The River That Is Not A River by Joy Garland

When I first began teaching science and the environment to students at the United Nations International School, I was asked by Lea Ribeiro, the principal, what new unit I would like to introduce into the curriculum. I immediately said, " UNIS is built over the East River. Let's introduce the students to our river."

Technically speaking, the East River is not a river, but an estuary or tidal strait. An estuary is defined as a body of water where salt water mixes with fresh water from land drainage. Part of its water comes from the Hudson, which begins in Lake Tear of the Clouds on Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains and is enriched by other waters which drain from the surrounding hills that make up the Hudson River watershed. When the Hudson gets to the northern tip of Manhattan it divides, and the water going east becomes the Harlem River, which flows into the East River. The Bronx River also delivers some fresh water into the mix, but the East River is more salt than fresh.

A second source of the East River is the Atlantic Ocean. During a flood tide, when the tide is coming in, water from the Atlantic flows north into the East River. When it is an ebb tide, the Atlantic Ocean flows into Long Island Sound from the northeast and goes south where it meets the Harlem River at Hell's Gate. The outgoing tide causes the East River to change direction and go south. Finally, it empties into New York Harbor. Any kayaker will tell you that it's important to understand the tides. Did you know that the current at Hell's Gate (90th Street) is the second strongest tidal current in the whole world? First place belongs to the Bay of Fundy off New Brunswick. The water between Roosevelt Island and Queens powers underwater turbines in an experiment to see how much tidal energy can be produced and yet not hurt the fish population.

Water Quality in the East River

Another waterway impacting our East River is Newtown Creek, a 3.5-mile-long stretch dividing Brooklyn from Queens. It is directly across from the Rocky Outcrop at Stuyvesant Cove and directly affects fish and other aquatic life. U.S. Representative Anthony D. Weiner of the 9th CD in Brooklyn and Queens, issued a press release in September 2005 that said, “The State of New York has ruled that the Creek does not meet water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. It is the single most polluted waterway in New York City, and its banks are home to the largest oil spill in the United States. The spill is 150 percent the size of the Exxon-Valdez spill. In 1978, a Coast Guard patrol detected petroleum on the surface of Newtown Creek and identified a spill that spreads from the banks of the Creek through the Greenpoint neighborhood in Brooklyn. Evaluations at that time identified a spill totaling 17 million gallons attributed to refineries operated along the banks of the Creek by the predecessors to ExxonMobil, BP/Amoco and Chevron-Texaco. To date, 8.7 million gallons have been cleaned but estimates indicate it will take at least 25 more years to finish the remediation, primarily conducted by ExxonMobil under a 1990 consent agreement with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.” PCBs and toxic metals also remain.

In 1972 the Clean Water Act was passed and water quality in the East River improved dramatically. On East 23rd Street the New York City Harbor Survey monitors Dissolved Oxygen, Fecal Coliform Bacteria, Chlorophyll ‘a’, and Secci Transparency (clarity of the water). Some of you may remember the “parking and fishing pier” attached to the south end of the 23rd Street Gulf gas station. It fell into the river when the marine borer worms known as “gribbles” returned to gnaw away at the wood pilings. Gribbles are an indicator of improved water quality, but now pilings need a plastic coating to survive.

On dry days the water quality is good enough to fish and boat, but swimming is not yet recommended. The problem comes when it rains. There are five Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) from East 23rd Street to East 18th Street. Carter Craft, of The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA) in their Internet Waterwire News explains what happens, “Following heavy rains, a massive flow of stormwater coming off of streets, parking lots, rooftops, and other hard surfaces of the city meets and merges with this underground reservoir of untreated sewage. And if their combined volume risks overwhelming sewage treatment plants, system management practice calls for releasing this unhealthy stew of rainwater, runoff and sewage into New York's harbor and estuary - a combined sewer overflow (or "wet weather event," as it is called in some circles). The impact on water quality can be felt for as little as a few hours to as long as a number of days...The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) builds and maintains the systems which collect and treat New York's sewage and stormwater - or at least as much stormwater as the system can handle. (New York City currently achieves about 72 percent of the 85 percent goal set by the Clean Water Act.)

But the CSO problem doesn't rest simply in the capacity of the water treatment system, and it isn't just a question of how to dispose of the wet weather flows. The problem stems from the fact that the paved and impervious surfaces in a heavily urbanized area like New York City - from parking lots to building rooftops - don't soak up storm water. Instead they channel a huge amount of flow into the sewer system. And the majority of these areas are regulated and controlled by agencies other than the DEP, such as the Department of Buildings, the Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and many others.

