I wish to express my strong opposition to the current RIOC/Langan plan to develop the east and west shorelines of Southpoint Park. I am a 20-year resident of Roosevelt Island, a retired faculty member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and a current student in the NY Botanical Garden Urban Naturalist certificate program. For over the last two years as part of my coursework, I visit Southpoint Park weekly for 1-2 hours each to observe and write about the plants, insects, birds, and animals of my chosen “patch” in the Park. I have a deep appreciation and love of the wildlife I see there. To essentially eliminate these two small natural habitats (by my calculation, about 1.5 acres, or 1% of the total land mass of the Island), is to degrade and lose the last two significant “wild” areas of the Island. That decision would contribute to the national and worldwide destruction of habitat for native insects/pollinators, native plants, and both domestic and migratory birds. As recent scientific reports show, insect populations have declined by 50-75% [1], and since 1970, in North America we have lost over 3 billion birds [2], due mainly due to habitat loss. Land is taken away and they are literally starved and unable to breed. When we focus exclusively on human needs without regard for sustaining the life around us, these kindred creatures die off and human beings themselves are endangered—economically, in our own health and survival, and spiritually. But this dire outcome is preventable. I can attest personally over the course of 150+ observations and visits to Southpoint Park that both native birds (e.g., American robin, mockingbird, white-throated sparrow) and migratory birds (e.g., Northern flicker, Blackpol warbler, Purple finch) find shelter and food in these two shoreline habitats. The trees and dense understory protect birds from predators and promote native plant growth and the insects and pollinators that depend upon these plants. Granted, due to neglect these two habitats are infected with invasive plants—Japanese knotweed and bindweed—and part of the restoration I am proposing would entail their mechanical removal (please, no herbicides!) and the planting of native trees and herbaceous plants. The restoration of these two habitats should be complementary to Southpoint Park’s extensive native plantings but provide a critical buffer zone for birds and native plant and trees that also includes the East River shorelines for nesting of water fowl. This is quite do-able, with great benefits to us and wildlife. Roosevelt Island is already rich with ample walking venues with stunning views east and west, north and south; there is no sensible rationale for eliminating these two remaining wild habitats to provide even more human-focused passive recreation opportunities when the cost to habitat is so high. I strongly encourage you and Langan to reconsider the plan you have presented to the Community and instead focus on preservation of what is good in these two habitats, restoration of native plants and trees, and an educational focus for the public. Engaging our children and their parents in the natural wonders on our little urban island could be a focus of such restoration, but without detrimental intrusion. Landscape architects and park experts know how to do this. The children of Roosevelt Island and New York City deserve to have your and my generation’s commitment to passing on to them a healthy, enriching environment so that they experience the wonders of the natural world. To fail the next generations with the current Southpoint/Langan plan will be a shame—a lost opportunity to heal this damaged world, starting with our beloved Roosevelt Island. Respectfully, Jack Burkhalter, Ph.D.
References: [1] Hallmann, Caspar A. et al. More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/jou... October 18, 2017 [2] Rosenberg, Kenneth V. et al. Science 04 Oct 2019: Vol. 366, Issue 6461, pp. 120-124.
I wish to express my strong opposition to the current RIOC/Langan plan to develop the east and west shorelines of Southpoint Park. I am a 20-year resident of Roosevelt Island, a retired faculty member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and a current student in the NY Botanical Garden Urban Naturalist certificate program. For over the last two years as part of my coursework, I visit Southpoint Park weekly for 1-2 hours each to observe and write about the plants, insects, birds, and animals of my chosen “patch” in the Park. I have a deep appreciation and love of the wildlife I see there.
To essentially eliminate these two small natural habitats (by my calculation, about 1.5 acres, or 1% of the total land mass of the Island), is to degrade and lose the last two significant “wild” areas of the Island. That decision would contribute to the national and worldwide destruction of habitat for native insects/pollinators, native plants, and both domestic and migratory birds. As recent scientific reports show, insect populations have declined by 50-75% [1], and since 1970, in North America we have lost over 3 billion birds [2], due mainly due to habitat loss. Land is taken away and they are literally starved and unable to breed. When we focus exclusively on human needs without regard for sustaining the life around us, these kindred creatures die off and human beings themselves are endangered—economically, in our own health and survival, and spiritually. But this dire outcome is preventable.
I can attest personally over the course of 150+ observations and visits to Southpoint Park that both native birds (e.g., American robin, mockingbird, white-throated sparrow) and migratory birds (e.g., Northern flicker, Blackpol warbler, Purple finch) find shelter and food in these two shoreline habitats. The trees and dense understory protect birds from predators and promote native plant growth and the insects and pollinators that depend upon these plants. Granted, due to neglect these two habitats are infected with invasive plants—Japanese knotweed and bindweed—and part of the restoration I am proposing would entail their mechanical removal (please, no herbicides!) and the planting of native trees and herbaceous plants. The restoration of these two habitats should be complementary to Southpoint Park’s extensive native plantings but provide a critical buffer zone for birds and native plant and trees that also includes the East River shorelines for nesting of water fowl. This is quite do-able, with great benefits to us and wildlife.
Roosevelt Island is already rich with ample walking venues with stunning views east and west, north and south; there is no sensible rationale for eliminating these two remaining wild habitats to provide even more human-focused passive recreation opportunities when the cost to habitat is so high. I strongly encourage you and Langan to reconsider the plan you have presented to the Community and instead focus on preservation of what is good in these two habitats, restoration of native plants and trees, and an educational focus for the public. Engaging our children and their parents in the natural wonders on our little urban island could be a focus of such restoration, but without detrimental intrusion. Landscape architects and park experts know how to do this.
The children of Roosevelt Island and New York City deserve to have your and my generation’s commitment to passing on to them a healthy, enriching environment so that they experience the wonders of the natural world. To fail the next generations with the current Southpoint/Langan plan will be a shame—a lost opportunity to heal this damaged world, starting with our beloved Roosevelt Island.
Respectfully,
Jack Burkhalter, Ph.D.
References:
[1] Hallmann, Caspar A. et al. More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/jou... October 18, 2017
[2] Rosenberg, Kenneth V. et al. Science 04 Oct 2019: Vol. 366, Issue 6461, pp. 120-124.