What Possibilities Does The Hudson River Hold?

 As I learn more about the natural environment surrounding me and the ways in which people contribute to this environment, be it good or bad, I am just beginning to understand the social, political and physical importance of water. Although it may not seem that important at first glance, waste water management has a huge, if not the biggest, impact on the environment. When we flush the toilet, turn on the faucet, do laundry or take a shower, all of that water ends up in the waste water facility. How is this water treated? What happens after the water is treated? Where does it go afterward? What effects does this water have on the environment? These are all questions with answers. But the question I would like answered is, what could the Hudson River look like? What kinds of ecologies might exist if millions of gallons of treated waste water didn't flow into it? Perhaps the bay would be full of oysters, like so many environmentalists dream of. Maybe the population of fish would triple and the Hudson's fishermen could once again make a living off of the river. There are any number of possibilities.

Further more, what alternate modes of waste water disposal could we use-- not only so that ecosystems are not compromised but, in ways that may also enrich our lives?

Water has the power to determine human abilities.Through feats of engineering humans have been able to harness the natural resources to their benefit. We have seen this in the construction of the Croton Aqueduct, who's water allowed Manhattan to expand. Now, it is becoming increasingly obvious that humans can limit the abilities of the natural environment.

What Worries Me

I had the privilege a couple of nights ago to hear Thomas Elmqvist speak. He talked about ecosystem services and cost-benefit analysis of restoring and maintaining greenspace specifically in Urban areas. One of the areas he touched upon was Wetland Restoration. I grew up exploring the rivers and swamps and marshes of Northwestern CT. Wetlands are something incredibly dear to me, and I guess my concern would be for the identification, protection and restoration of New York City's wetland areas. I was reading the PLANYC report on wetland areas in and around the metropolitan area, and it stated that wetlands under certain amount of acreage are not protected under federal protection iniatives. According to the report, PLANYC was about to start mapping those areas in 2008 when the iniative was started. My question would be, where is this iniative now? What steps have been made to protect existing wetland areas, of all sizes? Also, work is being done to restore areas like the Fresh Kills Landfill and areas of the Meadowlands, but those are major impact areas, what about smaller, equally important areas? I'm reminded of the swampy contaminated areas around the Staten Island Container Port, what about areas like that?

AHHH, its enough to make a fella go CRAZY!

http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/pdf/2009/pr050-09.pdf

http://www.harborestuary.org/pdf/HabitatSiteList.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_Kills_Landfill

http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/5120.html

http://soilandwater.bee.cornell.edu/publications/MontaltoW04.pdf

Native New York Plants

Hudson River Water-Nymph (Najas guadalupensis ssp. muenscheri), endemic endangered species  

I am interested in the conservation of native plants populations within the New York area that are essential to the preservation of these self-sustaining ecosystems. Native plants populations are where adaptations to soil, insects, climate, and disease occur, but with urbanization, they become spatially isolated and may not be able to disseminate pollen.  The Greenbelt Native Plant Center in Staten Island (part of the NYC Parks Dept.), has been developing initiatives in native plant restoration with locally appointed seed-banks, providing education and assistance in planning and planting, as well as offering services and resources such as workshops, to enable more public awareness and participation. I would like to find a specific native plant in my research (with the help of the Greenbelt Center and their Native Plant Conservation Initiative) that may be rare or endangered due to their low numbers of individuals and populations. I hope to find qualities in a certain plant that will lend way to restoration in local populations and remediate some of the effects of pollution on biodiversity and self-sustaining populations.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/gnpc/index.html

so what i'm worrid about

the NYC sewer system i did some research and i want to know the dangers of sewage and what happens to all the poop. where does it go and why? but looking i found alot of resources and people really concerned for there poop. here is a little thing i found
http://nyconvergence.com/2008/08/nycs-dep-digiti.html

but this is really interesting it shows what i'm assuming are the sewer sheds

http://swimmablenyc.info/?page_id=191

so 14 treatment centers in the city and i never knew, so this is what im worried about