The DEP is in the process of creating a Long Term Control Plan for Combined Sewer Overflow; the MWA serves as co-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the East River/Open Waters area of the project. Looking around, there are areas beyond New York City we can learn from. Seattle's Sea Streets program has shown how reducing impervious surfaces in a street right of way by as little as 11 percent can reduce stormwater flows by as much as 90 percent in certain areas. Portland, Oregon has created a 17-minute educational video to help Portlanders better understand the problem.”

The Green Roofs initiative popularized by Dr. Paul Mankiewicz of the Gaia Institute and others, urges architects and home owners to investigate this technology‘s benefits in reducing storm water runoff, improving air quality, moderating temperature, providing open space and other amenities. The Web site www.greenroofs.net has a wealth of information including economic benefits and the burgeoning growth in Europe. With our many flat roofs here in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, I can envision us one day as an eco-village, a model for urban design.

In the original plan of Donna Walcavage for Stuyvesant Cove she writes, “The park was conceived by Community Board 6 as a green retreat along the waterfront, one that symbolizes the natural estuarine environment, from water’s edge planting of the tidal marshes that once characterized this area to the upland meadow and upland native forests that once covered Manhattan Island…At the 20th Street entry the ‘tidal pool’ created by breaking the seawall will provide another view of the water’s edge environment, another relationship to the water.”

Some years back, Drs. Paul Mankiewicz and Michael Levandowsky and I planted 100 plugs of spartina, native salt water grasses, in and around the rocks of the 20th Street sandy beach in the hope that the beginnings of a salt marsh could be recreated to pull out pollutants and to attract numerous wildlife to “the edge.” With the pull of the full moon and a strong tidal current they were lost. It is still our goal to make the East River swimmable and healthy for both fish and humans. The Stuyvesant Cove Park Association and Solar 1 are members of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance dedicated to restoring the health of our waterways. The green plants have been called the “lungs of our planet”. Could the waterways be imagined as the planet’s arteries and veins?

WATER, MORE PRECIOUS THAN OIL By Joy Garland

The elements of Earth (soil) Air, and Fire (sun-energy) were themes of our earlier issues. Water, in the form of rain, ice, and snow, now deserves our attention, admiration, and protection. This first of a two-part series focuses on fresh water. The second will focus on salt water systems, of which our East River is a part.

When I was the science teacher at the United Nations International School, I always began our unit on Water by asking the students to make a guess about what percentage of the Earth’s water was fresh and what percentage was salt. Most were greatly surprised to discover that 97.5% was salt and that 2% was fresh water but frozen in glaciers and icebergs, leaving only a precious .5% available for drinking and other uses.* I then asked, “How much of the .5% do you think is safe for drinking and how much is polluted?”

Over the next few weeks we discovered that no new water is ever created; it just goes through an endless cycle. The water we drink now may have once been drunk by a dinosaur or been in a Roman’s bath. When it rains or snows, the precipitation falls to Earth, where it moves across the land forming rivers and lakes and also goes underground forming aquifers. The sun heats the water causing it to evaporate and rise as water vapor into the atmosphere where it cools and condenses in clouds and returns as rain or snow to Earth to begin the cycle over again. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote, “The mist and cloud will turn to rain, the rain to mist and cloud again.”

Trees release water through their leaves as mist when they breathe out in a process called transpiration. People do the same when they perspire or exhale. The rain forests of the world help greatly in storing this water and releasing it back to the air. They need protection from deforestation for many reasons, but water transpiration is one of them, as is their ability to take in the carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming.

Given that all living things depend on water to live, what is the state of the world’s fresh water? Is there enough to go around? Did you know that agriculture uses about 70% of the world’s fresh water, industry about 22%, and domestic uses like drinking and bathing only 8%?* Certain crops like cotton and rice require major amounts of water through irrigation.

In the developing world population increase, leaking water pipes and inadequate sanitation cause women and children to walk miles to fetch water that is often polluted and the cause of waterborne diseases like malaria, parasites and dysentery. Overuse, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa, is causing salt water to intrude into freshwater lakes and wells making the water unfit for drinking.

To find out how New York City’s drinking water is doing, I consulted Charles Sturcken of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. New York City gets its water from the Delaware, Catskill,and Croton water systems. Mr. Sturcken said that 90% of New York’s water is unfiltered (the exception being the Croton system). Besides the Delaware and Catskill systems, there are only four others in the country that are not required to be filtered. In August 2006, the federal EPA acknowledged the fact that New York’s water continued to be of highest quality, helped by the purchase of land which formed a buffer zone to protect the water from development, livestock encroachment, and farm pesticide runoff. The largest system in the world is continually monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week. To find out more about our watershed and water quality analysis go to www.nyc.gov/dep.

