The Hudson Riverkeepers - Watch the Video...

Watch this video...(Running Time : 48 minutes, 32 seconds)

THE HUDSON RIVERKEEPERS tells the stirring and dramatic story of how two generations of Hudson River fishermen and environmental activists fought a decades-long battle to protect one of the nation’s great rivers, the Hudson.

“Beautifully photographed, dramatic ... uses the history of environmental activism on the Hudson to show how individuals can have a real impact on their communities.” NEW YORK DAILY NEWS.

Featuring Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; as well as excerpts from Walter Cronkite’s classic 1965 documentary, “The Majestic Polluted Hudson,” this important film brings to life one of the great environmental achievements in American history. It is also the story of the one of the landmarks in the U.S. environmental movement—because the fight to clean up the Hudson River went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and its favorable ruling helped paved the way for many of the great environmental laws passed in the 1970s, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

The Future of Ridgewood Reservoir: Birds or Baseball? by Anne Schwartz - Gotham Gazette, July 2008

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The latest skirmish in the escalating turf war over the use of city parkland focuses on an unlikely natural area, a former Queens reservoir now claimed by woods and wetlands.

The 50-acre, three-basin Ridgewood Reservoir sits on high ridge where Queens and Brooklyn meet, just south of the Jackie Robinson Parkway, in the northeast corner of Highland Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2007 sustainability blueprint, PlaNYC 2030, identified the site as one of eight underdeveloped park properties the city plans to transform with active recreational facilities and allocated $50 million in capital funding for Ridgewood Reservoir alone.

While local residents, environmentalists and parks advocates agree that the reservoir, now officially off-limits to the public, should become more accessible, they disagree over how the area should be used. The parks department is considering a proposal to put ball fields in one of the reservoir's basins. Citywide and local environmental and parks groups want to keep the basin intact as a nature preserve and use the funding for new and improved facilities elsewhere in Highland Park. They have political support from the two local community boards, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and many other elected officials, including City Comptroller (and mayoral candidate) William Thompson, who co-authored a New York Times op-ed piece on the issue with Robert Kennedy Jr. in May.

However, many residents of the adjacent neighborhoods of Cypress Hills, East New York and Bushwick - areas with very few parks and trees - support the ball field proposal. On June 19, about 100 people from East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC), an organization dedicated to empowering residents to improve their communities, demonstrated on the steps of City Hall and then went inside to testify at a hearing of the City Council parks committee, voicing their support for more sports fields.

As in so many park conflicts, the competing visions for Ridgewood Reservoir reflect the difficulty of balancing the many different claims on the city's precious open space. And, as in several other recent parks controversies, such as the one surrounding using funds from private schools to build soccer fields on Randalls Island, it raises the question of whether parks projects tend to be determined by the availability of funding, rather than through a comprehensive planning process that takes into account all available parkland, community needs, environmental benefits, cost-effectiveness and site suitability.

A Hidden Gem

For 100 years, Ridgewood Reservoir, located on the southwestern side of a large swath of open space that includes several cemeteries and Forest Park in Queens, was part of the city's water system. It was taken out of regular service in 1959 and completely drained in 1989. Surrounded by a chain-link fence, it was known mostly to residents who exercised on the perimeter path and people who used the basins illegally for a paintball course.

The reservoir's three adjacent clay-lined basins, with sloping, rock-reinforced walls, have an average depth of about 20 feet. Over the years, wetland and forest vegetation has grown inside the two outer basins. In the middle basin, a pond persists, surrounded by thick stands of the invasive reed phragmites. Several small buildings - a caretaker cottage and pumphouses - have fallen into disrepair.

On a sunny day in June, I visited the reservoir with staff from New York City Audubon, including Glenn Phillips, executive director, and Susan Elbin, director of conservation. After parking next to a picnic area shaded by large, graceful trees, we climbed up a stone stairway set into the hillside to the path circling the reservoir.

Joggers passed as we looked through the chain-link fence into a sunken forest overgrown with vines. Bird sang and flitted in the treetops. The reservoir is a stopover for birds migrating along the Atlantic flyway and provides breeding territory for nearly 40 species, many of which are rarely found in the city. So far, 137 bird species have been counted in the reservoir basins. There is also an abundance of butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies and other insects, as well as several rare native plant species. "How many people pass by here every day and have no idea that this is one of the treasures of New York City?" Phillips said.

