The city is preserving more than an acre of wetlands in Broad Channel, turning it into parkland. NY1’s Clodagh McGowan filed the following report.
Green space is hard to come by in New York City's urban jungle. That's why Broad Channel residents are applauding the city's decision to transfer five vacant wetland lots to the Parks Department.
"The great thing about parkland is they call it forever wild. So once it's in there, nobody could come along and if we're too lazy to fight the fight in 10 years, no one's going to come back and say now we're changing the plan. That's the way it'll be 100 years from now," said Dan Mundy Jr., a lifelong Broad Channel resident.
Mundy Junior says when the area was developed in the early 1900’s; this is where the shovel stopped -- meaning the land was never built on.
The five vacant lots were under the control of the Department of Citywide Administration Services or DCAS.
Councilman Eric Ulrich says the land ended up on the auction block multiples times, before being transferred to the Parks Department earlier this month.
"Hopefully it's going to set the trend. I hope it's the catalyst for more lot transfers. I hope DCAS turns over all the lots they've got in coastal communities across the city to the parks department. So we can save them in perpetuity, preserve them," said Ulrich, who represents the area.
The Broad Channel Civic Association has been fighting to preserve the land for almost a decade. Members say especially after Hurricane Sandy, the mission became that much more important.
"There's also an understanding of the value of these wetland lots. They tell us that they help to disseminate wave energy from storms," said Mundy.
Young volunteers with the American Littoral Society's Restoration Corps have been hard at work -- cleaning debris and garbage out of the lots.
"Noticing that they have a lot of trash in it, it just really takes away from the aesthetic aspects of it. And it also makes it unhealthy for all of the animals that live here," said
Courtney Williams, a Restoration Corps volunteer.
The Parks Department will maintain the sites with the help of the community -- working together to keep the area green and beautiful for generations to come.