A Tour of the Battery Conservancy

June 21, 2011

Battery Conservancy President and Founder, Warrie Price, gives Liz Conner a tour of the Battery Conservancy

(viewable on full screen 1080iHD)

The West Thames grass field is closed for the season

November 7, 2011

After numerous stories in the local press observing that the expensive newly sodded West Thames Tire Swing Park grass field was becoming trampled to death once again, the Parks Conservancy headed by Tess Huxley finally closed the field for the season. Why 50% of the field was not alternated and closed for root regrowth earlier in the season, allowing for usage of the field and preventing the grass damage we see now, is a mystery. Hopefully, the field will regenerate this time and not require re-sodding.

Monarch butterflies in Wagner Park

Grass field well on its way to becoming a mud field again

September 6, 2011

The CB1 Battery Park City committee met last night to discuss the protection and upkeep of the luxurious expensive West Thames “Tire Swing” Park grass field. Recall, the BPCA refused to care for the field in 2010 when it was opened, not using the BPC Park Enforcement Patrol (PEPs) to enforce rules. As a result, overuse by adults in soccer cleats turned the field into a mud wrestling pit. This time around, after spending hundreds of thousands more of taxpayer dollars to re-sod the field, the BPCA claimed that it had resolved the dispute with the DOT and would be tending to this field as it does with the other grass spots within Battery Park City. However, that is clearly not happening.

Since opening on August 15, the West Thames field has not been patrolled by the local and numerous BPCA PEPs, of which there are more in number than any other region of the city. This has been intentional as the BPCA claims the land is owned by an obscure entity called the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT). More than a mile away at Pier 40, the HRPT has a smaller PEP force responsible for a larger area. The BPCA claims that these PEPs, rarely ever seen down in Battery Park, will be the ones responsible for patrolling the field and making sure that gangs of soccer players, etc. do not ruin the field again.

Astonishingly, at the CB1 meeting, BPCA spokesperson Leticia Remauro, and BPCA executive Anne Fenton sitting behind her, displayed very little concern for the rapid abuse and vandalism that the West Thames Park has already endured. When asked where the HRPT PEPs were physically based, Remauro replied, “I couldn’t tell you.”

In the short time since the grass field was re-opened, the field now has numerous dead spots caused by dogs urinating and defecating on the field, and the grass is 40% killed in areas due to overuse. The BPC Parks Conservancy, run by Tess Huxley, has failed to fence off areas periodically, as they effectively do the other grass spots. In short, the grass field, costing well more than $100,000 for the sod alone, is well on its way to becoming a mud field yet again.

To express your opinions on this, contact BPCA CEO Gayle Horwitz at gayle.horwitz@batteryparkcity.org or (212) 417-2000, and Parks Conservancy Director Tess Huxley at thuxley@bpcparks.org (212) 267-9700.

Time lapse of Freedom Tower/Sun Flowers going up

(View in full screen 1080iHD)

September 10, 2011

By Steven Greer

A time lapse of our local garden sun flowers growing into mini-towers as the real Freedom Tower grows behind it.

Photos of the week

September 2, 2011

Wagner Park

A flower hovering in air over a bench, or is it

(Click images to expand)

The Urban Farm

June 21, 2011

Warrie Price, President and Founder of the Battery Conservancy, gives Liz Conner a tour of the new Urban Farm growing vegetables

(Viewable in full screen 1080iHD)

No doubt about it. That’s a farmer’s market.

August 4, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

In what could be the freshest vegetables and fruits in all of Manhattan, and the most verifiably organic farmer’s market in the city, the Urban Farm of the Battery Conservancy is now yielding fruits and vegetables. They have set up a small market at the entrance. Much of the harvest comes from plots grown by local school children.

(In 1080iHD)

Photo of the Week

August 5, 2011

A bumble bee getting to work

(click image to enlarge)

Should organized sports be allowed on the new West Thames grass field?

June 3, 2011

Please complete this brief survey expressing your opinion on how the grass field should be used. Please click here to take the survey. It takes 20-seconds.

The “mud field” of West Thames Park is now sodded. In approximately eight weeks, a decision by someone will have to be made: should organized sports be allowed?

It was the cleats of soccer players that caused the most grass destruction. Surrounding lawns do not allow such activity, and are well protected by the Parks Conservancy crew, resulting in nice assets for the area. However, “decision by committee” often results in poor decisions. Who will decide the fate of the lawn: CB1, BPCA, DOT, or a “Lawn Czar”?

Scammers at the Farmers’ Market?

