared to storm the park in protest. (And text a certain Brooklyn Paper reporter, who lives nearby.)

Binoculars will be used, cameras will be carried; video footage will be taken from secret outdoor locations along the park’s perimeter, channeling the dolphin slaughter expose, “The Cove.”

Goose Watchers were mum about some details of the still-in-the-works undertaking, but noted it would be conducted legally.

Other members hope to pressure the city to end its goose extermination contract with the feds, which expires on June 30.

“The mayor has declared a war on wildlife,” Birnkrant said. “We intend to reverse that.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture did not return calls before our squawking deadline.

Read More:

On patrol! Group starts a 24/7 ‘goosewatch’ in Prospect Park

The Brooklyn Paper - May 19, 2011 - By Natalie O’Neill

Help us name the park’s miracle baby goslings!

The Brooklyn Paper - May 11, 2011 - By Gersh Kuntzman

Prospect Park Goose Reduction Plan Unveiled

A Walk In The Park - November 19, 2010

Geese Kill Zones Expanded In NYC

A Walk In The Park - October 5, 2010

A "Sound" Canadian Goose Management Plan Coming Soon To Prospect Park?

A Walk In The Park - September 23, 2010

Geese Protesters Flock To Bloomberg Residence

A Walk In The Park - August 10, 2010 - By Geoffrey Croft

Additional Geese Massacres Coming

A Walk In The Park - July 23, 2010

Hundreds Of Geese Killed In Prospect Park

A Walk In The Park - July 13, 2010

Fresh Kills Artificial Turf Project Sinking

"I know it's been a long time coming, and I know there's been a lot of skepticism, but I think starting this spring, people are going to start to see a lot of things happening," said Fresh Kills Park administrator Eloise Hirsh." - March 25, 2009

Another Parks Department artificial turf field project in construction has hit major cost overruns, environmental problems, and delays. Work on the Owl Hollow artificial turf field at Staten Island's former Fresh Kills Landfill stopped months ago because the site was found to be sinking. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Originally estimated to cost $6.8 million in 2006, the project's price tag has ballooned to $14 million and climbing. About $4.5 million was spent cleaning the site after the state Department of Environmental Conservation discovered it was contaminated with toxic PCBs, an issue that should have been caught before the project went out to bid. Sources say the the project was not engineered properly but that the DPR was trying to pin the blame on the contractor. Sources also said that the sub-surface investigation done prior to bidding was either inadequate or done properly but ignored.

The disastrous Dreier-Offerman artificial turf field project in Brooklyn, and Harris Field in the Bronx are park projects currently in construction that are also suffering from vast cost overruns, environmental problems, and long delays.

The foundation for the four artificial turf soccer fields dropped between eight inches and a foot. Remediation is expected to cost millions and add years to completion of the project.

Staten Island

Mayor Bloomberg's ambitious plan to turn a former Staten Island landfill into a massive public park is sinking — literally, according to the New York Post.

The city has hit a major snag in the early stages of a three-decade effort to transform the 2,200-acre former Fresh Kills Landfill along the West Shore Expressway into green space nearly triple the size of Central Park.

The project's long-delayed first segment -- bringing four soccer fields and other amenities to 28 acres at the edge of the former garbage dump -- is on hold again because its foundation is sinking.

SUNK: A sinking foundation has stalled construction of Owl Hollow artificial turf field, here in an artist's rendering, on Staten Island's former Fresh Kills Landfill. The site is located along the West Shore Expressway, adjacent to the Arden Heights Woods.

Parks Department workers and the contractor hired to build Owl Hollow Fields for the Fresh Kills Park project believe tons of sand laid out as foundation fill has dropped between eight inches and a foot, sources close to the project told The Post.

If problems like this are happening at this stage, just imagine when they try building thousands of acres in the heart of the landfill," said Geoffrey Croft, of watchdog group New York City Park Advocates.

Workers for Brooklyn-based D. Gangi Contracting began laying the fill in October 2009. By August of last year, they noticed materials appeared to be sinking.

The contractor and city are now bickering over who's responsible for paying the potentially millions of dollars in extra costs to ensure the ground is sturdy enough, sources said.

Originally estimated to cost $6.8 million in 2006, the project price tag is already up to $14 million. About $4.5 million was spent cleaning the site after the state Department of Environmental Conservation discovered it was contaminated with toxic PCBs.

The city had previously claimed the Owl Hollow site was never used as a dump, only as a staging area for equipment. But workers uncovered refuse during construction, sources said.