The Water Chestnut

This ecosystem-altering plant is a prime example of a species which was brought to the Hudson estuary under innoccent circumstance. The water chestnut is a native of Eurasia, and was introduced in the United States as a decorative and ornamental plant, much like Japanese knotweed in terrestrial ecosystems. Its appearance in the US can be traced as far back as 1874 when a Harvard botany professor entered it in his catalogue. It is a rapidly reproducing and stifling plant, particularly abundant in freshwater sections of the Hudson. The water chestnut prefers slow moving water, which is abundant along the heavily jettied and developed Hudson shoreline. It experiences peak growth n the summer, from mid-July thru mid-September.
The primary cause for concern regarding the water chestnut is its penchant for significantly lowering the Dissolved Oxygen content of the waters in inhabits, which severely limits biodiversity and overall biological productivity. This is attributable to both its high reproductive rate and its actual structure. Large portions of the water chestnut's plant body is above the water surface, so the large populations end up forming canopies and blocking sunlight. The few submerged leaves aren't able to continue photosynthesis, which means oxygen production ceases and DO content of the particular water column declines. Water chestnut incursion on the tidal Hudson River is especially dangerous because during the ebb water underneath these enormous plant mats may become nearly anoxic, even more stressful to native species. It presents a hazard to recreational boaters due to the thickness of water chestnut beds and the potential for propellor jamming. Removal and prevention is time-consuming and difficulet, with work having to be done mostly by hand because of chemical ineffectiveness.

Queen Mary 2

As far as working ships on the Hudson go, I feel this is undoubtedly one of the largest ever. While technically not the biggest cruise ship in the world, it is the biggest ocean liner. It has a capacity of 2,620 passengers and 1, 254 crew members, and cost an approximate 900 million dollars to construct. It boasts the distinction of having the only planetarium at sea, and is complete with 14 decks, 5 pools, dining rooms, theatres, and other spaces befitting a luxury cruise liner. It runs regular passage between New York and Southampton, England. It is 1131 feet long, making it just 117 feet shorter that the height of the Empire State Building. The ship was designed to bear likeness with previous Cunard ships of the "Gilded Age" of sea travel, however the QM2's funnel had to stray from the older style's height due to the lack of clearance under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at high tide. It is the flagship of the Cunard line, which began transatlantic crossings in 1840 with its first ship Brittania. The concept of transatlantic travel became an arena for competition amongst shipbuilders from the US, UK, France, Italy, and other nations to make the journey to New York in the fastest time with the grandest passenger vessels.

Hero John J. Harvey & 9/11

History

She served the FDNY from her launch in 1931 to her retirement in 1994. Among the marine fires at which she assisted were the Cunard Line pier fire in 1932, the burning of the Normandie in 1942, and the ammunition ship El Estero during World War II. She was named for marine fireman John J. Harvey,

killed when the Thomas Willet exploded

during a fire.

She retired as Marine 2.

This is in exact words of Huntly Gill:

On the morning of Tuesday the 11th, Chase Welles, Chief Engineer Tim Ivory, Tomas Cavallaro, Andrew Furber and I met spontaneously at John J. Harvey and took her south from

Pier 63 Maritime to help at the World Trade Center. We joined tugs and ferries evacuating a trapped crowd from the sea wall near the Battery, taking some 150 people north to Pier 40. En route, the Fire Department radioed a request that we drop our passengers as quickly as possible and tie up adjacent to the site to provide pumping capacity since hydrants were not working.

FDNY designated Harvey Marine Company Two and assigned an officer. We joined FDNY boats Fire Fighter and McKean on the sea-wall to provide the only water available at the site.

Joined on Wednesday by Pilot Bob Lenney (FDNY ret) and Assistant Engineer Jessica DuLong, who provided welcome relief (and remained on board without it themselves), Harvey worked non-stop at the site until last night (Friday) after hydrants had been restored and she was at last sent home.

Countless friends and supporters made Harvey their base for volunteering in the emergency, working on shore on clean-up, rescue work and organization.