Update: June 30, 2011 A more genuine farmer’s market already

The farmer’s market at the WFC seems more authentic already, since our first story. Gone are the corn and watermelon in June that were  clearly imported from thousands of miles away rather than from an “organic local farm”.  All that we saw today was genuine locally grown vegetables.

(click images to expand)

June 10, 2011

How to Make Sure You’re Supporting Local Farmers Be educated, be vigilant, know what’s in season!
By Colleen Vanderlinden of Planetgreen.com

Apparently, the popularity of farmers’ markets is just too much temptation for some unscrupulous vendors.

NBC Los Angeles’ news team decided to do some checking around at local farmer’s markets, and paid visits to the farms where the vendors claimed they grew the food they were selling. In some cases, they found fields full of weeds or dry, empty fields. The vendors were selling vegetables and fruit they had bought wholesale, and were selling it at premium prices at local farmer’s markets, claiming it was locally grown and organic.

As to the “organic” claim, NBCLA also sent several items purchased from vendors who claimed not to use pesticides to labs for testing, and the results came back positive for pesticides. One of the “farmers” claimed that the pesticides found on their produce was the result of overspray from nearby farms, but the levels found on the tested produce were too high for it have been mere “drift.”

This particular story was reported in California, but there’s no doubt that it’s happening all over the country. Near my home, for example, there is a “farmer’s market” in a church parking lot every weekend during the summer. How they managed to have perfect-looking “locally grown” watermelons in early May in Detroit is beyond me. Needless to say, I don’t shop there.

How To Make Sure You’re Supporting Local Farmers Rather than Slimy Opportunists

· Research, research, research. Try to get to know a few vendors really well. Ask where their farm is located, how long they’ve been farming, how they handle pest and disease issues. See if they’re listed on sites like LocalHarvest — not all farmers are, but it doesn’t hurt to check. Ask them the specific variety of whatever produce they’re selling. If they really grew it, they should be able to tell you that those are ‘Emerite’ filet beans, not just “green beans.”
· Look over the display. Really look. This is a great tip from Homegrown Evolution. Are all of the tomatoes the exact same shape and size? Do the apples have that waxy supermarket look? Are the cucumbers all perfectly uniform? Are they selling “local” watermelon in Detroit during the first week of May? If so, they probably went to the warehouse club and bought produce to sell at a premium at the farmer’s market. Steer clear.
· Know what’s in season! If you see watermelon in April or peppers in December in Minnesota or Michigan, chances are good that they have not been grown locally. While some farmers have large heated greenhouses to grow produce year-round, not all do, and it pays to ask questions if the vendor is displaying a lot of out-of-season produce.

As with many things when you’re trying to live a more sustainable life, we need to be vigilant and educated. Don’t trust that just because the sign says “farmers’ market,” you’re supporting nothing but local farmers. While the majority of vendors are legitimate, it’s unfortunately up to us to make sure that we’re buying from them, and not some crook who’s trying to take advantage of the situation.

Who killed the ducklings of Teardrop Park?

June 7, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

BatteryPark.TV has learned that a mallard duck nest in Teardrop Park, that hatched into at least 10 ducklings, all drowned in the waterfall pond approximately two weeks ago. According to park sources, a local resident claiming to be “licensed to handle wildlife”, gathered either the unhatched eggs, or the newly hatched chicks, from their Northeast location in the park, and then took them into his nearby apartment. We inquired with doorman at most of the apartment buildings near Teardrop Park, and no one seems to have heard of this “mystery man”, who some say goes by the name James, if he exists at all.

The waterfall pond by the Irish Hunger memorial was not prepared to accommodate the birds, having no islands above water level, when this “wildlife expert” transferred the ducklings into the pond. They all perished of exposure within 12 hours, according to multiple park employees.

Many conservancy employees, including Tess Huxley, Executive Director Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, were well aware that multiple mallard females had nested this year again in Teardrop Park and the Irish Hunger Memorial. BatteryPark.TV had published a video and story about the mating behavior on May 5th. However, no preparations for the highly popular ducklings to be raised in the pond were set forth as were made in 2010.

In fact, a park employee told us that they believed the waterfall pond water level was intentionally raised so as to create no islands conducive for the soon-to-be-hatched ducklings. It has been the policy of Tess Huxley to refuse to assist any wildlife in the parks, citing parks regulations. Recall, the beautiful and valuable large Koi fish in the pond, at least 16 years old, were all allowed to perish in the record-breaking harsh winter as the parks executives refused to crack the ice to allow in oxygen. The fish now in the pond were quick replacements meant to correct for this tragedy.

No one at the Parks Conservancy or the BPCA replied to our more than ten calls and emails requesting these parks regulations to be specifically listed. If they do, we will update this story.

