Tag Archives: NYC

Steven Earl Clemants, 1954-2008

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Steven Earl Clemants. Credit: Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The botanical world – especially New York State, New York City, and Brooklyn – suffered a great loss recently. Steven Earl Clemants, Ph.D., Vice President of the Science Department of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday, November 2, 2008. Funeral services were held last Friday, November 7. He was 54 years old.

I never met Steven, but I’ve known of his work. I’ve written about some of it on my blog. His contributions in several fields, including native plant conservation, invasive plants, and urban botany, are substantial. I can only summarize.

Dr. Clemants was Chair of the Board of the Invasive Plant Council of New York State. He was the Historian and past President for the Torrey Botanical Society, and Chair of the Local Flora Committee of the Long Island Botanical Society. He was a founder, coordinator and contributor for the New York Metropolitan Flora Project (NYMF), which is documenting all the flora within a 50-mile radius of New York City. He was Codirector of the Center for Urban Restoration Ecology (CURE), a collaboration between BBG and Rutgers University. He served on the Advisory Board and Atlas Committee of the New York Flora Association. He was a graduate faculty member of both Rutgers University and the City University of New York. He was also involved with the New York State Invasive Species Task Force, the Prospect Park Woodlands Advisory Board, and the American Institute of Biological Sciences, among many other efforts.

He was Editor-in-Chief of Urban Habitats, an open-science online journal dedicated to worldwide urban ecological studies. In addition to authoring and co-authoring numerous technical journals and articles, he was co-author, with Carol Gracie, of “Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States.”

The Dr. Steven Clemants Wildflower Fund

The Dr. Steven Clemants Wildflower Fund has been established to honor him. Steve’s widow, Grace Markman, is working with the Greenbelt Native Plant Center to plan a living memorial that will foster the planting of native wildflower species in New York City parks.

If you would like to donate to the Fund, there’s a PDF form to fill out and mail with your check. Email me at xrisfg at gmail dot com and I’ll send you the form. Make out your check to “City Parks Foundation” and mail it with the form to:

City Parks Foundation
c/o Greenbelt Native Plant Center
3808 Victory Blvd.
Staten Island, NY 10314

As an alternative, here’s an Amazon Associates link for the paperback edition of the Field Guide which Dr. Clemants co-authored. I will donate any proceeds I receive through this link to the Dr. Steven Clemants Wildflower Fund. The Field Guide is also available in both hardcover and paperback editions from BBG’s online store.

Related Posts

Web Resource: New York Metropolitan Flora Project (NYMF), 2006-06-02

Links

Steven Earl Clemants:

Center for Urban Restoration Ecology (CURE)
Invasive Plant Council of New York State
Long Island Botanical Society
New York Flora Association
New York Metropolitan Flora Project (NYMF)
Science Department, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Torrey Botanical Society
Urban Habitats

Final NYC Compost Giveback

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The Fresh Kills Composting Site in Staten Island
Compost Pickup, Fresh Kills Composting Site, Staten Island

The very last ever, until something changes, NYC Compost Giveback takes place this weekend in the Bronx, and in two weeks in Staten Island. Since there’s no funding in the budget for fall leaf pickup, there will be no more leaves, and no more givebacks, after this.

BRONX

Saturday & Sunday, OCTOBER 4 & 5, 8am to 2pm (rain or shine)
Soundview DSNY Composting Site (at the end of Randall Ave. close to the Bruckner
Expressway)

STATEN ISLAND
Saturday & Sunday, OCTOBER 18 & 19, 8am to 2pm (rain or shine)
Fresh Kills DSNY Composting Site (off West Service Rd. near exit 7 of Rt. 440)

NYC residents and community groups from any borough can get unlimited amounts of
free compost at these events. This high-quality, natural soil enhancer is made out
of leaves that DSNY collected from City residents and institutions.

