City Acquires S.I. Wetland
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After years of fighting to preserve some wetlands on Staten Island, residents finally got their wish Saturday as the city announced plans to acquire the property. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.What it may look like a bunch of overgrown weeds badly in need of trimming, a swampy wetland area represents for some residents of Richmondtown a solution to a flooding problem that has plagued their neighborhood for years.
"People in the area used to have their basements flooded and this contained the water, and helped a lot of people from having their homes damaged. I think this is great," said resident Louis Cugno.
On Saturday, the city announced it is working to acquire the 1.3-acre property and to maintain it as part of the city's Bluebelt Program, which protects wetlands, waterways and reduces flooding across the city. The land is currently owned by a private homeowner, but the city is in the process of purchasing it and hopes to own it by next year.
Staten Island Councilman James Oddo said owning the property is the only way the city can make sure the land isn't purchased by a private developer and built on, which would end the relief that residents with no traditional storm systems gain from the wetland area when it rains.
"There are some communities on Staten Island that will never have the traditional steel and cement sewer system," said Oddo. "Geographically, technically, you can't build it without raising all the roads and sinking all these homes, and the Bluebelt concept has been a huge success. It started on the South Shore, came to Richmond Creek, and now we're doing it all along the East Shore. And it's the only relief for certain communities."
Currently, the city maintains 400 acres of wetlands on Staten Island's South Shore, and the city Department of Environmental Protection is working to double that amount in the near future.
"It's a good way to control storm water, it's environmentally responsible, and it's beautiful, and you're a good neighbor to the residents of Staten island," said acting DEP Commissioner Steven Lawitts.
The city has also identified a two-acre parcel in Grasmere called Whitney Woods that it plans to acquire in the next fiscal year.