Andrew Furber worked as a welder through the Tuesday night cutting people and remains out of emergency vehicles, and later cutting steel that had been WTC 2.

Jean Preece and John Doswell wielded fire hose most of the day Wednesday to provide the only area at the site which was not covered by 2 inches of a horrible, ubiquitous choking dust; this area then became the main supply center for the emergency.

Darren Vigilant provided regular ferry service to and from Pier 63 Maritime in his go-fast boat; John Krevey provided food, beverages and regular, unstinting support.

Captain Pamela Hepburn organized the deck and set up the lines (secured to trees for lack of cleats) with quick-release toggles. (Both John and Pamela's families are homeless as their apartments are adjacent to the site.)

Many others, too numerous to name, pitched in without hesitation.

Remarkably, John J. Harvey turns 70 in 21 days. Supporters of John J. Harvey should be proud that this great old lady was saved to work for our City in crisis.

OLANA

Olana Estate - Hudson NY

In 1860, at the height of his career as one of America’s most renowned landscape painters, Frederic Edwin Church began purchasing farmland overlooking the Hudson River. After a trip to the Middle East in the late 1860s, Church worked with architect Calvert Vaux to design a home on the estate’s highest point that incorporated exotic architectural elements he saw on his travels. A series of towers, balconies, recessed porches, and stenciling adorned the home, which featured a central Court Hall surrounded by living spaces for the family that were filled with an eclectic mix of furnishings and objects. Church used the surrounding land as a three-dimensional canvas, planting thousands of trees, creating a lake and building over five miles of carriage drives.

Also you may find info here: http://www.olana.org/

A great Video Link http://youtu.be/aIDHGSUsk90

Lehigh Valley Barge no. 79

Lehigh Valley Barge No. 79 is an old wooden railroad barge built in 1914, the only surviving one of its kind. Today it houses the Waterfront Museum, floating at pier 44 in Red Hook. They discovered the barge in 1985 in Edgewater, NJ. After 9 years of repairing the ship and removing the caked mud, it’s virtually back to its original condition. Amazing that this old ship floats!

                      

As part of the museum, they have a school, or “floating classroom,” aboard the barge. Here, kids can learn about boats, i.e. “knot-tying, why boats float, identification of the different types of vessels that crisscross the harbor daily.”

As if the boat couldn’t get more kiddie-friendly, it also holds regular circus shows in the summer. “Showboat Sazzam” features jugglers, clowns, magicians, acrobats –everything you could want at a circus all in this little boat! It’s cool that this discovered old ship is being put to good use, the people who found it had a cool and interesting idea for what to do with it. It’s a great tool for promoting education of the harbor, and a cool one too.

Zebra Mussels

Although they may not seem like the most pertinent issue concerning the Hudson River, Zebra mussels are harmful to the river. They are native to the Black, Caspian, and Azov seas. From their initial appearance in America in 1988 in the Great Lakes, they spread to 28 states, and of course, the Hudson River. They arrived at the Great Lakes attached to a cargo ship traveling from the Black Sea. The larval forms of the mussels continued to attach to boats and travel across the country. I think they are a major problem, because like many other invasive species, they are not typically thought of as an environmental problem. However, they have major effects such as reducing the number of native mussels by anchoring on to them, preventing them from functioning. They also dwell in the pipes of power plants, public water supply plants, and industrial facilities, constricting the flow of water in and out. By attaching themselves to structures made of steel and concrete, they cause the structure to erode. Within the ecosystem, they significantly reduce phytoplankton, (by 85% in the Hudson), increasing transparency in the water. Although the water appears cleaner, it is not a beneficial thing because the food for other organisms has been reduced. Zebra mussels are not the first issue typically thought of when thinking about issues surrounding the Hudson River, however, they have already had a major impact, and continue to increase, killing more algae, invading more pipes, and taking the lives of native species.

newtown creek wastewater treatment plant with jimmy pynn

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7401552@N06/sets/72157628018313411/

sorry for the wait guys

http://teenytinypanda.tumblr.com/

harbor ship tracker

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?&zoom=12&centerx=-74.0829&centery=40.6759

thank you mattie!