At the Compost Givebacks, NYC residents can also purchase discounted compost bins
for $20 (subsidized by DSNY-BWPRR) to make their own compost.

Related Posts

Compost

Links

Fall 2008 Compost Givebacks and Bin Sales
Sanitation Announces Plan to Collect Fallen Leaves [as garbage, not for composting], Press release, Department of Sanitation, New York City, 2008-09-22
NYC Compost Project

Invasive Species in NYC highlighted in Gotham Gazette

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Today’s Gotham Gazette highlights the issue of invasive species in New York City as their “Issue of the Week”:

Grounding their roots, literally, in our soil, invasive species come from far and wide, via barge or souvenir-stuffed suitcases, in what horticulturists and biologists across the city call a serious threat to our habitat. Deceiving to the common eye, these foreign born pests and plants raise significant challenges for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation: monitoring, controlling and even eradicating top the list.
…
For centuries, New York has been inundated by foreign-born plants and wildlife. Even creatures we now consider common — like our subway or sewer rat — are invasive species. We may have adapted to some of them — whether we wanted to or not — but other more contemporary wildlife pose a serious threat to the sanctity of our natural flora and fauna, say city scientists.
– Invasion New York, Gotham Gazette, August 11, 2008

The article provides a broad overview of some of the most damaging, or visible, invasive species present in New York City. I especially commend Gotham Gazette for taking on what I call Brooklyn’s most charismatic invasive species, the Monk Parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus:

The birds have attracted the ire of Con Edison and other electric companies for building huge nest for their colonies on light poles. In Connecticut, a power company, United Illuminated, is seeking permission to kill the birds, while in Florida researchers have proposed mixing contraceptives in with bird seed to limit the parrot population.

The article itself doesn’t use the scientific names of the species mentioned in the article. They are, however, provided for many of them with an accompanying feature, the Know Your Invasive Critters “trading cards.”

Related Posts

My posts on Parrots, including my 2006 letter to the NY Times.
Invasives

Links

Gotham Gazette, August 11, 2008:

Flash Flood Watch for NYC through tomorrow morning

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Just in from the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM):

JULY 23, 2008 – FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR NYC

The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch beginning Wednesday
evening, July 23. The Flash Flood Watch is expected to stay in effect until Thursday
evening, July 24. Rainfall totals may reach six inches in New York City, with
localized flooding possible.

New Yorkers should exercise caution, as heavy rain may knock down trees and power
lines, and may create hazardous driving conditions. People should avoid walking or
driving through moving water, as six inches of fast-moving water can knock people
off their feet; two feet will cause most vehicles to float.

Related Posts

Floods

Links

NYC Hazards: Flash Flooding, NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM)

Rabies in NYC: Facts and Figures

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With all of the recent interest in raccoons and other wildlife, rabies is frequently raised as a concern. The New York City Department of Health has information on rabies on its Web site. Anyone concerned about the risk of exposure to rabies from interactions with wildlife in NYC should review the DOH information, which I’ll summarize here:

  • There have been no human cases of rabies in New York City for more than 50 years. In all of New York State, there have only been 14 cases since 1925.
  • Staten Island, with 29 rabid animals reported last year, and 35 in 2006, has a greater incidence of rabid animals than the rest of the city combined. The risk there is serious enough that DOH has issued a Rabies Alert [PDF, English/Español] for Staten Island.
  • The Bronx, with 14 reports last year and only 6 the year before, has less than half the incidence of Staten Island.
  • Brooklyn has had only 5 rabid animal reports in the past 15 years, and only 1 in the past 5.
  • Although city-wide, raccoons are the most frequently reported rabid animal, in Brooklyn no raccoons have been reported in the past 15 years.

So, although caution is always wise, there’s no need to fear these animals. Except for Staten Island, the risk of exposure is extremely low. Spending time outside in New York City, you’re more at risk from West Nile Virus than rabies.

What is rabies?