What about bottled water? Some people believe that it is an unnecessary expense and that the plastic bottle that could sit on the store shelf a long time may leach into the water before the bottle winds up in a landfill. They recommend investing in a home filter if there is concern and then keeping the water in the refrigerator until it’s needed, then filling a plastic bottle for immediate use and reusing the same bottle when it is needed again. The New York Water Museum on West 23rd Street near 10th Avenue has developed a label “Tap Water” to be put on the reusable bottle.

What can each of us do to safeguard this most precious natural resource? We can all become water stewards using just the amount we need, not letting the water run when we shave, brush our teeth or wash dishes in the sink; wait till the dish and clothes washer have a full load before washing; fix leaky faucets, toilets and showerheads; get a low flow toilet or put a filled bottle in the tank. Outside we can choose to landscape with native and drought resistant plants; water in the cooler parts of summer days to lessen evaporation, and mulch around all plants to keep moisture in and weeds out. Of course we should avoid polluting the water and report any individuals or companies we observe polluting to the NYC DEP or call 311.

The next time we experience thirst and take a drink of water to satisfy that need or take a shower to be cleansed and refreshed, we might consider our intimate connection to ater and what life would be like if clean, abundant water was accessible to all people and to wildlife.

* Every Body Counts, Every Drop Matters, by Donna L. Goodman, published by the United Nations Department of Public Information, 2003, New York, NY 10017

OUR EAST RIVER By David Mayer

I think of our river as Eternity in disguise. Its existence spans eons of history, only recently witnessed by humans. A prehistoric convulsion of the Appalachian Mountain Range had created a deep channel with a steep wall (the Palisades) facing a much lower rocky heap (Manhattan Island). The narrow, lower gouge between them filled in with running water from the north (Adirondacks). Countless eras later, the flowing stream received a name (Hudson River).

The Appalachian convulsion also produced a shallower channel on the far side of the low rocky heap. This eventually filled with tidal waters from an endless ocean (Atlantic). Long, long after, this tidal stream received a name (East River).

Primitive life emerging from the sea could have occupied the low, rocky heap after it had acquired a muddy base for vegetation. Our knowledge of human life developing there must be based on conjecture. But at some moment in time, Indian tribes had lived near many points along the East River shore that allowed them to forage for fish. One can imagine an Indian shaman thanking their ancestors for the river's magic power, its goodness, its gifts. Our river became an essential part of their existence. It yielded food, good health, and cleaner bodies. They must have regarded it with awe.

Tangible proof of its importance is revealed by many sketches and descriptions of village life in documents produced by the Dutch settlers of Nieuw Amsterdam. (A warm hello from Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village residents, Pieter!) It's quite likely that Dutch farmers would go with their children to monitor summer swimming in our river. For them it was a blessing, complete with ice skating for the family in the winter.

My metaphysical connection with the East River began before World War I. We lived in Yorkville, a magnet for Hungarians who entered our country in the early part of the last century. I remember being taken by my father, sometimes on his shoulders, to look at our river. I didn't understand what we were looking at and felt that this giant moving carpet trembled because it covered something alive. My father's absorption in its immense mystery conveyed the impression that it was wonderful and good. I could trust it now and maybe I'd learn why later.

Today I know why. It is good medicine against the enemy surrounding our community...the fortissimo roar of cars and buses...the ambulance horns and police sirens as they race along the East River Drive...the pungent currents of air that escape from nearby construction projects.

I frequently scan our river's setting as it flows past the shore lines north and south of our park. I am pleased to observe how it brings clarity to the mix of bridges and buildings that fill the scenes. I mark how it seems to soften the sharp angled architecture of recently erected buildings. Both the northern and southern river vistas could easily qualify as works of tri-dimensional art. I sense that scale was employed in the design process. (Scale: the arrangement of elements in a scene or a blueprint in the order of their importance).

While the tide is ebbing, flowing toward the Battery, walk south along our park's waterfront to the New York City path, which begins at 18th Street. As you continue the walk you will soon see the gradual joining of the scene's two striking elements: the magnificent, curving metal arch which supports the roadway of the Williamsburg Bridge and the rippling surface of our river which seems to support the arch. This sinuous mating of steel and water forms an unusual riverscape.

Visit our river soon. It's waiting to welcome you!

(David Mayer is a writer and artist, author of a shot-by-shot analysis of Sergei Eisenstein's Potemkin and founder, with friends, of The Cinema Guild at the 92nd Street Y during the '30s. He has worked in various media, including photography, pastels, clay, found objects, and poetry.)
FROM RIVERWALK TO STUYVESANT COVE By Sandi Simmons

The road from Riverwalk to Stuyvesant Cove was long and frustrating, but well worth the trip. It began in April, 1986 when my neighbors Margaret Lawrence, Beverly Cronin and I decided to attend a Manhattan Community Board 6 hearing on Riverwalk, a proposed development on the East River from 16th to 24th Street. A few years earlier, the City had issued a Request For Proposals for the site. The winning designer, a developer based in Canada, later declared bankruptcy and the project was scrapped. Or so we had thought.