Pioneer

The 102 foot long, 37 ton Pioneer was a sloop built in Pennsylvania in 1885, to carry sand to an iron foundry in Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1895, the sloop was turned into a schooner since it allowed for a smaller work crew. This ship is unlike most others because it has a wrought iron hull. It was made from iron, not wood, because it was made in the center or iron shipbuilding at the time. It is the first of 2 cargo ships ever made from iron and the only iron hulled merchant sailing vessel that still exists. In 1930 it was fitted with an engine and moved to Massachusetts. In 1966 Russel Grinnell renovated the ship by rebuilding the hull, and restoring the rig. After his death in 1970, it was sent to the Seaport Museum where it now remains, giving sailing tours daily. The engine is used to get it out of the River, but once there it uses only the sails, which reach up to 76.6 feet.

bald eagle in brooklyn

http://peters-prospect-bird-sightings.blogspot.com/2011/10/bald-eagle-at-bush-terminal-pier-park.html

sunnyside/ossining/croton dam field trip, 11/4

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7401552@N06/sets/72157627967088135/

central park conservatory garden

The Conservatory Garden in Central Park was originally a greenhouse for tropical plants. After the green house deteriorated and demolished it was turned into a 6 acre garden in 1937 which was restored in 1981. The garden is split into three areas that have different styles, French, Italian and English. It's a very classical garden that Downing would classify as "beautiful" because it is symmetrical and doesn't have a wild and rustic character. I've been to this garden a bunch and it's really pretty. I've seen a wedding reception and a proposal there in the same day!

Blithewood

Blithewood Mansion is a prominent and beautiful feature of the Bard College campus and also home to the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. Located on the eastern bank of the Hudson, Blithewood occupies a small hamlet within Dutchess County, across the river from Kingston. In 1835, Robert Donaldson of North Carolina bought the property and named the grounds "Blithewood". Donaldson worked with the architects Alexander Jackson and Andrew Jackson Downing to improve the quality of grounds into a landscaped estate, since prior to the acquisition, the property was mostly woods. The landscape architects designed an octagonal gatehouse and a white pine lined driveway that are all that can be seen today of their work. In 1853, John Bard purchased Blithewood and gave a corner of the estate for the founding of St. Joseph's College (becoming Bard in 1934). In 1899, Captain Andrew C. Zabriskie, a cattle breeder, purchased the estate and developed Blithewood as his summer home, physically similar to how the mansion and garden are seen today. He commissioned Francis Hoppin, an alumnus of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, to design a Beaux-Arts style manor and garden. As a result, Hoppin designed a grandiose mansion and Italian style garden that reflected the architectural elements of English mansion design, with the technology that was present at the turn of the century. It is also interesting to note that there have been long reported noises and poltergeist activity at the mansion. People think they spot a young girl between the ages of 8 and 12 walking around the house and gardens. The apparition is believed to be the daughter of Captain Andrew Zabriskie, who fell to her death out the window of their Manhattan apartment.  Blithewood Mansion Blithewood gardens View of gardens, Hudson, and Catskills

Frederick Law Olmsted

Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture:

Boston's Emerald Necklace

master plan

The Muddy River

New York's Central Park

"The Terrace" 1920

View from Rockefeller building, 1935

Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

Olmsted and daughter, Marion, visit the Biltmore in 1890, home to nations first managed forest

Green-Wood Cemetery

Mentioned in the reading as an early example of the rural cemetery in the Downing tradition, the Green-Wood Cemetery is an impressive resting place. It was created in 1838 and it was designed to be as naturalistic as possible, with views overlooking the harbor, grassy hills, and full-crowned trees. Many constructions in the cemetery were created by architects in a sort of gothic revival style, typified by ornate spires and detailing meant to fit with the beauty of the hilly land. The mausoleums were all very impressive and possessed a wide range of architectural styles, I guess as to be expected with shifts in time. It was a tranquil place, a fine spot to be buried in. Which I'm sure is why so many well-to-do people are interred there, such as artists, politicians, soldiers, and businessmen from the 19th century onwards. It is still very much a working cemetery, and many people were visiting graves when I poked around. I read that there is apparently a nesting colony of monk parakeets that have been cemetery residents since the 1960s, but I couldn't find any to take photos of.