(NYC DOH)

Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals (including humans) most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. The vast majority of rabies cases in the United States each year occur in wild animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. Animal rabies is reported annually in New York City and State, primarily in bats, skunks and raccoons. New York City first saw rabies in animals starting in 1992, and continues to every year, especially among animals in the Bronx.

In the United States, rabies rarely infects humans because of companion animal vaccination programs and the availability of human rabies vaccine. There have been no human cases of rabies in New York City for more than 50 years. New York State has reported 14 human cases since 1925.

Human rabies vaccine, if administered promptly and as recommended, can prevent infection after a person has been bitten or otherwise exposed to an animal with rabies. The human rabies vaccine is given in a series of five vaccinations along with one initial dose of rabies immune globulin (RIG). The one time dose of RIG and five vaccines administered over the course of one month is referred to as post exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

What Can People Do To Protect Themselves Against Rabies?

(New York State Department of Health)

Don’t feed, touch or adopt wild animals, stray dogs or cats.

Be sure your dogs, cats and ferrets are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations. [Note: This is the law in New York City.] Vaccinated pets serve as a buffer between rabid wildlife and man. Protect them, and you may reduce your risk of exposure to rabies. Vaccines for dogs, cats and ferrets after three months of age are effective for a one-year period. Revaccinations are effective for up to three years. Pets too young to be vaccinated should be kept indoors. Some new vaccines have now been licensed, and therefore, can be used for younger animals.

Don’t try to separate two fighting animals. Wear gloves if you handle your pet after a fight.

Keep family pets indoors at night. Don’t leave them outside unattended or let them roam free.

Don’t attract wild animals to your home or yard. Keep your property free of stored bird seed or other foods that may attract wild animals. Feed pets indoors. Tightly cap or put away garbage cans. [And your compost bins containing food waste or scraps.] Board up any openings to your attic, basement, porch or garage. Cap your chimney with screens.

Bats can be particularly difficult to keep out of buildings because they can get through cracks as small as a pencil. Methods to keep bats out (batproofing) of homes and summer camps should be done during the fall and winter. If bats are already inside (e.g., in an attic or other areas), consult with your local health department about humane ways to remove them.

Encourage children to immediately tell an adult if they are bitten by any animal. Tell children not to touch any animal they do not know.

If a wild animal is on your property, let it wander away. Bring children and pets indoors and alert neighbors who are outside. You may contact a nuisance wildlife control officer who will remove the animal for a fee.

Report all animal bites or contact with wild animals to your local health department. Don’t let any animal escape that has possibly exposed someone to rabies. Depending on the species, it can be observed or tested for rabies in order to avoid the need for rabies treatment. This includes bats with skin contact or found in a room with a sleeping person, unattended child, or someone with mental impairment. Bats have small, sharp teeth and in certain circumstances people can be bitten and not know it.

Links

NYC Department of Health: Rabies (Hydrophobia)
New York State Department of Health: Rabies

NYC Sewer-Stormwater Settlement

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New York City will pay $5,000,000 to settle violations from delays in upgrades to sewer and stormwater systems. Three of the four sites to benefit directly from the settlement are in or adjacent to Brooklyn: Gowanus Canal, Coney Island Creek, and Jamaica Bay.

New York City has agreed to pay a $1 million fine and fund $4 million worth of environmental-benefit projects to settle violations related to delays in making sewer-system and stormwater-system upgrades to prevent overflows into waterways. The violations stem from the city’s failure to make improvements in accordance with a schedule outlined in a 2005 consent order. Under this settlement, the city has agreed to a new timeline for completing those construction projects and will make further upgrades to both its sewer and stormwater systems.
– Settlement Paves Way for Sewer/Stormwater Upgrades and Green Infrastructure in NYC, July 2008, Environment DEC

The issue centered around New York City’s obligation to improve mechanical structures, foundations, substructures, pumping stations and other infrastructure-related systems. The projects are designed to improve the capacity of the city’s wastewater and stormwater systems. During heavy rainfall in New York City and other municipalities, runoff can exceed the capacity of the sewer system, triggering what’s known as “combined sewer overflows.” [Just as attractive as it sounds.] Infrastructure upgrades can diminish the chances of overflows.