Serendipitously, we met up with a large contingent from the parks department, who invited us to go down into the basins with them, helping us descend the steep sides with ropes.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, who was part of the group, explained that the department's Natural Resources Group has inventoried and mapped the numerous distinct ecological communities in the three basins.

We walked single file through the tangle of shrubs and trees to a mossy opening in the early successional forest of Basin 1. Mike Feller, the parks department's chief naturalist, called it the "'Lost World' in reverse. Twenty years ago, he said, the basin was an open wet meadow. He recalled walking there in 1988 or 1989 amid tall sedges and sweet gum and red maple saplings. Today, it is growing into a mosaic of predominantly native forests adapted to wet conditions. Ideally, these diverse and ecologically rich plant communities could be self-sustaining, said Benepe, although invasive vines and trees have also gotten a foothold.

Back on the pathway, we walked around to the reservoir's northern side, where an opening in the trees offers a bucolic vista of the pond and marsh in Basin 2. Finally, we descended into the third and largest basin - where athletic fields might go. This basin has what Feller described as a "split personality." At its southern end is a mix of wetland plant communities similar to Basin 1. But the northern half, where the topsoil is very thin, is overrun with non-native, invasive trees and shrubs, and lacks the ecological diversity and value for wildlife of the other sections. One large area is composed almost exclusively of just two plant types: Black locust trees form a canopy over a knee-high understory of mugwort.

Feller explained that this section is full of seeds of undesirable plants that the wind and birds would inevitably spread elsewhere in the reservoir, possibly crowding out the indigenous plans. "The sooner you remove the invasives the better," he said. "There comes a point where the seed load is too high." In light of that, "Doing nothing is the worst of all scenarios," Benepe said.

The Proposed Ball Field Plan

PlaNYC called for using all of Basin 3 for active recreation, but the current proposal, a preliminary idea from the design consultant Mark Morrison Associates, would put athletic facilities on 10 acres in the basin, about 20 percent of the reservoir's total acreage. Building and maintaining fields would require bulldozing through the reservoir walls to provide ground-level access for trucks and machinery, as well as razing the forest.

So far, nothing has been decided. "It's not clear we're going to build fields," Benepe said. "It's completely up in the air-a possibility but not a given." At the City Council hearing, he mentioned some of the other ideas the department is considering, such adding bikeways and walkways, providing interpretive maps and converting one of the historic structures into a nature center, though presumably these could be done in addition to, as well as instead of, the athletic facilities.

From the commissioner's testimony at the hearing, it is clear that his department favors combining natural areas and recreation in the basin. This, officials believe, would not only expand recreational opportunities to improve the health and quality of life for New Yorkers, as mandated by PlaNYC, but also make the basin easily accessible for forest management, maintenance and crime control.

As to suggestions that the department put more fields in other parts of Highland Park instead, Benepe noted that the department is building a multi-use field on some of the old tennis courts in the lower part of the park, but the "issue with Highland Park is that much of it is on a hill. Virtually all of the flat land is taken up by fields or other facilities."

After an in-depth site analysis by the design consultant, the parks department will start developing conceptual plans "that will be the basis for discussion with various community groups, elected officials and the community boards," said Benepe. The goal is to begin the first phase in October 2009 and complete work by spring 2011.

Reversing the Neglect

Highland Park has numerous recreational facilities, including basketball, tennis and handball courts, baseball fields, two playgrounds, a children's garden, a running track and walking trails. The Brooklyn-Queens Greenway goes along the southern side of the reservoir. But the park has suffered from decades of neglect, community members say, and several decades ago crime there was rampant. Residents do praise the parks department with making substantial improvements since then.

At the City Council hearing, several leaders of East Brooklyn Congregations said more needs to be done. They called for the department to repair existing fields, fix the paths, stairways and lighting around the reservoir, and create more places to play baseball, soccer and other sports inside the basin.

They stressed that this must be done in an environmentally sound way. "If you come here, it's because you do love nature," said Juan Romero, a parishioner at St. Joseph Patron Roman Catholic Church in Bushwick and an EBC leader.