Prospect Park

Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead worked together to establish Propsect Park. Vaux and Olmstead were introduced by Downing, when they all worked together to plan Central Park. Olmstead was a leading post civil war landscape architect, as well as a columnist for the New Yorker, helping him earn the position as Superintendent of Central Park. The area where Prospect park is located was the site of the first major battle of the revolutionary war. The Park's Drive was fortified by Washington during battle in 1776. The historical significance of the location relates the park to the great homes of the Hudson Valley because many are located near the sites of battles during the Revolutionary War as well. The desire to place a park in Brooklyn was not only for aesthetic and recreational purposes, but also to lure wealthy residents to the town. Like the many houses in the Hudson River Valley, it was a place to escape from the everyday chaos of city living. Olmstead believed that this was a necessity for everyone not just the wealthy. He believed that this park would provide escape for those who could not afford a second house. The construction of the park took place from July 1, 1865 until 1873. The initial plan included lengthy meadows, carriage drives with scenic outlook points, rich forests with various trees, rustic shelters, bridges, arches, a Concert Grove House and Pavilion for music, and a dairy with milking cows. One major section of the park, Long Meadow, was conceived as a space that felt more natural and less constructed area. However, to accomplish this, many trees were removed and transplanted, woods were thinned, dirt was moved, and a peat bog was filled in. This type of construction to establish a relaxed, stress free environment is similar to the gardens of the great houses that Downing designed. Overall a calm atmosphere was created through the strategic placement of trees and hills, like the gardens that Downing planned.

Montgomery Place, Pt. 3

Montgomery Place, Pt. 2

                Montgomery Place is located in the Annandale-on-Hudson historic district. Janet Livingston Montgomery purchased the land and had the manor built in the late 1770’s. She purchased the land after her husband’s death. The manor and outbuildings were finished in the early 1800’s. The most notable aspects of the estate are the gardens and the trails. The older gardens were designed by Andrew Jackson Downing, as well as the lay out of the lawns and the trails. On the southern acreage of the estate, the oldest old growth oak forest in the Hudson River valley still stands. Downing called this land “the Wilderness” for the trees and the bluffs that lead down to the Hudson River. In the north, the grounds are bordered by the Saw Kill whose waterfalls descend nearly 70 feet into the Hudson. Janet Livingston Montgomery planted apple orchards in the front of the estate, and the orchards have been kept and expanded on. They now sport nearly 60 different kinds of apples and pears as well as vegetable gardens and are sold at a farmer’s stand on the rt. 199 and rt. 9g junction.

                Over the years acreage has been added to the estate, expanding it from the 250 acres Montgomery had purchased to nearly 450 acres. There are extensive trails that provide a couple of hours of hiking all around the estate. From the back porch of the main house the Catskills can be seen bordering the Hudson on the western shore and provide a very romantic and rustic atmosphere. Some of the gardens including the herb garden and the rough garden were added in the 1920’s. The manor was redesigned with the help of Alexander Jackson Davis in the 1840s.

                In the 1980’s the estate was sold to the Historic Hudson Valley and was added to the register of Historic Places. In May 2010 the house was finally opened for public tours. 

Montgomery Place

                The apple branches were bare beneath the early November sky. In the switch grass a coyote stalked its prey as the trees above bore the full fruit of autumn. The Taconic parkway wound its way through upstate New York, through miserable old farm towns and bustling country villages. The rural life was tired, but true. On the simple back roads, where the power lines were down, old men with chainsaws worked to clear the roads of the debris from October’s storms.

                There is something mythic about the down-home country life.

