SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Photo by nolastname

You know spring is near when the South Brooklyn coastal communities are getting ready for the birds. Our area, blessed by the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, is a stopping point for more than 325 species of migrating birds.

Over by the golf course near Flatbush Avenue on the Belt Parkway, locals are kicking off the season with a word – and drawing – of warning to drivers getting on the highway. Scores of Canadian geese take to the area, many landing in the golf course itself. Sections of the fence are down to allow the birds access to the shore, but not before a perilous journey over the Belt.

Drivers, heed this advice: drive slowly on this section of the Belt Parkway (not that you have a choice).

From TimesNewsweekly.com:

An agreement to improve the overall water quality and mitigate marshland loss in Jamaica Bay through a total of $115 million in new investments was announced last Thursday, Feb. 25 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis, Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Cas Holloway and Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director Peter Lehner.

The city will dedicate $100 million to installing new nitrogen control technologies at wastewater treatment plants located on Jamaica Bay. These investments, made in concert with $95 million the city already has committed for nitrogen control upgrades, aim to reduce the nitrogen loads discharged into Jamaica Bay by nearly 50 percent over the next ten years.

The city also will invest $15 milstruction lion [sic] for marshland restoration projects around the bay. As part of the agreement, the DEC will exempt the city from $45 million in potential penalties for construction delays in nitrogen upgrades at other wastewater treatment plants and those dollars will be invested in future clean water projects.

“Jamaica Bay is without question one of the most bountiful wildlife habitats in the entire Northeast,” said Bloomberg. “It is important to the people who live in the area for its rich biodiversity, the recreation it offers, and the protection the marshlands provide from flooding. This agreement is an outstanding example of government and citizens’ groups working together to meet a major goal of our sweeping PlaNYC agenda: improving the quality of waterways around the city.”

Read the full article.

The proposed overhaul of Paerdegat Basin Bridge includes building two new structures
and demolishing the existing bridge

At 10:00 p.m. tonight, Department of Transportation workers will shut down lanes in both directions of the Belt Parkway, moving forward with a seven-year renovation plan of the highway’s bridges and overpasses.

The first lane closures will occur between the Fresh Creek and the Paerdegat Bridges. The closures – which occur during nights, weekends, and non-rush hour afternoons – are required for the installation of temporary concrete barriers, lighting, and paving and the removal of existing lighting systems and median guiderail. The expected duration of this phase of work is 6 to 8 weeks.

Continue reading to see the schedule of lane closures and find out more about DOT’s plans.

Weiner is requesting money to implement long term solutions to Plumb Beach erosion

United States Congressman Anthony Weiner requested $35,000,000 for waterfront and marina maintenance projects in the Sheepshead Bay and Plumb Beach area, including dredging of the bay and long term erosion defense.

Weiner is asking that the requests be included as part of the 2010 Water Resource Development Act, which federal legislators began piecing together in August. WRDA a is biennial comprehensive water resources law that authorizes studies and projects within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission areas, including navigation, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection, and environmental restoration.

Continue Reading »

The silver lining in the recent devastation of Plumb Beach is that community leaders, and city, state, and federal agencies are finally considering long term solutions to erosion issues at Plumb Beach.

Congressman Anthony Weiner once again brought together officials from Department of Transportation, Parks Department, National Parks Service, Community Board 15, and Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic on Tuesday, December 1, to survey erosion’s threat to the important ecological zone and the Belt Parkway.

After surveying the damage, all came to a consensus: more needs to be done to protect the beach and highway. Continue Reading »

The devastation caused to Plumb Beach this weekend by the remnants of Hurricane Ida was “No surprise,” according to members of Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association and experts. As recently as January, officials from the community, city, state, and federal agencies convened at the Plumb Beach bathhouse to discuss protection of the increasingly dangerous bike path and the threatened Belt Parkway. The problem is greater, though, affecting the ecology and wildlife of the entire area.

