Both Industrialized & Green
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| New York City in 1932 |
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| New York City Today |
When we think about New York City, we envision tall buildings, concrete ground, polluted air, automobile and pedestrian traffic, bright night life, and crowded neighborhoods. It’s hard to believe that before the land was conquered, NYC was rich in greenery and wildlife. Animals roamed free and native plants grew without human influence. However, the impact of humans on the ecosystem of a once-green New York City is duly witnessed by the things that we see today. Industrialization has taken a big toll on the city, and concrete and buildings have overcome the greenery that once existed. In this blog, I will discuss New York City’s history, including the first days of settlement, the native species that existed, and trace through time up to today. We will explore how humans have had an impact, how native animals and plants have become extinct, examine strategies that the city are utilizing preserve this greenery, and discuss how we can improve the human-ecosystem interaction.
A Brief History - Native Species, Human Impact, and Current State of Preservation
New York City was first documented in existence by Giovanni de Verrazzano (the bridge connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island is named after him!) in the year 1524. However, settlement did not begin until September 3, 1609 when Henry Hudson (whose name is honored as the name of the Hudson River) established a settlement there. During that time, habitat types that existed in the area were tidal marshes, sea-grass beds, oak-chestnut forests, and rocky streams. Notable geographical features of the area were bluffs, hills, cliffs, ponds, lakes, sandy beaches, forest meadows, and even oyster beds.
Native plants of NYC include mosses, ferns, fern allies, grasses, sedges, rushes, forbs wildflowers, trees, shrubs, and woody vines. Native animals of NYC include passenger pigeons, heath hens, wild turkeys, the American shad, book trout, the black bear, white-tailed deer, wolves, elks, mountain lions, and the once-heavily populated beavers. When Henry Hudson first settled in NYC, he noticed an abundance of beavers. Because of its popularity for usage of pelting and fur trading, beavers began to play an important role in the economic history of New York. Unfortunately, due to these high levels of trapping, fur trading, and deforestation, the beaver population disappeared in the early 1800s. Despite their extinction from the City, to this day, the beaver has remained the state animal of New York.
Human Impact through Industrialization
As a result of industrialization, NYC’s land was torn down when the City was first settled. Human impact is clearly visible through the cement grounds and high skyscrapers that now stand on the land that was once filled with native plants and wildlife. Some of the threats that humans have had on the City are habitat destruction and fragmentation through development of buildings and invasion by human populations, pollution, and even climate change. Climate change has altered the ways in which species are able to survive by changing the natural habitats of species, and human impact has certainly caused pollution through building of factories, smoke, and high levels of carbon dioxide emissions by things such as automobiles. In NYC, development, and therefore human impact, is the number one means of reducing the populations of these species. Things such as pesticide and fertilizer use by humans in the City have also led to harm of aquatic life. Dumping of trash has been another factor, though minor in comparison to development and pollution. Depletion of efficient habitats for these animals have really caused their extinction in the City.
Current Strategies of Preservation
Nowadays, brook trout, wolves and elk are extinct in the area, the wild turkey was once locally extinct but currently recovering, and passenger pigeons are simply extinct globally. However, house sparrows, crows, starlings, gray squirrels, feral cats, blue jays, robins, peregrine falcons, monk parakeets, house finches and of course house mice still dwell among the city. Most of the time, they go unnoticed, but these creatures live among NYC residents either in preserved areas or public parks. Preservation methods and natural selection have ensured that at least some of these species have not completely disappeared from the City.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has compiled a useful list of places in New York State where people can come and observe wildlife. In New York City itself, these areas are located in Queens: Alley Pond Park, Forest Park, For Totten Park, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge; Manhattan: Central Park, Riverside Park, Inwood Park, Union Square Park; Staten Island: High Rock Park; the Bronx: Pelham Bay Park, Orchard Beach, and Brooklyn: Prospect Park. In addition, the Bronx River Alliance through partnership with City of New York Parks and Recreation has created an extensive list of the native plants and animals that once inhabited NYC. Please click here to access the page.
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| Left: A recreation of Times Sq. Right: Times Sq. today. |
Most notably, the Wildlife Conservation Society based in the Bronx Zoo has been working for years on what is called The Manhattan Project to recreate Manhattan as it looked pre-settlement. Dr. Eric Sanderson is the leading ecologist in this project, and it is based primarily with the earliest military and nautical maps to be created in the 1600s. The goal of the project is to create representations of what NYC looked in the past in order to inspire physical restoration of such native wildlife and species today. National Geographic’s Peter Miller has expressed that there have been 1,300 species identified through the studies and research conducted in the project.