                Away from the chaos of the concrete, and the selfishness of the fast-paced city life, there is no hiding from the hardship and the hard work of the simple life. Maybe Thoreau was right after all; maybe it was really about simplicity. Out here, beneath the big sky, where the rivers still tumble free from culverts and asphalt, the Great Spirit can be heard whispering the ancient song.

                But you have to stop and listen.

                I pulled off the Taconic near Red Hook and made my way west toward the Hudson. I carried in my back pocket a stone pulled from the shores of the Atlantic, where the waves had smoothed its rough edges soft as my lover’s skin. Sometimes, when I find myself near a body of water, I can begin to feel it shiver, as if to tell me home is merely a skip away.

                Annandale is the type of town that maps have forgotten. Deep in the valley, guarded by old oaks and hemlocks, she is the virgin daughter of the Hudson, veiled and pure. Her marshes were singing beneath the sharp sun, and I found myself driving slow and watching the road for Rip van Winkle and Hudson’s crew, returning to the mountains for the last of autumn’s storms.

                She is home to a great history.

                Down an old dirt road I parked and wandered.

                I found Montgomery Place as it might have been 170 years ago. The gardens, in neat array, were kept by old caretakers. I paused a moment as they raked the leaves.

                “Do y’all have to rake the entire property?”

                “You bet,” they said with a laugh.

                “Damn, I hope their payin’ you well.”

                “Well, it’s good work either way.”

                I nodded and looked out across the lawn, “This is a beautiful place.”

                “This is your first time here?”

                “Yeah.”

                “Make sure you make the hike down to the Saw Kill.”

                “Yeah? What makes that so special?”

                The older of the two workers smiled, “you’ll see.”

                I laughed, “alright then, I’ll let you get back to work and I’ll go explore.”

                “Don’t get lost,” he said with a pause, “unless that’s what you want.”

                I nodded and ambled across the grounds. Past the old gardens, and down in front of the old manor house. For a moment I trespassed into history. The stone was as beautiful as it must have been when it was built. Just the thought that someone had lived there made me uneasy. It seemed too much, even for a family and its servants. The darkness inched over me as I felt subdued by the boredom of money and privilege.

                It was something I just didn’t understand.

                But I turned the corner around the house, and the lower lawns stretched their lazy bodies down along the banks of the Hudson, and basked beneath the smiling Catskills. The sun began to dip toward the horizon, and the shadows were growing long. There appeared a golden haze above the river and I felt that if I got to close, I might disappear and become a part of the river legend.

                The darkness subsided, and the freedom replaced it.

                I followed an old trail down to the banks of the Saw Kill. The river surged to meet the Hudson, and I understood the old men and their mystery. The river fell and tumbled over great stones and filled the air with boisterous song. The stone in my pocket trembled. I climbed the rocky banks and stood beside the rushing water. I looked down the falls and for a moment I thought about tomorrow. About the days left.

Was man ever meant to sit still, or were we meant to run like the river, and at the end of it all join something greater?

The return to my car was slow, intentionally slow. I paused to watch the blue jays contend for space in the canopy. Down in the marsh I heard the brotherly bark of a heron, and was soon joined by its shadow as it passed above me. Soon I turned the key and drove back down the old dirt road, and history returned to its place in the past.

I made one more stop before rejoining the Taconic and heading home. I stopped the truck at the Montgomery Place farmer’s market. The apples and squash were the last of the season, and the supply was dwindling, the herald of the coming winter. In the fridges I found what I was looking for, hard cider. I bought two mason jars full of it and two butternut squashes. The girl working the stand was beautiful, with soft blue eyes and tangled brown hair woven with sunshine.

She smiled at me.

I placed the stuff on the counter and caught her eyes.

“That’s exactly what I would have bought.”

“Is the cider any good.”

“Its delicious, but I help make it so I might be biased.”

“Oh really?” I popped the top and took a swig.

“How do you like it?” she bit her lip.

The cider was crisp and finished smooth, “Delicious.”

She sighed, “I’m glad you like it.”

She rung me up and I left her, and our story ended before it began.

On the ride home I felt warm and alive, and as I pulled into my town, the sun set behind me.