The environmental benefit projects will be concentrated in the Bronx River, Flushing Bay, Coney Island Creek and Gowanus Canal watersheds and will assess the use of various green infrastructure to be installed for sewer-overflow and stormwater abatement. Some of the types of projects that will be considered include enhanced tree pits with underground water storage, rain gardens, green roofs, bio-retention basins and swales, porous pavement and blue roofs. Collectively, these projects are intended to reduce the volume of stormwater that enters the sewer system, thereby limiting overflows. These projects, administered through the state Environmental Facilities Corp., will include extensive community input and involvement.

Looking for love in all the wrong places

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Bufo americanus, American Toad, by Henry McLin.

The NYC Health Department issued an alert today about an illegal aphrodisiac derived in part from toad venom. A man died last week after ingesting it:

The Health Department today warned New York City residents about an illegal aphrodisiac known as “stone,” which can cause serious poisonings and death. The product is also known as Piedra, Jamaican Stone, Love Stone, Black Stone or Chinese Rock. Last week, an area hospital alerted the New York City Poison Control Center that a man had died after ingesting the aphrodisiac. Similar products were linked to poisonings and deaths during the 1990s.

These products are banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but are imported illegally. Selling them in New York City is also a violation of the New York City Health Code.
– PRODUCT ALERT: ILLEGAL APHRODISIAC CALLED ‘STONE’ CAN CAUSE SERIOUS POISONING AND DEATH

Stone, a hard dark brown substance, is typically sold as a solid chunk less than a square inch in size. It may be packaged in a clear plastic bag with some labeling. The product is sold in some adult stores and can also be found in other neighborhood stores. Its active ingredients include several chemicals known as bufadienolides. They are derived from toad venom and some trees and can disrupt the normal rhythm of the heart.

Stone, a hard dark brown substance, is typically sold as a solid chunk less than a square inch in size. It may be packaged in a clear plastic bag with some labeling. The product is sold in some adult stores and can also be found in other neighborhood stores. Its active ingredients include several chemicals known as bufadienolides. They are derived from toad venom and some trees and can disrupt the normal rhythm of the heart.

Stone can cause serious heart problems or death when ingested, but can also be harmful when applied to the skin – its typical use. Symptoms of poisoning may include chest pain, abdominal pain and vomiting.

Links

Press Release

Local ecotypes available from Oak Grove Farms at Union Square Greenmarket

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Handing out shopping bags at the NYC Wildflower Week table at Union Square.
Handing out bags

First thing last Saturday, May 3, I went to Union Square in Manhattan to attend the kickoff of NYC Wildflower Week. There was a table where volunteers and Parks staff handed out tote bags with information about native plants. I didn’t get to stick around for the tours of the native plant garden in Union Square Park. The highlights for me were meeting Marielle Anzelone, Parks Ecologist, and the opportunity to acquire local ecotypes of six native plant species from Oak Grove Farms (changed to Nature’s Healing Farm), one of the Greenmarket vendors:

  • Eupatorium maculatum, Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
  • Helenium autumnale, Sneezeweed
  • Monarda fistulosa, Wild Bergamot
  • Panicum virgatum, Switch Grass
  • Penstemon digitalis, Tall White Beardtongue
  • Pycnanthemum virginianum, Mountain Mint

Local ecotype native plants for sale at Oak Grove Farms’ Greenmarket stand
Native Plants at Oak Grove Farms

What’s “native”?

A native plant species is one which grows naturally without human intervention. “Native” is both broad and relative. Native to where? And to what habitat? What ecosystem? Native to North America? The eastern United States? The Mid-Atlantic or New England? Is it native to New York City? To Brooklyn (Kings County)? Are they native to the “wooded plains” from which “Flatbush” got its name?