More recently, approximately one week ago, the nest in the grass of the Irish Hunger Memorial hatched. According to a park employee, one duckling, trying to reach the pond within site, jumped the 30-feet drop onto the pavement and died. The park employee responsible for the pond maintenance, James, noticed that the other five ducklings were in peril and quickly took action. He called his superiors and told them that he had to immediately lower the water to make the circular islands reappear, and he transferred the ducklings to safety.

What happened next is a mystery to everyone interviewed. The five or more ducklings began to vanish each day. James found no dead bodies as were found when the Teardrop Park nest perished. The best working hypothesis is that someone has stolen the ducklings, although that seems to be a pure guess. Two ducklings remain, for the time being.

It is not clear whether the parks staff are feeding the birds this year, as they did last year. To the casual observer, the pond appears to be a natural self-sustaining microenvironment able to provide food for the ducklings that are unable to escape the pond until they fly. However, that is not the case. The pond is essentially just a swimming pool made of concrete with plants inserted. The ducklings cannot escape, and once placed inside the pond, are at the complete mercy of humans for survival.

In 2009, a large group of ducklings, also transferred into the pond by the urban mythical “wildlife expert” according to multiple park employees, all starved except for two. In 2010, approximately five out 15 had starved until BatteryPark.TV first became aware of the problem and encouraged the parks to step in. A volunteer fed the birds for the season until they were able to fly. All 10 made it to maturity.

If anyone knows the identity of the mystery “wildlife expert”, possibly named Jerry, or has any knowledge of anyone harboring the most recent ducklings as pets, please email us at once.

(Waterfall pond with Irish Memorial and Freedom Tower behind)

BPC covered in Roses

May 29, 2011

More people have decided to grow roses this year, and the weather seems to be cooperating to yield good flowers.

(click images to expand)

The Parks Conservancy delays the new sod for the mud field

Update: May 17, 2011

It appears as if the Parks folks have struck an agreement with the DOT over the handling of the mud field. A press release today from the DOT read, “The lawn will be closed for re-sodding the turf area.  The closure is necessary in order to install new sod and allow it to properly “knit.”  After removing the old sod and installing the new sod, this growing period will last for approximately eight weeks. The lawn is expected to re-open approximately on Friday, July 22, 2011. No public access is allowed in order to protect the newly establishing lawn and to make sure the lawn stays healthy.  It is necessary to do this work now since spring planting is an optimal time to lay new sod. If you have further questions or require any additional information, please contact the Community Outreach Liaison, Julie Nadel, by telephone at 1-800-714-0454 or by e-mail at route9a@dot.state.ny.us.”

May 6, 2011

BatterPark.TV was the first to report on the bureaucratic feud between the DOT and BPCA Parks Conservancy that led to the neglect and destruction of the newly sodded field north of West Thames Park that cost several million to the tax payer (an estimated $100,000 for the grass sod alone). The DOT seems to have resolved the issues relating to the construction of the field, analogous to a “punch out list” a new homeowner goes through with a construction company (i.e. sprinklers, drainage in this case), yet the Parks Conservancy continues to dither. Meanwhile, the window of time for re-sodding is expiring fast (The end of May).

BatteryPark.TV has been trying to get answers from the BPCA for two weeks, but the BPCA has gone through extensive efforts to avoid our questions, including even instructing the Brookfield Properties security desk to not allow us up to the World Financial Center BPCA offices (a story in and of itself). However, the DOT has responded to our questions.

According to Adam Levine of the DOT, the sprinkler and drainage issues of the new field have been resolved. The DOT is ready to re-sod the field as soon as the BPCA Parks Conservancy, managed by Tess Huxley, meets with them and agrees to assume control of the field, as they currently do so well for all of the other grassy areas in BPC.

It is unclear why the Parks Conservancy is dragging their feet and failing to meet with the DOT. According to a local newsletter, at a recent Community Board meeting, Battery Park City CB Chair, Linda Belfer, said, “Originally when they agreed to do the park, there were agreements in place as to the maintenance and now they’re being ignored and they’re renegotiating who will maintain the parks, the HRPT or the Conservancy. The two agencies together have not come to an agreement.” She added that Joe Brown, project manager for the DOT, “said last night that they’re ready to put in the sod. Meanwhile we’re losing more and more time, and use of the area.”

In the bigger picture, The Parks Conservancy has been the agency in charge of numerous scandals recently. The Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) are managed by The Parks Conservancy and Tess Huxley. The issue of the PEPs harassing dog owners walking their dogs, asking for ID for no reason, and the violent attack of a local resident who protested being asked for his ID, came to a boiling point after BatteryPark.TV reported the stories.

