Taxpayers are being forced to shell out $15 million on the off chance that a rare sparrow will come back to roost at a former city landfill overlooking Brooklyn's Marine Park.
The trash-strewn White Island is quietly being converted into a habitat for the little bird called Henslow's sparrow, which hasn't been spotted in the Big Apple in more than a decade, The Post has learned.
The effort to turn the weed-choked spot into beautiful grasslands came in response to promises officials made in the mid-1990s when allowing a developer to wipe out the sparrow's habitat to build a massive shopping center near Starrett City in 2002.
Ida Sanoff, chairwoman of the environmental group Natural Resources Protective Association, said she's glad the city is finally cleaning up the 70-acre site - also known as "Mau Island" - near Jamaica Bay but doubts the project will bring the inconspicuous bird back.
"What are they going to do? Put up a sign saying: 'Hello, sparrows. Beautiful nesting places here!'?" she said.
The original decision to clear out what was then Vandalia Dunes to make way for the $192 million Gateway Shopping Center infuriated environmentalists because about 56 the 93 acres of the dunes were significant habitats for all sorts of species, including the rare sparrow.
But officials felt it was in the city's best interest to have the hundreds of new jobs the shopping center brought, and the plan was to replace the 56 acres four miles away at the former garbage dump.
Now, more than 10 years later, the city Parks Department has finally begun recreating the sparrow's habitat. Workers last month began spraying herbicides to kill weeds that will be replaced by beautiful grasslands.
"I guess we are following the lead of the movie 'Field of Dreams,' in that if we build it, they will come. But I wouldn't bet on it," admitted Mike Fellar, the city Parks Department's chief naturalist.
But Fellar said the project is important - even if the Henslow's sparrow stays away.
"We're not spending all this money just for a single bird. We're creating a more sustainable ecosystem, which will bring more desirable plant and bird species to the island," he said.
Geoffrey Croft, who heads the watchdog group New York City Park Advocates, blasted the city for killing off not just weeds, but some endangered plant life, while spraying the herbicides. He also questioned why the project began without community input.
But Fellar said these same trees and shrubs also grow along 14 acres at White Island the city is leaving alone, and he predicted the endangered plants would eventually quadruple on the island through the job.
The National Audubon Society estimates about 50,000 Henslow's sparrows worldwide, down 80 percent from 1966. The bird's nearest known habitat is in western New York upstate.
Fellar said it's unlikely that the public will have access to White Island once it's cleaned up - despite it being classified as parkland - because officials want the habitat kept pristine for the wildlife.
White Island was last used as an active landfill in the 1950s.
Today, its shores are filled with construction and demolition debris and trash. The project also calls for stabilizing the island's eroding garbage-strewn banks.
Although no timetable is set to complete the project, Parks Department spokeswoman Jama Adams said the city "is working closely with the state Department of Environmental Conservation on structural and public safety issues" and hopes to finish the project "as quickly as possible."
