SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Thousands flocked to this year’s Red Hawk Native American Art Council Pow Wow at Floyd Bennett Field this year, a weekend event where descendants of Native Americans take back a chunk of the parkland where their ancestors once lived and fished.

Reader Vladimir K. attended the annual event and took some stunning photos to share, as well as a little report about how the event went.

“[At the event] you’ll be able to see a wide variety of Native American souvenirs on sale, admire the “Birds Of Prey” show and watch quite a few men and women dancing Native American dances in their versions of Native American costumes. All the dancing happens to the Native American tribal music played live right in front of you,” he wrote to Sheepshead Bites.

“Not many but a few of those guys have faces right from the The Last of the Mohicans. A few others could be extras on the Apocalypto,” Vladimir added.

Aside from kid friendly activities and live music, a major highlight of the event is the Birds of Prey show, where trainers display hawks and other raptors and bring them up close to attendees.

“Bottom line: if you live nearby, have children from 5 to 12 and like to shoot pictures occasionally – it makes sense to go at least once,” Vladimir concluded.

Check out Vladimir’s beautiful photos of the Pow Wow Festival.

Click to enlarge

The company seeking to run a gas pipeline under Floyd Bennett Field and build a meter and regulating station in a historic airplane hangar there commissioned a report that found a .2 percent chance the planned facility would be flooded, even amid rising sea levels.

The Williams Transco pipeline company’s report came in response to an April 4 letter from the New York Department of State seeking reassurance that the station couldn’t be breeched after the Federal Emergency Management Agency updated its flood maps, post-Hurricane Sandy.

“Infrastructure in general was severely impacted by Sandy and NYDOS would not be adequately addressing coastal policies if we did not try to ensure that new infrastructure projects were able to withstand coastal impacts, including flooding,” Laz Benitez, an NYDOS spokesman said in an email.

Keep reading to find out Transco’s response.

A Ford Trimotor airplane at Floyd Bennett Field. Source: Wikipedia

Head on over to Floyd Bennett Field’s Ryan Visitor Center this weekend where you can hear a park ranger discuss “Naval Aviation Between the Wars, 1919 – 1941,” April 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

There, you will see a presentation and hear a discussion of the development of the U.S. Navy’s aviation capabilities between World Wars I and II, and the role that Jamaica Bay played in it.

The event is open to the public. There is no charge and no reservations are required.

For further information, call (718) 619-1438.

Jamaica Bay Pipeline Source: Williams

After months of protests, legal wrangling and more last-minute protests, the controversial Jamaica Bay Pipeline project is now in construction. According to a report by Gotham Gazette, construction on the 1.6 mile pipeline that stretches underneath Jacob Riis Park and ends at a meter and regulating station positioned at Floyd Bennett Field is now officially underway, much to the consternation of opponents who believe the pipeline could pose an environmental hazard.

While officials at National Grid have stated that the actual drilling has yet to commence, preparatory work for construction has already begun. Eventually, National Grid will connect the pipeline to the planned gas meter and regulating station located in a hanger at Floyd Bennett Field. The gas lines will service customers in Brooklyn and Queens. The project links the National Grid delivery system with Transco Williams’s offshore feeder.

While environmentalists have protested the pipeline, citing potential harm to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, local animal life and danger to residents from potential hazards, as well as industrializing a national park, National Grid promised that the line would actually be good for the environment.

“Each conversion is equivalent to taking 15 cars off the road for a year,” the Gotham Gazette reported the company saying.

The first phase of the construction effort is expected to be completed by May.

Source: Williams

We’ve extensively covered the evolution of the proposed Jamaica Bay Pipeline, a project which would run a natural gas line through the Jamaica Bay wetlands, underneath Jacob Riis Park and ending at Floyd Bennett Field, where a meter and regulating station will be placed in a hangar, and connected to the National Grid infrastructure. While the legality of the pipeline is no longer in question, Williams Transco, the company looking to build the pipeline, must get the approval from the New York State Coastal Management Program (NYS CMP) before its application can be processed. The Coalition Against the Rockaway Pipeline (CARP) is imploring readers to submit comments before tomorrow to the NYS CMP  to stop the project before it gets underway.

CARP published a list of its own comments that they are submitting to the NYS CMP, expressing their belief that the pipeline represents a dangerous hazard to both residents living near the areas it cuts through and to the environment. One particularly nasty comment submitted by CARP points to the potential radioactivity of the project.

The gas carried in the pipeline will be radioactive. Shale gas from the Marcellus has extremely high levels of radon, the second highest cause of lung cancer in the US.

Scary stuff. To read the full list of complaints CARP has against the proposed pipeline , you can visit CARP’s website by clicking here.

The deadline to submit comments is March 15 and if you’d like to send one, email matthew.maraglio@dos.ny.gov.

Source: Howard N2GOT / Flickr

The Gateway National Recreation Area announced the state of their recovery following the destruction left by Superstorm Sandy late last October.

Many parks have already re-opened for the summer season, including the campgrounds at Floyd Bennett Field, which opened March 1, while even more are slated for spring openings. Here is a rundown of what’s open and what’s set to open, courtesy of the Gateway National Recreation Area’s release:

The following areas of the park are already open to the public; Fort Wadsworth, Great Kills Park (with the exception of Crooke’s Point), the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Floyd Bennett Field, Frank Charles Park and Hamilton Beach. The park is pleased to be able to announce more opening dates.