However, they made it clear they want sports to play a role in the reservoir. "We're not against birds, but to allow the reservoir to remain strictly for the birds would not be in the best interests of 500,000 people," said Bishop David Benke, pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Cypress Hills and EBC co-founder. He said that bringing more people into the area for active recreation would enhance the mission of an environmental center and make the natural areas safer.

At the hearing, Benepe cited numerous examples of city parks where wildlife thrives in natural areas next to recreational facilities, including Central Park, Prospect Park and Alley Pond. He noted that this department has a great deal of experience with the stewardship of natural areas. "We want to make these better habitats by managing and promoting growth of native species and planting species that provide food for wildlife," he said.

Keeping the Resevoir Whole

Environmental and park groups acknowledge the need for more recreation and respect that the parks department has chosen the least valuable part of the basin for its ball field proposal. But, they say, Ridgewood Reservoir is a unique place worthy of special protection. "Put in hiking trails instead of ball fields," said Elbin.

Video (c) Robb Jett

Still from "Save Ridgewood Resevoir"

The spell cast by this surprising urban wilderness has inspired a year-and-a-half-long environmental dance project. A YouTube video (click here to view it) shows footage of the reservoir and its wildlife, explains its history and makes the case for its preservation.

"Ridgewood Reservoir has habitat for birds and plants not found elsewhere, particularly in that part of Brooklyn and Queens in need of natural areas," said Phillips. "The value of that particular property is greater than you might expect because it's surrounded on all sides by open space."

"This is an urban area that doesn't have a lot of natural areas that are accessible to residents of the city, especially the youth," said Christian DiPalermo, executive director of the parks advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks. "One could argue that a hike through a natural area is just as important for youth as playing soccer."

Opponents of the ball fields fear that even a limited plan could have a major impact on the area. "Even if you open half of the basin to ball fields and leave the other half entirely intact, it's going to change the dynamic," Phillips said. Ball fields would inevitably bring greater disturbances - -including dogs - to the forested areas, and it is not known how this would affect the nesting or migrating birds.

Many people also worry that if fields go in the reservoir, there will be pressure to expand them in the future. They cite a compromise Bloomberg brokered in 2003 that scaled down a plan for recreational facilities in Staten Island's Bloomingdale Woods. Elected officials there are still pushing to build more fields in the wetland forest. "With easy access, you are always fighting a battle to prevent a ball field," said Phillips.

They have also raised concerns about the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of building sports fields in the reservoir. Although fields would go in the driest part of the basin, the reservoir is a depression lined with clay specifically designed to hold water. Would ball fields be drowned in a heavy rain?

In addition, opponents point out that development in the basin seems to contradict PlaNYC's goal of making the city more environmentally sustainable by preserving and adding natural areas to cool and clean the air and absorb stormwater runoff. The reservoir is in the watershed of Jamaica Bay and the sewershed of Newtown Creek. When heavy rains overwhelm the sewage system, untreated sewage spills into both bodies of water. "Any increase in the amount of impervious surfaces at Ridgewood Reservoir would result in an increase in stormwater and consequently an increase in combined sewage overflows that already pose a serious burden on the city's waterways," said Andrew Rafter in testimony for the environmental group Riverkeeper.

Rushing Ahead?

Further complicating the politics of the issue is distrust by some citizens and advocacy groups of the city government and the parks department stemming from earlier parkland conflicts, such as the taking of Macombs Dam Park for the new Yankee Stadium even before most residents were aware it was happening, and the controversial redesigns of Washington Square and Union Square parks.

Some supporters of the ball fields see signs of NIMBYism in the impressive line-up of political force against developing the reservoir because several prominent politicians live in large houses abutting Highland Park.

"My fear is that a lot of this is just delay tactics," said Benke of EBC. "That money is ephemeral. We're of the opinion that the time to strike is now. Do it now and find a way to use those 10 acres or show us an actual plan to reconfigure the park that can be accomplished over a short period of time."

