Environmental characteristics: salt and fresh water marshes, estuaries, coves, bays, inlets, islands, peninsulas, , uplands and meadows.

Migratory birds: Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret, Glossy Ibis

Plant species: white , red oak, black oak, black cherry, white pines, Norway spruce, black locust, grape hyacinth, periwinkle, daylily, Tartarian honeysuckle, alumroot, stargrass, wood-betony, wild geraniums “In in a new has risen from the haphazard ruins of the Pelham Bay Naval Training Station...Five million yards of fill topped on the Sound side by one million yards of clean, white sand, has created this new development on a site where formerly open water divided from Rodman's Neck. The mile-long beach and boardwalk, the bathhouse for 6500 patrons and the parking space for 8000 cars have made this area so popular that the Park Department has, on occasion, been forced to close it because of the excessive crowds attracted by its facilities.” “In Pelham Bay Park in The Bronx a new Orchard Beach has risen from the haphazard ruins of the Pelham Bay Naval Training Station...Five million yards of fill topped on the Sound side by one million yards of clean, white sand, has created this new development on a site where formerly open water divided Hunter Island from Rodman's Neck. The mile-long beach and boardwalk, the bathhouse for 6500 patrons and the parking space for 8000 cars have made this area so popular that the Park Department has, on occasion, been forced to close it because of the excessive crowds attracted by its facilities.”

-, NYC Parks Commissioner (1938) Designed and built 1934-37 using $8 M in federal funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) The Orchard Beach parking lot is a an extremely large impermeable surface adjacent to some of the greatest natural areas in . The total surface area of the parking lot is approximately 40.6 acres giving it a total footprint of 1,775,255 sq ft. 1 1

Parking Lot Area: 1.7 million sq ft 3

2

2

3 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2012 2014 2016 Orchard Beach is not part of any NYC sewer shed.

The pools will not go away by themselves. As a 41-acre impermeable surface, the Orchard Beach parking lot stands out as an area without vegetative cover.

Beachgoers crossing the hot parking lot after a relaxing day are in for a shock.

Twin Island & Hunters Island

Two woodland habitats are cut by an immense unnatural surface.

Rodman’s Neck During major storm events the parking lot can become inundated, leading to long-standing pools in low lying areas.

These areas tend to hold water for long periods of time leading to as many as 350 fewer available parking spaces and all around general inconvenience. TOTAL PARKING LOT AREA

LOT AREA PRECIPITATION TOTAL RUNOFF INCHES/ HOUR (CUBIC FEET)

1,775,255 1 147,938

TOTAL STORMWATER RUNOFF (GALLONS)

1,109,534

Parking Lot Parking Lot 1.5’ Mini swale

18’

9’

Understanding the natural hydrology of the orchard beach parking lot plays a key role in selecting appropriate overstory, shrubs grasses and perennial native flowering species to be installed in our Green Infrastructure interventions.

The types and species of plants we selected for installation in the orchard beach parking lot green infrastructure are all intended for high or low marsh conditions that involve partial inundation of root structures. Bio-Swale Rain Garden Pocket-park Mini Bio-swale Overstory

-Thuja occidentalis -Andropogon gerardii -Cephalanthus occidentalis -Thuja occidentalis -Andropogon gerardii Eastern White Cedar Big Bluestem Buttonbush Eastern White Cedar Big blue stem

- Andropogon virginicus - Andropogon virginicus -Myrica cerifera -Cornus amomum Broomsedge -Cephalanthus occidentalis Broomsedge Bayberry Silky Dogwood Buttonbush

- Juncus effesus - Juncus effesus Bushes/Shrubs -Andropogon gerardii - Iris versicolor Common Rush -Myrica cerifera Common Rush Big blue stem Northern Blue-Flag Iris Bayberry - Asclepias incarnata - Andropogon virginicus - Asclepias incarnata -Lycopus uniflorus Swamp Milkweed Broomsedge -Andropogon gerardii Swamp Milkweed Northern Bugleweed Big blue stem

- Aster novae-angliae - Juncus effesus - Andropogon virginicus -Carex lacustris -Cephalanthus Lake bank sedge New England aster Common Rush Broomsedge occidentalis Grasses

Buttonbush -Carex lacustris - Asclepias incarnata - Juncus effesus Lake bank sedge Swamp Milkweed Common Rush -Myrica cerifera

Bayberry - Aster novae-angliae - Asclepias incarnata

New England aster Swamp Milkweed

-Carex lacustris - Aster novae-angliae Perennial flowering Lake bank sedge New England aster

-Carex lacustris Lake bank sedge American Kestrel

Over 250 species of birds have been recorded in Pelham Bay Park and over 80 species have bred in the park. Saw-whet Owl A short list of the more notable species include:

Orchard Oriole Eastern Towhee

Osprey

Native Bees Rose-breasted Wood Thrush Willow Flycatcher Grosbeak

Butterflies GI Typology Square Feet Used

Rain Garden 24,000

Bioswale 11,126 70,808 Mini bioswale (cuts) 13,650 Pocket Park Bioswales 22,032 } Permeable Pavers 9,288

TOTAL 80,096 SF GI Typology Square Feet Used Gallons Captured

Rain Garden

Bioswale

Mini bioswale (cuts) 70,808 1,013,440 Pocket Park Bioswales } Permeable Pavers 9,288 98,569

TOTAL 80,096 SF 1,112,008 gal Bridging the gap.

The vast open space created by the parking lot, separates two woodland habitats by an immense distance.

The installation of overstory and understory plants will provide essential refuge for smaller bird species making the traverse between northern and southern ecosystems.

Pools= 7% of the parking lot= ~ 350 spaces Green Infrastructure= 4% of the parking lot= ~150 spaces Grams of water in study area 4,898,266,025

Calories to evaporate all runoff 2,840,994,294,309

Avoided kWh 3,304,076

Avoided BTUs 11,265,283,521

Avoided Refrigeration AC tons 939,498