City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2014 Wild NYC: Building Biodiversity in Fresh Kills and City Parks Melissa Zavala Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/307 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] Wild NYC: Building Biodiversity in Fresh Kills and City Parks By: melissa zavala A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2014 ii © 2014 MELISSA ZAVALA All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Michael Blim________________________ ___________________________ ____________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Gerald Creed_________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________________ Date Executive Officer Murphy Halliburton________________ Diana diZerega Wall_______________ James Moore______________________ Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract Wild NYC: Building Biodiversity in Fresh Kills and City Parks by melissa zavala Adviser: Professor Michael Blim This dissertation is an anthropological field study of the work of urban ecological maintenance being conducted in New York City through the analysis of the reclamation and biotic restoration of the Fresh Kills landfill, located in the borough of Staten Island. This landfill was once the largest urban dump in the United States.