Image how startled we were to see a full-blown scale model with 5 high-rise residential towers, a hotel, an office building, plus commercial and retail space, all to be built on a massive pile-supported platform on the river. We were informed that Riverwalk was a "fait accompli." Perhaps the office building could be removed from the plan, but not the remainder. We found this unacceptable and, at our own expense, notified the community of a second hearing to be held the next month.

A huge crowd of angry residents showed up at the hearing in May. Many voiced their concerns about the impact of such a large-scale development on the environment and the surrounding neighborhood. Several approached us after the hearing and said they would like a meeting to discuss an all-out effort to stop Riverwalk. Shortly afterwards, we founded a community-based, grass-roots organization that would make this effort. The name came naturally: Citizens United Against Riverwalk (CUAR). Margaret and I were asked to serve as co-chairs, while Beverly agreed to be treasurer. We formed a Board of Directors, with an executive board, and assembled a fabulous group of dedicated, hard-working volunteers. These volunteers were the heart and soul of CUAR, and a few were later invited to join the Board of Directors.

Two of our foremost issues were platforming and sewage. We believed any waterfront development on a pile-supported platform -- especially one the size of Riverwalk -- would devastate the environment and set a dangerous precedent for waterfront development throughout the city. CUAR was also concerned about the effect of the mammoth Riverwalk on the already overburdened Newtown Creek Sewage Treatment Plant. Speaking at a CUAR forum, the environmentalist Dr. Barry Commoner said the project should be renamed "Sewerwalk".

After raising solid support in the local community, we began campaigning all over the city. "Stop Riverwalk" posters cropped up everywhere, from Midtown to the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and downtown to Greenwich Village. We took petitions and brochures to flea markets, street festivals, tenants' meetings and town hall rallies. We joined Community Board 6 in debating the developer and a city agency on a public television show hosted by Assemblyman Steve Sanders.

With the help of local elected officials, CB6 and sympathetic organizations throughout the city, CUAR's vigorous battle against Riverwalk finally paid off. All of us had been stunned when Mayor Ed Koch certified the project for review during the last days of his administration in 1989 after saying the application for approval was incomplete. We were equally stunned when shortly after that, at a CB6 Riverwalk hearing in February, 1990, a representative from Mayor David Dinkins' office announced the plan had been withdrawn. Cheers were heard throughout the room.

Victory was sweet, but not complete. The developer still held claim to the East River site, which was to be leased from the city for 99 years with provisions for renewal, and vowed to return with an alternate plan. CUAR immediately launched a campaign to have the City terminate this claim and designate the area as parkland rather than a development site. We supported the concept being promoted at the time of a continuous waterfront esplanade encircling Manhattan, and we wanted to be a part of it.

The site was renamed Stuyvesant Cove, and CB6 issued a Request for Proposals for a new plan. We subsequently succeeded in having the area re-designated as a park site, and CB6 formed an Ad Hoc Stuyvesant Cove Committee to set up guidelines and review plans for the park. Finally, after a long and continuous battle to defeat Riverwalk -- after much work and several years of planning -- a new jewel appeared on Manhattan's waterfront. Stuyvesant Cove was officially opened in 2002, twelve years after the Riverwalk plan was withdrawn.

CUAR is forever indebted to all who helped bring about this success. To name just a few: Assemblyman Steve Sanders, for his invaluable advice and support; former State Senator Roy Goodman; Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney; former Mayor David Dinkins; former Borough President Ruth Messinger; Town and Village newspaper for keeping the community informed; our many contributors whose generosity made all our efforts possible; and all the talented members of CB6 whose hard work made Stuyvesant Cove a reality.

Our success was mingled with sadness, however. On May 21, 1991, CUAR Co-Chair Margaret Lawrence died following an illness. And more recently, CUAR mourned the loss of Steve Rosen who was elected Chair, with Helen Collins as Vice-Chair, late in 1993 when I moved away from New York.

(Editor's Note: In 1999, Steve Rosen formed the Stuyvesant Cove Park Association with Martin Barrett and Gary Papush, all former Chairs of CB6. Its mission was "to seek to support the development of a park and environmental center along the East River which will attract people to the waterfront and provide environmental education for children and adults." The journey from Riverwalk to Stuyvesant Cove Park was a David and Goliath story that showed what a small group of people could do when they worked together against many obstacles and didn't give up until their goal was reached. Sandi Simmons and Helen Collins have both gone from us now, but we who remain are ever in their debt.)


 
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