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| Jamaica Bay |
Another preservation method is that of Jamaica Bay, run by the National Park Service. Located in Jamaica Queens, this space spreads 32 square miles and is rich in natural greenery. Included in this is a salt marsh, two freshwater ponds, upland field and woods, bays and islands. More than 325 species, 80 fish species, and thousands of birds reside here either permanently or during migratory seasons (in the case of the birds). This project is one meant to preserve the Bay in order to house and shelter all these species. Local Law 71, signed in July 2005, was imposed by May Michael Bloomberg in an effort to restore and maintain the Bay’s water quality and ecological conditions in order to truly protect these species. With an almost zoo-like feel, the Jamaica Bay is the largest area of natural greenery, a place where New Yorkers and tourists alike can come and view the species living in this area.
One of the most interesting stories is that of the beaver. As previously noted, the beaver was native to NYC but went into extinction from NYC in the 1800s. However, in early 2007, there was a sighting of a beaver in the Bronx River. This is testament to the increasing cleanliness levels of the Bronx River, a project in which U.S. Representative Jose Serrano of the Bronx has invested $15 million. Similarly, four eaglets were introduced in special nesting cages to Inwood Park in Manhattan in hopes of integrating the species into the City. Preservation measures are being taken to ensure that these animal species will not go into complete extinction from NYC.
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On another note, and with a seemingly reverse type of “preservation”, NYC is taking measures to reduce the overpopulated amounts of pigeons and rat throughout the City. Despite substantial evidence, there have been rumors spread about pigeons spreading avian diseases. In addition, pigeons are littered throughout the City, causing reason enough for the government to attempt to reduce their population. A system of birth control has been proposed by City Councilman Simcha Felder. This would include fining people who feed the birds, adding birth control pesticide to public bird feeders, and creating pigeon czars, a sort of “home” for birds where they could be more easily-controlled.
One of the main reasons that the City is adamant about reducing the population of pigeons in the City is its correlation and very possible causation of the increase of rats in the City.When humans feed pigeons in public places, this attracts and encourages rats as well. There is no secret that NYC rats are notorious for their seemingly lack of fear for humans. They run throughout sewage systems, are scattered throughout the NYC MTA Subway System, and throughout entire buildings and walls. The following video shows a rat running up a man on the train: |
The City’s efforts in attempting to reduce rat populations in the City has been taken through the Rat Control Imitative, in which the major tenets include eliminating food sources, water, and harborage. Strict regulations include increasing trash removal from the streets, developing rat-resistant trash bins, covering cracks and holes within buildings, and reducing levels of rat poison (which the rats have been proven to develop resistance to). By getting rid of the means of these rats’ survival (their food, water, and harborage resources), population control could be possible.
Prospective State of the Ecosystem and What We Can Do
Prior to this project, I did not believe NYC to be filled with any animals other than the squirrels, rats, or pigeons that are so visibly seen on a daily basis. However, after this project, I have come to the conclusion that measures are actually being taken to really increase the areas of natural greenery and wildlife in the City. With guidance and support from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, organizations and projects such as the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Manhattan Project, the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan, and the NY Department of Environment Conservation are truly being great assets to the community in working to preserve wildlife and plant species in New York. Legal action through government regulations and funding are being utilized to truly create a better natural environmental space in the city.
As previously seen, endorsements and support by political figures such as Mayor Bloomberg, Councilman Felder, and Representative Serrano have allowed for progress to be made in order for successful preservation actions to occur. What residents can do is to lobby their political leaders (senators, representatives, mayor, governor, etc.) for change. Oftentimes, political leaders are the ones filled with ideas for preservation and need their citizens to vote in order to pass such legislations. Volunteering with organizations such as those previously mentioned could also give a helping hand to achieving progress. Utilizing sustainable gardening by introducing NYC native plants to one’s garden is another way, and Drosera, an organization an organization located in Brooklyn has many tips to gardeners who want to incorporate native plants to their home gardens and lawns. One simple thing that we humans could do is to fix our own lifestyle. By being aware of our own environment and how we treat it, we are better able to educate our friends in the future and together be united to build progress.
In conclusion, I think that what is happening with the New York City ecosystem is truly inspiring. It is testimony to how a land once completely rich in resources became industrialized and almost completely stripped of its wildlife and how the humans living on that land are now acting to preserve or restore what is left. Reformation is possible, and by lending our hands, we can certainly achieve it together, just as the City of New York has slowly but productively been working to prove so. The resources are available – we just need to make use of them.
- Vi
Progression of Maps of New York City:
Map of New York City in 1642:
Map of New York City in 1836:
Map of New York City in 1842:
Map of New York City in 1917:
Nautical Map of New York City in 1910:
Map of New York City MTA Transit System 2011
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| Link to larger version of Map of New York City’s MTA System as of 2011 (in order to highlight how heavily the City is dependent on the transit system and to showcase how land has been transformed and developed to accommodate this transportation system.): http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf |
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