Others disagree, believing any plan to develop the park needs further consideration. They worry that the administration, in the push to put PlaNYC's initiatives into effect before Bloomberg's term ends, may not be fully considering all the options. Does it make sense to breach the reservoir walls and disrupt this urban experiment with nature when there may be other nearby sites that would be less expensive and intrusive to develop? Is the project being driven by the availability of PlaNYC money and not by a more holistic look at what works best where?

"I don't think we've done a good enough study of open space availability throughout the city," said DiPalermo of New Yorkers for Parks. "There is no real master plan for parks and open space."

Design Contract Rejected For Ridgewood Reservoir by Austin Considine - Queens Chronicle

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City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. rejected a Parks and Recreation Department contract last week that would have funded the initial phase of redevelopment at Ridgewood Reservoir.

The $3.3 million deal with Mark K Morrison Associates was rejected to allow additional time for the Parks Department to respond to the comptroller’s “concerns pertaining to potential scope changes due to environmental review uncertainties and for administrative issues,” according to a letter from the comptroller’s office to the Parks Department.

The contract was drawn in part to fund the redevelopment design process, part of which would have included environmental assessments by Morisson Associates, to measure the potential impact of their design proposals.

Among them was a proposal to partially or completely fill one of the reservoir basins — part of a broader $50 million project currently under consideration by the Parks Department to convert some of the land into athletic fields.

According to the comptroller’s letter, such a proposal would require 27,500 “large truckloads” of dirt to be transported though adjoining neighborhoods if the basin were filled entirely. Even a partial fill, per one of the proposals outlined in the contract, would require 11,700 truckloads of dirt.

“Either of these options would have significant negative impacts to the areas surrounding the park, which will have to bear the brunt of the noise emissions and traffic disruptions for many years,” the letter reads.

Thompson encouraged the Parks Department to conduct environmental reviews regarding the possible effects of such a plan before assigning any design contracts.

In a statement, the Parks Department said that it has “not been able to begin the design process or do an environmental assessment without the design contract.”

But Thompson has suggested that an allowance for an Environmental Assessment Statement be “included as a separate fee in any proposal” so that potential impacts can be studied before other money is awarded.

“The city routinely conducts environmental assessments with a separate contractor prior to design and/or construction,” a spokesperson for the comptroller wrote in an email. This is done, in part, to avoid “the conflict of interest issue that may arise when a designer also performs an EAS” and gives the city “a clearer understanding of a project’s full cost before significant amounts of money have been committed and spent.”

The fate of the Ridgewood Reservoir has been a concern among environmentalists and others around the community since word of its possible redevelopment first surfaced in 2004, when the property was handed over to the Parks Department.

Straddling the Brooklyn-Queens border, the reservoir originally consisted of three large water basins that provided water to Brooklyn from 1858 until 1959.

From 1960 until 1990, the city used one of the three basins as a back-up water supply. Since then, the 50-acre property has been unused, having reverted over the years to a largely unkempt state. The two outer basins have filled-in with grasslands, and young forests of grey birch and black locust trees, among other vegetation. Meanwhile a freshwater pond remains in the middle basin, surrounded by reeds.

According to the National Audubon Society, some 137 species of birds — including eight rare species — use the reservoir throughout the year. A 2005 natural inventory study conducted by the Parks Department also notes that the reservoir is a stop along the Atlantic flyway — “one of four main migration routes in America” — a route used seasonally by millions of birds, bats, butterflies and dragonflies.

In 2004, the city turned the land over to the Parks Department to be developed as a public park. But critics argue that the adjacent and underused Highland Park should be renovated and the natural splendor of the reservoir preserved as a nature sanctuary.

The issue is a continuing concern for Thompson, who, in May, co-authored an Op-Ed for The New York Times along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., praising the virtues of this “accidental wilderness,” which they dubbed “a place as close to unspoiled nature as you’re likely to find anywhere within city limits.”

Others, like Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, have agreed, publicly opposing the idea of converting the land into ballfields.

Christina Wilkinson, secretary of the Juniper Park Civic Association, who has been at the forefront of efforts to preserve the reservoir, said the comptroller’s efforts were laudable. Earlier this year, she had arranged for Thompson to take a tour of the disputed land.

“I think it's fantastic that the comptroller is questioning the environmental as well as the economic impact of the plan on the city,” she said, “rather than just rubber-stamping it.”