… To make a reservation at any of our camp sites please visit www.recreation.gov. Some fishing areas are already open, others, such as Crooke’s Point will open soon. Unfortunately some fishing areas won’t be open this year due to safety issues. 2012 fishing permits will be honored through March 31st, and 2013 permits will be available after March 15th. Most guarded beach areas will open as normal for the summer season, Memorial Day Weekend.

Riis Park will open Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27, 2013). Fort Tilden Beach will be closed this summer due to safety concerns, but the facilities in Fort Tilden, including the Rockaway Little League, will be open for the summer. The Breezy Point Tip access road remains closed until it can be regraded. Canarsie Pier remains closed until an engineering study can be done.

Photo Courtesy Of Jeremy Drakeford

Officials from the Parks Department and the National Parks Service are collaborating on plans to bring food concession stands, and bike and kayak rentals to Jamaica Bay, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

Officials hope that an expansion of services in the region will go hand-in-hand with the restoration of the bay.

“We’re excited about the future plans for Jamaica Bay,” Dan Mundy Jr. of Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers told the Daily News. “People will have greater access to the bay and we will also be able to keep up with restoration programs.”

Dan Hendrick, who is making a documentary called Jamaica Bay Lives, told the Daily News that increased tourism friendly activities around the bay will have a positive impact on the community that lives near the bay.

But Hendrick said many area residents have a “disconnect” with the bay because they consider it polluted. He hopes by opening it up to different kinds of recreation — such as camping in areas such as Floyd Bennett Field — they will develop a connection.

While its nice that the Parks Department and the National Parks Service want to create a more tourist friendly Jamaica Bay, there is also a mixed message being sent as the industrialization of Floyd Bennett Field continues with the development of the Jamaica Bay pipeline project.

Despite this, officials are excited about transforming Jamaica Bay into a hotter tourist destination, hoping that added amenities will spark a resurgence of interest.

Source: Howard N2GOT / Flickr

A cadre of city, state and federal representatives spoke of Superstorm Sandy’s impact on Jamaica Bay last Tuesday at the latest Jamaica Bay Task Force meeting, according to a report by Rockawave.

The gathering was stuffed with over 150 people, all eager to hear from officials over the state of the Bay.

“Whatever you think of climate change, it is an indisputable fact that in the past 100 years water levels have risen,” said Carter Strickland, an NYC Department of Environmental Protection representative.

Learn the specifics of how Jamaica Bay weathered the storm.

Source: Williams

The reality of the proposed Rockaways natural gas pipeline project came one step closer to fruition this week as Williams Transco, the company looking to build it, officially filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin the project, according to a report by Natural Gas Watch.

As we’ve previously reported, opposition to the pipeline was heated, but federal legislation signed by President Obama last month made it legal for companies like Williams Transco to do construction in Gateway National Recreational Area, a federal parkland that includes Floyd Bennett Field. The filing is only the latest formal action; Williams has been providing FERC with pre-filing reports and documentation for several years – and locals have been filing statements of opposition, too.

The pipeline, officially known as the Rockaway Delivery Lateral Project, is set to run through the Jamaica Bay wetlands, underneath Jacob Riis Park and ending at Floyd Bennett Field where a new meter and regulating station will be built in two of the park’s historic hangars.

Environmentalists and local residents have voiced opposition to the project due to fears  of the proposed new regulating station at Floyd Bennett Field being flooded in the event of another storm like Hurricane Sandy, as well as other safety, environmental and security concerns.

Williams Transco claims that the pipeline will provide much needed extra energy to New York and “supply flexibility and increased capacity to meet future incremental demand growth.”

Source: Williams

As we recently reported, the proposed construction of the Rockaways Pipeline Project crossed another hurdle towards reality when President Obama recently signed H.R. 2606, approving the measure that would connect a 3.17-mile natural gas line from the Atlantic Ocean underneath Jamaica Bay to a meter and regulating station in Floyd Bennett Field. The proposed project, which still needs the approval of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission, is still facing harsh and growing concern from residents, environmentalists, and local politicians, especially in the light of the devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy, according to a report in the Gotham Gazette.

The report, which details much of what we’ve previously covered, highlights the new argument against the pipeline, growing from concerns over the risks and dangers of building a natural gas pipeline in an area already devastated by Sandy.

The damage Sandy visited upon Jamaica Bay was summed up by Dan Mundy, vice-president of Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers,

“The Bay has taken a big hit,” [Mundy] added that “tremendous amounts” of fuel oil and debris had entered Jamaica Bay as a result of the storm, and that two freshwater ponds had breached “in a very dramatic fashion.” Mundy explained that tides had flushed out much of the oil, but he added that the post-storm period was a “critical time for mitigation”.

Local politicians have also begun speaking out against the project since the events of Superstorm Sandy. U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke emailed the Gotham Gazette stating, “Our need for independent energy cannot precede the safety of our community and environment.” State Senator Joseph Addabbo stressed the importance of  helping people of the local community recover from Sandy over starting a massive new pipeline project saying, “Doing this simultaneously with Sandy becomes a daunting task. People are trying to get their lives back.”

Another major concern are the changes that will be heading to Floyd Bennett Park should the project proceed. Karen Orlando, a local resident and member of the Floyd Bennett Garden Association told Gotham Gazette that, “This bill puts a pipeline under a popular beach and introduces private industrial use of a federal park, and it does so with no public input,” and that an “industrial infrastructure,” placed in Floyd Bennett field itself, “a couple hundred of feet from a community garden used by four to five-hundred members and their families,” would have negative impact as well.