The Owl Hollow project was announced in 2006 as part of the mayor's larger Fresh Kills project. The environmental cleanup delayed construction three years.

D. Gangi was hired to build the fields in October 2008 for $6.8 million and was supposed to have completed the job by late 2009. The city says it now expects the fields to be done by December.

But Donald Gangi, head of D. Gangi, said that the fields are "just 15, 20 percent complete" due to unanticipated holdups and that it'll take at least two more years to finish.

A Parks Department spokeswoman said the city "is working with the contractor to determine if sinking is occurring, and we will take the appropriate steps once the condition of the site is determined."

The Fresh Kills Landfill collected city waste from 1947 to 2001. By 1997, two of the four mounds were closed and covered with an impermeable cap. The entire landfill received its last barge of garbage in March 2001.

Portions were used as a sifting station to find human remains from World Trade Center rubble after the 9/11 attack.

This new 15 - acre site is being developed as a multi-use park and recreation space in accordance with the Preliminary Mater Plan for the Fresh Kills Landfill.

Read More:

Fresh Kills park plan is down in the dumps

New York Post - March 14, 2011- By Rich Calder

Dump-Turned-Park on SI Faces Delays

WNBC - March 14, 2011 - By Geoffrey Decker

Fresh Kills Park Plan Sinking

My Fox - March 14, 2011

Fresh Kills Park Set To Open By Year's End

NY 1 - March 25, 2009 - By Amanda Farinacci

Soccer fields in the works for Staten Island's former landfill site

Staten Island Advance

- February 01, 2009 - By Peter N. Spencer

Feds Identify Gowanus Canal “Hot Spots” Of Intense Contamination

The Gowanus Canal remains a mess — and three former gas plants are the main villain. Coal tar continues to migrate into the waterway producing cancer-causing vapors. (Photo: Kate Emerson/ The Brooklyn Paper)

Brooklyn

Federal officials have identified three “hot spots” of intense contamination — and the source of cancer-causing toxic vapors — along the polluted Gowanus Canal, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

The officials remained mum last week about what risks the gunk poses to humans and animals — but they did reveal that an astonishing 90 percent of pollutants in the canal originate from just three sites along the 1.8-mile waterway.

he terrible trio mirrors locations where gas plants once stood: Metropolitan Works, at 12th Street and the canal; Fulton Municipal Works, at Degraw Street and Third Avenue; and Citizens Gas Company, at Smith and Fifth streets.

From the 1860s to the late 1950s, the companies literally helped fuel the Industrial Revolution — but in the process, generated a by-product called coal tar, a substance containing an array of hazardous compounds.

The foul tar has since seeped deep underground, where it continues to migrate into the fetid waterway, its presence confirmed by an oily surface sheen. The tar can also be gasified, producing cancer-causing vapors.

The agency is sifting through a mountain of data it collected since the canal was named a Superfund site last March, a recognition of its status as one of the nation’s most polluted waterways. Once that work is completed, said Walter Mugdan, a regional director with the Environmental Protection Agency, officials will “determine what to do to clean it” — a process that will take 10 to 12 years, and cost $500 million.

Read More:

Feds: We know where Gowanus Canal filth is

The Brooklyn Paper - November 8, 2010 - By Gary Buiso

Gowanus Canal Receives EPA Superfund Designation - Blow To Bloomberg Administration

A Walk In The Park - March 2, 2010

Governor’s Aide Named To Replace Ousted DEC Commissioner

“DEC accounts for approximately 2.5 percent of the New York State workforce subject to executive control,” and yet, “DEC's layoffs will comprise more than 10 percent of the 2,000 positions that the governor plans to eliminate.” - Memo from DEC Commissioner Alexander B. Grannis to Gov. David A. Paterson. The memo says laying off another 209 employees is unfair and disproportionate. Mr. Grannis was fired by the governor’s top aide, Larry Schwartz, after the memo was leaked.

Albany

Gov. David A. Paterson is replacing a Pete with a Peter. On Thursday he announced that his deputy secretary for the environment, Peter M. Iwanowicz, was taking over as acting commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation after the dismissal of Alexander B. Grannis, better known as Pete, according to the New York Times.

Judy SandersPeter M. Iwanowicz

Mr. Iwanowicz, 43, will remain in his current post and hold both positions.

He first joined state government in 2007, when Mr. Grannis named him director of the state Climate Change Office.