Reservoir Proposal Axed by Comptroller by Henrick A. Karoliszyn - Queens Ledger

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Last week, New York City Comptroller William Thompson rejected a heavily debated contract that would transform the Ridgewood Reservoir into a sports field.

The comptroller cited the environmental impact, increased truck traffic, and vendor selection process as reasons for derailing the plan.

Thompson was critical of the Parks Department for submitting the $3.3 million contract for registration on May 29 with the Mark K. Morrison Associates LTD (MMA). The agreement called for MMA to provide landscape design services for the reconstruction of Highland Park at the Ridgewood Reservoir site in Queens.

Such an endeavor would include selecting an architect through the agency to draft an environmental assessment. This, the comptroller suggested, could be problematic for the same reasons self-certification has been troublesome for the Department of Buildings.

“Given the sensitive ecological nature of the location, we strongly believe that the environmental assessment process must have maximum transparency,” a June 23rd letter from the comptroller’s office reads. “In that light, we are also concerned that it may be a conflict of interest.”

Thompson further asserted the MMA’s proposal would partially or completely fill Basin Number 3. This, in turn, would necessitate 27,500 sizeable truckloads of fill to be transported through the bordering neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens.

The comptroller estimates that even if partially filled, the site would require approximately 11,700 bulky truckloads of dirt to be transported to the area.

“The areas surrounding the park,” the letter continues, “will have to bear the brunt of the noise, emissions, and traffic disruptions for many years.”

Last Thursday, Thompson testified at before the City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee hearing on the future of the Ridgewood Reservoir, and has been vocal in defending the site.

In a New York Times editorial, the comptroller and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned about destroying this “extraordinary natural habitat.”

“This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas,” they wrote in the article. “The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir.”

The reservoir, which sits on the border between Brooklyn and Queens, used to supply water to parts of Brooklyn. It has not been used for decades. Recently, the property was transferred from the Department of Environmental Protection to the Parks Department.

In any case, Comptroller Thompson believes the City’s money could be better spent improving the Park and recommends that the trail surrounding the perimeter of the reservoir be upgraded with benches and rest areas. He also thinks the area should be opened for guided nature walks.

Activist and well-known local advocate of the Reservoir, David Quintana agreed with Thompson’s choice.

“I think that Comptroller Bill Thompson’s decision to reject the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) contract at the Ridgewood Reservoir is a monumental day for activists,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I feel this decision will make the DPR more accountable to the public and force them to conduct actual community outreach.”

Thompson Rejects Contract to Turn Ridgewood Reservoir Into Sports Fields - NYC Comptroller - Press Release dated June 26, 2008

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Citing concerns about the environmental impact, increased truck traffic, and the vendor selection process, New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today announced that his office has rejected a contract by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a portion of the Ridgewood Reservoir into sports fields.

In a letter to Parks’ Chief Contracting Officer, the Comptroller’s Office returned the contract “to allow additional time for your agency to respond to our concerns pertaining to potential scope changes due to environmental review uncertainties and for administrative issues.” You can view the letter at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.

Parks submitted the $3.3 million contract forged with Mark K. Morrison Associates LTD (MMA) for registration on May 29. The agreement called for MMA to provide landscape design services for the reconstruction of Highland Park at the Ridgewood Reservoir site in Queens.

Parks has been considering a $50 million “renovation” project that would replace a large swath of Ridgewood wilderness with sports facilities athletic fields, claiming that the project is necessary to help combat child obesity. However, Thompson has consistently urged the City to rethink its plans to develop the 50-acre site.

The contract rejection was based on a number of concerns. Thompson noted MMA’s proposal to partially or completely fill Basin No. 3 at the site would require 27,500 large truckloads of fill to be transported through the adjacent neighborhoods. Thompson said that even if this is partially filled, it would require about 11,700 large truckloads of dirt to be transported there.

“Either of these options would have significant negative impacts to the areas surrounding the park, which will have to bear the brunt of the noise, emissions and traffic disruptions for many years,” the letter said. “For comparison purposes, it took six years to bring 1.7 million cubic yards of fill to Ferry Point Park in the Bronx.”

