Local Ecologist

On January 7, 2011, the New York Times published "Just 7 Strips of Green, or a Park Worth Fighting For?" about seven small parcels totaling 2.5 acres located in Greenwich Village, four of which New York University would like to purchase to accommodate its expansion plans in the neighborhood. The article listed the owner of the parcels as the NYC Department of Transportation (NYCDOT). We wish the article had provided an actual list of the seven parcels as well as photographs of all the parcels. For example, the online version of the article was accompanied by a single photograph of a section of the Mercer Playground parcel. (Additional photographs of the playground can be seen on the Save Mercer Playground website.) Based on our reading of the article, we developed the image below to illustrate the locations of the seven parcels mentioned in the article as well as parcels mentioned in a Community Board No. 2, Manhattan (CB2) resolution submitted to the NYU 2031 Pla

The dirt shown above collected on a north-facing windowsill when I left open slightly (no more than an inch) a window for 24 hours.  The center window was left open, but the dirt collected towards the right end of the sill.  Was the wind in Greenwich Village (NYC) moving in an easterly direction on February 18-19, 2011?

An occasional series about the rules and regulations of street tree planting, pruning, and removal in New York City.  This post extends the purview of the series to include research about street trees in the city.  Other posts in the series are Street tree planting rules in New York City , Street tree removal in New York City , and Street tree pruning rules in New York City . "Signs of direct tree care or stewardship" are key social factors in low mortality rates for young street trees Quoting at length from the abstract of a new US Forest Service research article: In dense metropolitan areas, there are many factors including traffic congestion, building development and social organizations that may impact the health of street trees. The focus of this study is to better understand how social, biological and urban design factors affect the mortality rates of newly planted street trees. Prior analyses of street trees planted by the New York City Department of Parks &

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We took our first trip to Munich last fall and had a great time.  We agree with Frommer's vote for Munich as one of the world's ten most walkable cities as blogged at Infrastructurist.  In addition, the city seems well served by subway and trams.  The dining and shopping options are also good.  The mix of old and new architecture is pleasing, the people friendly and helpful, and the diversity of open spaces is enviable. Reviewing my photographs from the trip, I noted several themes:   parks,  street trees,  transportation,  recreation, and  architecture .   Below find photographs of some of my favorite examples from each category. The hill in Olympicpark Munchen (Olympic Park) is a former landfill according to our family friend.  Also, the hill is great for sledding! Did you know that in the U.S. there are an estimated "4,500 acres of landfill parks"? (source: Center for City Excellence quoted in Urban Green by Peter Harnik.  We reviewed Urban Green

The original section of Brooklyn Bridge Park down under the Manhattan Bridge is also known as Main Street (Park).  The newer section of Brooklyn Bridge Park which includes Piers 1 and 6 (also known as New Brooklyn Bridge Park ) is located closer to the Brooklyn Bridge. Image: Postcard of Brooklyn Bridge 1992 by Genevieve Hafner Last year, I purchased a 1992 postcard of the area located directly under the Manhattan Bridge, now part of Main Street Park.  The site in the postcard photo, above, is trash strewn, unattractive, and empty of people.  Fast forward almost two decades later and this same area is lovely and actively used.  While I do not have a photograph from the exact vantage point used in the postcard, the locations in the photographs below are to the left and right of the spot seen in the postcard image. Visit our Facebook page for more photographs of old and new Brooklyn Bridge Park.

To indulge my West Coast sensibilities I maintain a subscription to Sunset magazine.  I also read the magazine's  Fresh Dirt blog where I first saw Realm Environments water harvesting reservoir concept.  (Fresh Dirt's blog post can be read here .)  I contacted the firm for permission to use the image seen in this post and for background information about the concept.  Image: Water harvesting reservoir concept, used with permission from Realm Environments ( source ) Bree Richmond, graphic design and public relations staff, responded to my question about "what sparked the idea" as follows: What sparked the idea was the fact that we live in a desert where a significant number of houses have been outfitted with pools which are often underused and over-maintained. Whether or not the homeowner purchased the house with a pool they do not want,or added a pool and used it at some point but no longer have a need for it, pools take up a lot of otherwise usable square foo

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