Most native plants commercially available, especially at the retail level, are selections or cultivars of species. Selecting for more compact forms is common, but selections are made for many reasons: the color of flowers, fruits or fall foliage, for example. In other words, they’ve been selected for their horticultural rather than ecological value.

What’s a “local ecotype”?

Within a species, an ecotype is a genetically unique population that is adapted to its local environment [Wikipedia]. A local ecotype is propagated from local natural populations. In this case, the plants have been propagated by the Staten Island Greenbelt from natural populations of each species occurring in or around New York City.

Local ecotypes are not just geographically distributed. Other important factors are differences in moisture, exposure to sun or shade, extremes of winter or summer temperatures and humidity, and so on. Ecotypes may also differ along these ecological gradients.

Why grow native plants?

In the United States, native plants are enjoying a resurgence in interest and popularity. For the gardener, making choices about native plants comes down to examining and expressing one’s reasons for wanting to grow native plants in the garden.

Growing native plants feeds my curiosity about and interest in the natural world. It’s a way for me to converse with the genius loci, the spirit of the place, where I garden. Most of all, I hope to provide food and shelter for native wildlife, especially birds and insects.

The native plant garden I’m developing in my backyard has a wide range of “native” plants. Many of them are selections and cultivars; some of these, such as a variegated pokeweed, would never persist in the wild. Others are not native to New York City, or even New York state, but to larger ecological provinces such as New England or the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

From growing native selections and cultivars over more than 20 decades, I’ve learned from experience that wildlife value is often reduced or even lost when native plants are selected for their horticultural merits. I’ve grown several different cultivars of Lonicera sempervirens, the native (and non-invasive) trumpet honeysuckle. Hummingbirds have shown little interest in any of them; they may be drawn to my garden by the shape and color of my honeysuckle’s flowers, but they feed on other nearby plants, if they stay at all.

Which is why I’ve always sought local ecotypes of native plants. Unknown millenia of co-evolution with local conditions and other species is encoded in their genetic material. If I want to garden for wildlife, I can do no better than attempt to recreate a microcosm of the natural world where I garden.

Oak Grove Farms

Note: Name changed to Nature’s Healing Farm

Oak Grove Farms Greenmarket stand at the northwest corner of the Saturday Union Square Greenmarket, Broadway and West 17th Street.
Oak Grove Farms, Union Square Greenmarket

Oak Grove Farms, from Clinton Corners in upstate New York, is one of the founding members of the Greenmarket in New York City.

Oak Grove Farms is a family owned and operated nursery in the Hudson Valley. It was started by Lenore & Herman Carvalho as Carvalho Greenhouses over 30 years ago! Their son Tony joined them almost as soon as he could walk and carry a hose.

The farm was renamed Oak Grove Farms about 10 years ago, after the Carvalho name sake: Carvalho means Oak in Portuguese …

Herman and Lenore, are ready to retire now, so Tony, and his new wife, Andrea are picking up the reins. Together they hope to expand, the nursery into a real organic farm, with animals and crops!
– About, Oak Grove Farms

Ethics

A final note: never remove plants from the wild. This is poaching.

Ask your sources how they obtain their plants. Early in my urban gardening, I ordered some plants for the wildflower section of the East Village garden. When they arrived, they clearly had been collected from the wild. Removed from their natural habitat to garden conditions, several of them didn’t survive the first year. I might as well have planted cut flowers. I’ve regretted those purchases ever since.

Find and support nurseries and growers that are propagating and growing their own plants. That’s the best way we can increase the demand for ethically-propagated native plants, foster their availability from commercial sources, and protect them in the wild.