The meeting, called by Congressman Anthony Weiner to survey nature’s threat, ended with calls for solutions. At the time, the surging waters appeared to be passing underneath the bike path. Water soaked the grass adjacent to the highway, suggesting that erosion was occurring beneath the Belt Parkway as well, undermining its stability. While SBPB Civic proposed a plan to shore up the coast and add more sand and rocks underneath the bike path to strengthen it, nothing has happened. Continue Reading »

This weekend’s storms sparked by Hurricane Ida battered the Plumb Beach coastline, leaving a trail of destruction and providing fuel for a new wave of jurisdictional battles between NYC Parks Department and the U.S. National Parks Service.

The tale of devastation was drawn in the sand, as rubble from the bike path dotted the shore, carving lines to the water. Trees lay like fallen solders, their sides partially submerged and their roots reaching into the air. The water clawed sand out from under roots and rock, leaving everything without ground to stand on. In all, as the hurricane swept up the northeastern coast, it pushed back Plumb Beach’s protective break-line several feet, felling dozens of trees, and crumbling about 100 yards of the bike path. Continue Reading »

It was ten years ago that scientists began to take note of Jamaica Bay’s rapidly deteriorating marshes, and earlier this year that Congressman Anthony Weiner proclaimed a four point plan to target the culprit: nitrogen. While small projects have come and gone to shore up the city’s most important ecological treasure, which includes Plumb Beach and Gateway National Park, they proved to be akin to putting a band-aid on a late stage Ebola victim. Well, Ebola-infected Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, get ready for your cast!

The United States Army Corps of Engineers announced last week that it will partner with several agencies to help restore the dying salt marshes. The marshes starting shrinking by more than 44 acres a year, according to a study done in 2001. At the time, scientists predicted it would be gone in 20 years, and with it the fish, shellfish, birds, and plants that make the most unique and important ecosystem in the northeastern coastline. The marshes help improve water quality by removing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates. That is, unless it overdoses on those ingredients

And it has. More than 250 million gallons of “treated” shit, piss, and children’s dead goldfish pour into Jamaica Bay each day from four wastewater treatment facilities. The nitrogen buildup proved to be too much for the marshes, and like a heroin addict with too much smack, they’re withering away.

That’s why in November the Corps of Engineers (Earth), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Fire), the U.S. National Park Service (Wind), the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation (Water), and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (Heart) have combined their powers to dump 200,000 cubic yards of clean sand (Captain Planet) into our Bay. The project aims to restore about 35 acres of low and high marsh habitat in Jamaica Bay, at a cost of $11.5 million.

This is a good thing, right? We think so, but we still can’t shake the idea that this is just a larger, more expensive band-aid on that heroin-addicted Ebola victim. Afterall, if the marshes are declining by 44 acres each year, how the hell will 35 acres and $11.5 million change the situation?

On Saturday, October 24, the NYC Audubon Butterfly and Bird Walk at Plumb Beach is kicking off at the Plumb Beach Round House off the Belt Parkway. Show up at 9:30 a.m. to see some of the birds and bugs in Jamaica Bay, one of New York City’s only federally protected nature reserves. The walk is free and ends at 1:00 p.m. Call NYC Audubon to reserve at (212) 691-7483.

(Photo courtesy of Tom Turner via Flickr)

(Photo courtesy of vracing via Flickr)

For all the bird-brains out there, the New York City Audubon Society has planned a Jamaica Bay Sunset Cruise departing from Sheepshead Bay this weekend, Saturday, June 20th.

South Brooklyn residents are lucky to live near one of the Northeast’s best bird-watching locales – Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. This weekend, NYC Audubon guides Don Riepe and Mickey Cohen are leading passengers of the Golden Sunshine around the backwater marshes near JFK Airport to learn about the history, ecology, and wildlife of the bay. See nesting peregrine falcon, osprey, egrets, shorebirds, and waterfowl. Includes wine and cheese, fruit, drinks, and snacks.

When: Saturday, June 20th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Golden Sunshine, departing from Pier 2 in Sheepshead Bay
Price: $45
For reservations, call 718-318-9344 or email driepe@nyc.rr.com