Thompson also cautioned that Parks was in the process of meeting with agencies regarding environmental assessment issues, and that an Environmental Assessment Statement (EAS) EAS could be included as a separate fee in any proposal. That information would help in determining whether adverse effects on the environment may be significant enough to warrant further analysis.

The Comptroller further questioned the selection process. The vendor was selected from among three participants through a quasi-competitive process. Thompson noted that changes to the design that may arise from the environmental and public assessments may significantly impact the vendor’s proposal.

“Given the sensitive ecological nature of the location, we strongly believe that the environmental assessment process must have maximum transparency,” the letter reads. “In that light, we are also concerned that it may be a conflict of interest to have the EAS vendor be a subcontractor to the architect, who has a vested interest in pursuing the construction.”

Last Thursday, Thompson testified at a New York City Council’s Parks & Recreation Committee hearing on the future of the Ridgewood Reservoir. Earlier, in an opinion piece published in The New York Times last month, Thompson and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. warned against destroying “this extraordinary natural habitat” on the Brooklyn-Queens border.

“This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas,” they wrote. “The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call ‘highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.”

The reservoir was built in 1858 to provide drinking water to Brooklyn residents. It was converted as a back-up reservoir in 1959 and taken offline in 1989. Since then, trees, plants, turtles, fish, frogs and more than 137 bird species, including eight rare ones identified on the National Audubon Society’s “Watch List,” thrive on the land.

Comptroller Thompson maintains that the City’s money could be better spent improving Highland Park, immediately next to Ridgewood Reservoir. Highland Park has plenty of ball fields to serve its neighborhood, but they are in such deplorable condition that few people use them.

Additionally, Thompson recommends that the trail surrounding the perimeter of the reservoir be upgraded with benches and rest areas as well as signage calling attention to its unique flora and fauna, and believes the area around the reservoir should be opened for guided nature walks.

Controller Balks at Reservoir Site Design by Lisa Colangelo - NY Dauily News

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The city's plan to redevelop the Ridgewood Reservoir suffered a setback this week when city Controller William Thompson rejected a Parks Department contract to design the site.

The agency should not have awarded the $3.3 million contract without "a full understanding of all the issues pertaining to any new development" of the environmentally sensitive area, according to a June 23 letter from the controller's office to the Parks Department.

In addition, having an architect selected by the agency also oversee an environmental assessment of the site could be a conflict of interest, the letter states.

Geoffrey Croft of New York City Park Advocates, who believes the reservoir area should remain untouched, said Thompson is doing the right thing by "nipping the contract in the bud."

"Unfortunately, once you pay a designer it's often hard to undo plans in the Parks Department world," said Croft.

Four years ago, the city Department of Environmental Protection turned over the 50-acre, defunct reservoir site - located next to Highland Park at the Brooklyn-Queens border - to the Parks Department.

Parks officials are floating several plans to redevelop the area, currently filled with dense shrubs, trees and wetlands. Under one scenario, an old basin would be filled to create ballfields and other recreational facilities. The idea has some activists up in arms.

Thompson said that would require up to 1 million cubic yards of fill being trucked in through local streets, causing years of noise, pollution and traffic woes.

Parks officials have said they will weigh community concerns before finalizing designs.

"We plan to review the controller's concerns and meet with the controller so that the design contract and the planning can move ahead on this great park," a Parks Department statement said yesterday.

One of the key goals of PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg's sweeping environmental initiative, "is to ensure that every New Yorker lives within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space," the agency added. "Highland Park in Queens is one of eight large parks being redesigned to help achieve this goal."

The agency has also pointed out that local church leaders have been urging the city to provide more ballfields for children.

Thompson, who is eying a run for mayor next year, has been vocal in his concerns about the site.

Last month, he and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. penned a column for The New York Times heralding the reservoir an "accidental wilderness" rarely seen in the five boroughs.

Thompson and Kennedy said the city should instead spend the money on improving ballfields at Highland Park.