Resources

Native Plant Database, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
PLANTS Database (Native and Introduced), U.S. Department of Agriculture

Related content

Other posts on native plants
My photos of the Native Flora Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Links

Natural Resources Group, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
NYC Wildflower Week
Oak Grove Farms
Staten Island Greenbelt
Torrey Botanical Society
Marielle Anzelone
Urban Habitats, Volume 5, May 2008: What is Local?

May 3-10: NYC Wildflower Week

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Dicentra cucullaria, Dutchman’s Breeches, with Onoclea sensibilis, Sensitive Fern, poking through, in the Native Flora Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Dicentra cucullaria, Dutchman's Breeches

This Saturday, May 3, the Torrey Botanical Society kicks off NYC Wildflower Week:

NYC Wildflower Week celebrates all things green and wild in the Big Apple—the hundreds of native flowers, trees, shrubs and grasses that call NYC home. It’s a week of inspired environmental learning, with dozens of free activities, walks and talks for all New Yorkers to enjoy.

The week of events actually kicks off this Friday evening, with the first of a series of lectures, at NYU:

Friday May 2nd, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
New York University
“Native Wildflowers of New York City”
Discover the City’s 25,000 green acres—filled with majestic trees, wildflowers, grasses and ferns— the wild, unplanted thread in the Big Apple’s ecological fabric. Learn what makes a plant native and why local flora is important. Explore how life in the five boroughs means it’s not easy being green due to characteristics of urban forests and threats to indigenous flora. We’ll also discuss what you can do, including how to go native in the garden.

Speaker Marielle Anzelone is a botanist, landscape designer and founder of NYC Wildflower Week. This introduction to the flora of the five boroughs will be hosted by the Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education at NYU.

Space is limited.
RSVP by email to kathleen [dot] oliver (at) nyu [dot] edu or call 212-992-9362.

Saturday May 3rd, 8am to 3pm
Greenmarket Events

Free NYC Wildflower Week Bags!
Pick up a NYC Wildflower Week bag for your shopping and get information on the week’s events and why gardening with native plants is the way to go.

Gardening Advice and Demonstrations
Look for our tent at the south side of the Greenmarket. Marielle Anzelone will provide native plant gardening advice and demonstrations throughout the day. Find out what makes a plant native, how to attract butterflies and birds, and the best ways to start a native plant garden.

Greenmarket Native Plant Initiative
As a result of this unique program, Greenmarket vendor Oak Grove Farms will offer certified NYC native plants for sale for the first time starting Saturday May 3, 2008!

Sunday May 4th, 8am to 3pm
Native Plant Display Garden

Wildflower Giveaway
Come by the Native Plant Display Garden (15th St. & Union Square West) from 12 to 3 pm to get a free native plant seedling while supplies last.

Related Posts

Natives
Invasives

Links

NYC Wildflower Week
Torrey Botanical Society
Marielle Anzelone

Flatbush Facts: Brooklyn’s Noisiest ‘Hood

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It makes a body proud. Flatbush is Brooklyn’s noisiest neighborhood, measured by the number of noise complaints to 311.

[In Flatbush] 2,058 noise complaints were made to the city’s 311 hotline from July 1 to Nov. 20. Williamsburg fell just three complaints behind, followed by Bushwick and Brownsville.
– Flatbush tops loudest in Brooklyn, NY Daily news, December 11, 2007

This year, DEP complaints in Brooklyn surged by approximately 23%, from 3,914 to 5,101 calls, officials said. Citywide, there were more than 135,589 complaints in the nearly five-month period – about a 25% hike over the same period in 2006.

Brooklyn’s top noise culprit is construction-related din, which is handled by the DEP and clocked in at 2,300 complaints.

Other pesky rackets plaguing the borough include … barking dogs, which annoyed Brooklynites enough for them to dial 311 1,263 times from July until last week. Ice cream truck jingles drew 261 complaints and loud music spurred 119 calls. Car noises, including honking horns and alarms, also made the top-10 list of complaints for the borough.

Links

Air & Noise, DEP