Also, this Spring, it became apparent that the large expensive Koi carp in the waterfall pond, also managed by the Parks Conservancy, were killed when the pond was neglected over the harsh winter. A simple hole in the ice to allow for oxygen would have saved the fish and allowed them to live through the record-breaking cold winter as they had done for 16 previous years.

There are numerous other complaints relating to mismanagement by the Parks Conservancy. BatteryPark.TV recently reported on a notorious  PEP Captain negotiating with NYPD tow trucks to avoid an expensive towing of a PEP’s personal car.

Although the BPCA seems to have addressed many of the PEP issues, and progress has been noted, the top management at the Parks Conservancy seem to be circling their wagons, dodging the press by almost literally hiding under their desks, avoiding Community Board meetings, and exhibiting no signs of reform.

If the topics were not so important to Battery Park residents, the Parks Conservancy drama would make for a good episode on NBC’s “Community” that spoofs local parks officials. However, this is not a joke.

Bad -apple bureaucrats are usually resistant to change and have to be replaced.

Early gardens

May 3, 2011

Photo montage of the early 2011 gardens (viewable in 1080i HD)

Who killed the Koi?

April 21, 2011

One of the best assets in Battery Park City for children and visitors has been the unique and highly prized collection of large Koi fish in the waterfall pond by the Irish Hunger Memorial. The fish have been living in the waterfall pond for many years. Some grew to be 24 inches long. Koi can cost thousands of dollars if they were to be purchased fully grown.

Most residents are surprised to learn that the fish stay in the pond throughout the winter and somehow live through the cold and ice. Not this year. All of the large Koi have died. The country suffered through one of the worst winters on record and the thick ice over the pond likely depleted the water of oxygen as it froze thicker than usual.

It is common knowledge to most people that fish in ponds need to have the ice broken in order to oxygenate the water. How did the Battery Parks Conservancy experts miss this and fail to take proper action to ensure the viability of these expensive cherished fish?

BatteryPark.TV called the Parks Conservancy office dozens of times over two days and were told that the official we were trying to reach was either “Not in his office” or “Not in the building”. Upon going in person to the offices located on Battery Place, the official in question was in fact sitting at his desk. He declined to comment on the matter. Tess Huxley, the senior most official of the Battery Parks Conservancy, has previously not replied to any of our emails or calls. Officials from the Battery Park City Authority also declined to comment in time for this article.

In the past, the Ms. Huxley has taken a hands-off, let-nature-take-its-course, approach to the wildlife in the parks. The ten ducklings that grew last year in the same pond, matured into adults, and flew away did so only after BatteryPark.TV gained the volunteer cooperation of others to supply square boards to avoid drowning and feed for the birds until they could fly out of the contained pond. The year prior in 2009, all but two ducklings starved to death without this type of assistance.

Sources told BatteryPark.TV that the Koi in the pond that died this winter had been there for 16 years. The Parks staff have never proactively cared for the fish in the winter. This winter was different, and they all died.

(Click on image for full panorama view)

First bloomers

March 17, 2011

Congratulations. You survived the Winter of 2010-2011.

Click to enlarge photos

Aconis

Say goo’bye to my leetle friend

October 13, 2009

Wasting no time, the DOT began construction on the new “Tire Swing Park” preventing any further delays from opposition groups. The current estimated budget is approximately $9 Million for the project. Despite opposition from residents, the project is proceeding with “Plan A” which cuts down all of the trees and has the maximal loss of grass field space to make way for the “Pataki Promenade” granite walkway parallel to the West Side Highway Route 9A.

The project is scheduled to be completed by Memorial Day, 2010. Near-term upside to the plan is that it will greatly expand the space allotted to the community gardens and level the grass playing field. The major downside to the plan, and reason for opposition from parents, is the loss of the large pear trees that provide great shade, and the down time from construction, of course.

How bout these apples?

October 23, 2010

Few people shopping at Whole Foods take the time to weigh the produce and calculate just exactly how expensive the fruits and vegetables are per item. We saw the large pile of fresh apples that the TriBeCa Whole Foods was promoting and did the math. At $3.49 per pound, 5 apples weighed 2 pounds, or $1.40 per apple. This is at least a 100% premium to other stores and a several hundred percent premium to “organic”, straight from the tree, apples in Ohio.

Harvest Moon

September 25, 2010

There was a rare Harvest Moon a few days ago, so it is fitting to show this montage of images from the 2010 season in the BPC Community Gardens. See if you spot any gardens you know.

This is also a small tribute, in ways, to 9/11 victims.

And this classic digital short from 2009