North Brother Island Panel Discussion Councilmember Mark Levine - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

North Brother Island Panel Discussion Councilmember Mark Levine Randall Mason, PhD Kristen King Simeon Bankoff

NORTH BROTHER ISLAND CONSERVATION AND ACCESS STUDY Randall Mason, PhD PennPraxis / School of Design University of Pennsylvania J.M Kaplan Fund January 9, 2018

Chr Christopher her Payne, ne, Rand ndy Mason, n, Rober ert Sul Sullivan. n. North Brother Island: The La No Last Unknown Place in New York Ci City. . Fo Fordha dham Uni niver ersity Pres ess, 2014. 2014.

Recommendations Conserve and interpret the island as a stabilized ruin • Cultural heritage preservation policy centers on triage and – interpretation Strengthen and monitor ecological resources • Natural resource policy continues to pursue restoration and – increasing resilience Provide limited public access • Limited, curated public access to NBI should be explored – – while bigger questions of safety, financing and sustainability are addressed

Short-term initiatives Create an official management plan for NBI and • SBI Stabilize ruins and deconstruct some buildings • (safety threats) Pilot highly limited and curated public access , • principally with Bronx-serving partners Design a memorialization/interpretation scheme • Install a monitoring regime for both natural and • cultural resources

Next Steps Design and plan a prototype for public access • Close partnership with NYCDPR, NAC, Audubon, The Point, – Rocking the Boat Small groups, for short visits, on just a few dates – Pre-visit safety and conservation briefing – Planning for access: landing sites, logistics, partners • Short-term: Hunts Point Riverside Park – Medium-term: Port Morris/NY Restoration Project – Longer-term: Oak Point – Next-level studies • Economic forecasting, institutional arrangements, – communications strategies Structural engineering and building assessment – Monitoring – Interpretation and memorialization –

North Brother Island Context for conservation and ecological restoration Kristen King Director of Natural Areas Restoration & Management Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources NYC Parks J.M. Kaplan Fund January 9, 2018

New York City’s natural areas 2

New York City’s forests 3

Forest management in New York City 521 non-overlapping acres restored since 1991 400+ acres managed by staff and volunteers each year 686,000 native trees and shrubs planted since spring 2007

North Brother Island – context for conservation  US Fish and Wildlife Service: Significant Habitats and Habitat Complexes of the New York Bight Watershed  NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program: priority site New York Department of State: Significant Coastal  Fish and Wildlife Habitat New York State Department of Environmental  Conservation: Open Space Conservation Plan Audubon New York: Important Bird Area  5

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North Brother Island Panel Discussion For More Information: PennPraxis Study : design.upenn.edu/pennpraxis/work/north-brother-island NYC Parks : nycgovparks.org/park-features/north-brother-island