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

With John Lauinger

The Battle Over Ridgewood Reservoir by Mike Muller - Gotham Gazette - The Wonkster

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Located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens in Highland Park rests the Ridgewood Reservoir, a 50 acre enclave reclaimed by nature. It is a series of three abandoned reservoirs that have become the home of trees, birds, and insects over two decades of idleness. In 2004, the mayor turned over the bucolic area from the hands of the Department of Environmental Protection to the Parks Department. Then last year, as part of PlaNYC 2030, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed converting one of the reservoirs for recreational use while setting the others aside as nature preserves.

The comptroller, parks commissioner, activists, bloggers, and the area’s new council member all have something to say about that.

Comptroller William Thompson took a tour of the forested redoubt in Feb. Although he took no position on Bloomberg’s $50 million proposal then, he recently penned an op-ed with Robert Kennedy in the New York Times opposing it.

“This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas,” they wrote. “The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call ‘highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.’”

Community activist and blogger David Quintana agrees. “I can only hope that with a concerted effort of community activists, political pressure and plain old common sense that the reservoir will be left alone and continue to flourish and be the tranquil sea of green that Mother Nature has reforested over the last 40 years while the City of New York neglected the facility,” he wrote in a comment on the opinion piece.

But in a letter to the editor, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe wrote: “As with all of these projects, the city holds listening sessions with community residents to incorporate their input into the design. Many options have been discussed, including one with athletic fields in a small area of the 50-acre Ridgewood Reservoir, an area that is composed primarily of invasive trees and vines that threaten the park’s ecological balance.”

Some parks blogs had plenty to say in response to that.

“Any discussions about designs that involved breaching the reservoir’s retaining wall to install active recreation were one-sided,” the Save Ridgewood Reservoir blog rebuts. “The parks department came up with the ideas, not the communities.”

“For an underfunded city agency, the Parks Department ought to focus on maintenance and repair instead of elaborate reconstructions,” the Washington Square Park blog adds. “However, that’s not quite as splashy.”

The area’s new council member, Anthony Como, had taken positions on the plan during the recent special election.

In a questionnaire, he said he supported preserving two of the basins and transforming the other. “This balance will allow for the appreciation of nature and the importance of having the fields for moderate physical activity.” But in a candidate forum, he adde that he was opposed to a baseball field on the grounds that it would disrupt the ecosystem. “Moderate walking, maybe hiking, or running is fine, but otherwise, I think it’ll destroy the whole system,” the council member-elect said.

Letter - Plans for a Park in Queens - Letter by Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe - NYTimes.com

The Commissioner of Parks and Recreation (DOPR) fails to mention that at the listening sessions his department conducted not one person from the community advocated for the destruction of the Ridgewood Reservoir nor the placing of active sports facilities on the natural areas of the Reservoir, but they did implore for the DOPR to rehabilitate the existing sports facilities at Highland Park...The DOPR might have conducted "listening sessions" but they failed to "hear" what the public had to say and moved ahead with their own plans...

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To the Editor:

Op-Ed Contributors: A Wilderness, Lost in the City (May 29, 2008)

Photo from Queens Crap

Re “A Wilderness, Lost in the City,” by William C. Thompson Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Op-Ed, May 29):

One of the key goals of PlaNYC, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s far-reaching plan to fight global warming and create a more livable city, is to ensure that every New Yorker lives within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space.

Highland Park in Queens is one of eight large underdeveloped parks where we are expanding access to help achieve this goal.

As with all of these projects, the city holds listening sessions with community residents to incorporate their input into the design. Many options have been discussed, including one with athletic fields in a small area of the 50-acre Ridgewood Reservoir, an area that is composed primarily of invasive trees and vines that threaten the park’s ecological balance.

As we begin the design process, we look forward to continued collaboration with the community and with all interested New Yorkers in order to build the best possible park.

Adrian Benepe
Commissioner, Department of Parks and Recreation
New York, May 29, 2008

Green Brooklyn » Brooklyn Wilderness Lost Before It Has Been Found?

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Everyone knows the saying: “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?”

Here’s another version: “If a wilderness in the city gets destroyed and nobody hears about it, does it matter?”

In a city with a lack of green space, wilderness, and biodiversity such as New York City; it not only matters, but it is incredibly important that we preserve what little pockets of nature remain.

The NYT yesterday ran an op/ed piece about just such a threatened wilderness — the historic Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border.