Last week, Governor Paterson fired Mr. Grannis after the leaking of a memo warning of dire consequences from the administration’s budget cuts to the department. Mr. Grannis denied he had anything to do with the release of the memo and complained that he was dismissed by Lawrence Schwartz, the governor’s secretary, without ever getting a chance to talk to the governor.

As the governor’s deputy secretary for the environment, a position he assumed in March, Mr. Iwanowicz is responsible for environmental policy matters.

As the first director of the New York State Office of Climate Change, he oversaw the state’s participation in the cap-and-trade program among Northeastern states known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced “Reggie.”)

Before joining state government, Mr. Iwanowicz was vice president of the American Lung Association of New York State and also worked for the Albany-based Environmental Advocates of New York.

Alexander B. Grannis in his Albany office in April. He was fired on Thursday October 21, after a memo about cuts in his staff was leaked. (Photo:Mike Groll/Associated Press)

Read More:

Governor’s Aide Steps In for Ousted Environment Chief

New York Times Green Blog - October 28, 2010

- By Mireya Navarro

A New Commissioner and More Cuts for the DEC (VIDEO)

WENY -

October 29, 2010

- By

Jane Park

Gov. Paterson Replaces DEC Commish; Loses Spokesman

New York Daily News - October 28, 2010 - By Celeste Katz

DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis Fired Over Leaked Critical Memo

A Walk In The Park - October 22, 2010

Internal DEC Memo Warns Governor Against Further Agency Cuts

A Walk In The Park - October 20, 2010

DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis Fired Over Leaked Critical Memo

According the Albany Times Union, the governor’s top aide, Larry Schwartz, called DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis to demand his resignation over a DEC internal memo made public. The leaked memo highlighted consequences of further cuts as a result of Governor Paterson's proposed reductions to an all ready understaffed agency.

”Here I am being called on the carpet for doing what we were supposed to do, for being asked to tell the administration what the cuts they want meant,” Grannis said. “Apparently facts don’t sit well with this administration.”

Paterson spokesperson Morgan Hook confirmed to A Walk In The Park that Mr. Grannis was dismissed and that any other details as to why is a "personal matter and we are not going to get into why we made the decisions that we made. "

Mr. Hook said he expects a replacement to be officially named by the beginning of next week.

This is the second official to leave a top New York State environmental position recently, on September 23, Carol Ash, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) resigned after being appointed in 2007 by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Her resignation is effective this month. – Geoffrey Croft

Albany

Pete Grannis, the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation since 2007, was fired Thursday by Gov. David Paterson. A state source said it was due to “poor performance and insubordination,” according to Capital Confidential.

A front-page story in Tuesday’s Times Union described one likely cause: the leak of a memo sent by DEC to the Budget Division that laid out in stark terms the possible consequences of the planned layoffs of more than 200 agency employees.


Alexander B. Grannis in his Albany office in April. He was fired on Thursday, after a memo about cuts in his staff was leaked. (Photo:Mike Groll/Associated Press)

The unsigned, undated memo warned that fewer polluted sites would be cleaned up, fewer regulators would be available to oversee the potential natural gas drilling boom in the Marcellus Shale, and stocking of game fish could halt.

In order to avoid cuts to programs that protect human health or address immediate environmental damage, the memo suggests the most logical places for deep cuts would be outdoor recreation and sports — including skiing, fishing, hunting, camping and hiking.

“Many of our programs are hanging by a thread. The public would be shocked to learn how thin we are in many areas,” the memo stated. “DEC is in the weakest position that it has been since it was created 40 years ago.”

Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook confirmed the dismissal but would not comment. DEC spokesman Yancey Roy also declined comment.

A long-serving former Assembly member from Manhattan, Grannis was appointed to the top job in DEC by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2007. Grannis’ bio on the DEC’s website notes that he began his career in public service at the agency in the early 1970s, when he worked as a compliance counsel.

Update: In an interview Thursday night with TU environmental reporter Brian Nearing — who wrote the article on the leaked memo — Grannis said that Larry Schwartz, the governor’s top aide, called him about 4 p.m. Wednesday to demand his resignation over the memo becoming public.

”Here I am being called on the carpet for doing what we were supposed to do, for being asked to tell the administration what the cuts they want meant,” Grannis said. “Apparently facts don’t sit well with this administration.”

Read More:

DEC commissioner Pete Grannis fired (updated)
Capitol Confidential - October 21, 2010 - By Casey Seiler

DEC Internal Memo Warns Governor Against Further Cuts
A Walk In The Park - October 20, 2010