Seventy concerned citizens, community activists and local politicos turned out on May 15 to show support for the preservation of the Ridgewood Reservoir as a natural urban oasis on the border of Queens and Brooklyn.
The group voiced concern about the city’s proposed plans to cut down trees, breach the walls of the dam and to build artificial-turf covered ball fields that would destroy what is considered a unique natural habitat.
The area contains a succession forest with many native plants, freshwater wetlands and critical habitat for native birds, mammals and amphibians.
The Ridgewood Reservoir Education and Preservation Project (RREPP), a group of community members and nature enthusiasts, opposes the plan and is promoting the concept of creating an environmental learning center on the site. The group feels that the development plans could jeopardize some endangered or threatened plant species and several bird species that are declining or rare that were spotted during recent bird surveys.
Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., David M. Quintana and Assemblyman Darryl Towns
Queens Parks Commisioner Dorothy Lewandowski addressing the crowd...