The article was co-authored by NYC comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a lawyer for the environmental organization Riverkeeper (which you may know from their work restoring the Hudson River and in advocating for the clean-up of the Newtown Creek/Greenpoint oil disaster).

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Press Release From NYC Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. - THOMPSON & KENNEDY: PARKS DEPARTMENT SHOULD PRESERVE, NOT DESTROY, RIDGEWOOD RESERVOIR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 29, 2008

Contact: Mike Loughran

THOMPSON & KENNEDY: PARKS DEPARTMENT SHOULD PRESERVE, NOT DESTROY, RIDGEWOOD RESERVOIR

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today called on the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to reconsider plans to replace nearly half of the Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border with sports fields.

In an opinion piece published in The New York Times, the two warned against destroying “this extraordinary natural habitat.”

“This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas,” the wrote. “The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call ‘highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.”

Thompson is New York City’s 42^nd Comptroller. Kennedy is a lawyer for Riverkeeper, an environmental group.

The 50-acre reservoir, which sits on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, was built in 1858 to provide drinking water to Brooklyn residents. It was converted as a back-up reservoir in 1959 and taken offline in 1989. Since then, trees, plants, turtles, fish, frogs and more than 137 bird species, including eight rare ones identified on the National Audubon Society’s “Watch List,” thrive on the land.

However, the Parks Department is considering a $50 million “renovation” project that would replace a large swath of Ridgewood wilderness with sports facilities athletic fields. The agency claims the project is necessary to help combat child obesity.

“This is an important objective, but money…could be better spent improving Highland Park, immediately next to Ridgewood Reservoir,” the two wrote. “Highland Park has plenty of ball fields to serve its neighborhood, but they are in such deplorable condition that few people use them.”

Additionally, the two recommended that the trail surrounding the perimeter of the reservoir should be upgraded with benches and rest areas as well as signage calling attention to its unique flora and fauna, and asked that the Parks Department to open areas of the reservoir for guided nature walks.

“Ridgewood Reservoir offers visitors a rare chance to lose themselves in a forest, to hear bird song, to touch wilderness and to sense the divine,” they concluded. “The city shouldn’t let that slip away.”

Save New York’s Ridgewood Reservoir by William C. Thompson, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - Op-Ed Contributors - NYTimes.com

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MANY people are astounded to learn that there is a teeming wildlife preserve in New York City. Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border is an oasis where an amazing range of plant and animal species thrive in a verdant landscape of steep hills and narrow valleys amid the city’s paved sidewalks.

But what’s more astounding, the city’s Parks Department could wind up destroying it.

Ridgewood is an accidental wilderness, tucked alongside the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Built in 1858 to provide drinking water to Brooklyn, the reservoir was abandoned in 1989.

As the 50 acres reverted to wetlands, meadows and forests, tens of thousands of plants and trees took root and flourished. Turtles, fish, frogs and millions of insects moved in. Songbirds nested in the glades, transforming the area into a migratory rest stop. According to the National Audubon Society, 137 species of birds use the reservoir, including eight rare species. It is a place as close to unspoiled nature as you’re likely to find anywhere within city limits.

Yet, the New York City Parks Department is considering a $50 million “renovation” project that would cover more than 20 acres of the reservoir with athletic fields and facilities.

This plan flies in the face of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the loss of the city’s natural areas. The Parks Department’s own scientific consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call “highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.”

The parks commissioner has said the city needs the athletic fields to combat childhood obesity. This is an important objective, but the money that would be used to destroy this extraordinary natural habitat could be better spent improving Highland Park, next to Ridgewood Reservoir. Highland Park has plenty of ball fields to serve its neighborhood, but they are in such deplorable condition that few people use them.

Ridgewood’s natural preserve is a great place for people of all ages to walk and hike. Its trails should be upgraded with benches and rest areas as well as markers pointing out unique flora and fauna. The Parks Department should also open areas of the reservoir for guided nature walks, a great educational tool.

Ridgewood Reservoir offers visitors a rare chance to lose themselves in a forest, to hear bird song, to touch wilderness and to sense the divine. The city shouldn’t let that slip away.

William C. Thompson Jr. is the comptroller of the City of New York. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a lawyer for Riverkeeper, an environmental group.