fresh perspectives FreshkillsPark Newsletter — Winter 2008

North Park to initiate In This Issue

transformation of 2-3 Site plan and renderings Construction will begin on the first phase of North Park’s 240-acre development in of North Park 2009. A 20-acre swath of land will be the first area developed within the boundary of the former . It will provide space for active and passive recreation, 4 allow visitors to experience the spectacular views of William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge, An in-depth description of landfill and let the public see firsthand the ongoing process of transformation at Freshkills infrastructure systems in place Park. This first phase will include a broad multi-use pathway and secondary paths, a at Fresh Kills to manage waste tree nursery and seven-acre Founder Seed Farm, a forested plateau, a composting byproducts comfort station, a picnic lawn, a waterfront overlook deck and a bird observation 7 tower. Development at North Park will set precedent for a focus on sustainability that Up close and personal with the will extend to all future development of Freshkills Park. newest residents of Fresh Kills: white-tailed deer ACCESS There will be two entrances to North Park. The soon-to-be-renovated Schmul Park 7 will be a gateway for the Travis neighborhood; a new 75-space parking lot off Wild Quiz: how many Freshkills Park Avenue will provide regional access. The lot will be planted with trees to provide tree species can you identify? shade for cars and to blend the area seamlessly into the landscape. Solar panels mounted atop a shade structure at the entryway to the park will provide power for the lights in the parking lot. Above: A rendering view from atop the Bird Observation Tower in North Park, looking southwest over the Arc Path and the Founder CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Seed Farm.

http://www.nyc.gov/parks/freshkillspark 1 North Park features focus on recreation, sustainability from page 1 other sites in the park. The pot-in-pot design allows saplings to be transplanted Freshkills Park Team MULTI-USE PATH easily by eliminating the need to Parks & Recreation Commissioner The multi-use path will form the spine excavate their roots. The tree nursery Adrian Benepe of the park. Both entrances, from will allow visitors to witness the active Schmul Park or the parking area, will process of transformation at Freshkills S.I. Borough Commissioner be connected to the rest of the park by Park. Also located in this area and along Thomas Paulo the multi-use path. This divided walking the length of the Main Path will be Park Administrator and high-speed path will extend all the distinctive wood-and-steel benches. Eloise Hirsh way to North Park’s eastern edge at Main Creek. Walkers, runners, cyclists PLATEAU Capital Projects Manager and families with strollers will be able & COMFORT STATION Angelyn Chandler to reach all the park features from this Environmental Program Manager path. The path will be lined down its Continuing along the Arc Path, visitors Michael Marrella median by a flowering swale, a planted will reach the Plateau, where the park drainage feature that is both beautiful will open into a forested grove. A Land Use Review and practical. The middle stretch of the comfort station on the Plateau will use & Outreach Manager path run beside the gentle slope of North solar technology to power its lighting and Carrie Grassi Mound and incline slightly toward the exhaust systems. The comfort station Arts Program & Grants Manager path’s center, a forested plateau. will also feature composting toilets—an Raj Kottamasu increasingly popular technology also in TREE NURSERY use at , Botanical Outreach Coordinator Approaching the plateau, visitors will Garden, and New York State Parks—to Martha Powers come across an innovative pot-in-pot minimize the site’s waste stream and Interns tree nursery. Here, a grid of set-in eliminate need for a sewer line. Zachary Mulvihill planting pots, or “sockets,” will provide Christopher Yee an effective way to nurture tree saplings FOUNDER SEED FARM & that can ultimately be used to populate CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Site plan Mission 11 1 Parking area As Freshkills Park moves from the 2 PV shade structure planning stages to implementation, 3 Arc path we strive to keep community 4 Tree nursery members informed of the progress 5 Plateau 8 7 in bringing this innovative project to 6 Comfort station reality. Building this park requires 7 Seed farm 7 6 many coordinated activities 8 Bi r d t ow e r 5 including the planning and design 10 9 Picnic lawn of the park, engineering for roads 9 10 Overlook deck 4 and other technical aspects of the 11 Schmul Park park design, and environmental assessment and regulatory permitting. The purpose of the Fresh 3 Perspectives newsletter is to provide updates about the project’s progress 1 as well as information about its 2 history and some of the unique features, resources and complexities of the site.

The North Park Phase One site plan, and a map of Fresh Kills indicating the location of the project.

Fresh Perspectives Winter 2008 2 Top: A photovoltaic (PV) array mounted atop a shade structure at the planted entryway to the parking bosque. The PV array will provide power for the lights in the parking lot.

Above: A Bird Observation Tower at the end of the multi-use path, situated at water’s edge.

Left: A forested grove will sit at the plateau where the two paths meet. A comfort station will also be located in this area and feature composting toilets and PV panels to power its lighting and exhaust systems.

3 http://www.nyc.gov/parks/freshkillspark Landfill systems keep Fresh Kills safe, environmentally clean The site has advanced soil barriers and byproduct collection systems

Although Fresh Kills is no longer accepting refuse, it will take an anticipated minimum of 30 years 6” before garbage decomposition is LANDFILL complete, associated gas production GAS WELL 2’ HEADER and settlement cease, and leachate fully PIPE drains from the site. As these processes continue, there is an ongoing need for regular maintenance, monitoring and evaluation of the site and systems that have been put into place. Access to these systems are essential to inspection, maintenance and repair. Two of the four mounds at Fresh Kills, North and South Mounds, are already capped with a thick, impermeable cover that separates the waste from the environment and the The final cover atop the landfill public. The remaining two mounds, East mounds is and West Mounds, are in the process of composed of a being capped. The City’s Department series of layers, each with a of Sanitation (DSNY) is currently distinct function. working with the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to The final cover is made of a series of impermeable liner and increases friction, ensure environmentally sound closure layers, each with a distinct function: thus reducing the risk of sliding. It of the landfill sections that remain drains the overlying protection layer and uncapped and to prepare for DSNY’s • The soil barrier/grading layer is laid reduces risk of over-saturating cover long-term operational responsibility (a over the solid waste and is graded and soils above. minimum of 30 years post-closure) for compacted to appropriate slopes. DEC on-site environmental monitoring and sets minimum and maximum required • A barrier protection layer stores control systems. No area will be open to grades (4% to 33%) to maintain stability excess water until it is either used by ongoing public access until it has been and promote proper drainage. overlying plants or drained off. This layer tested and found safe for park use. is composed of soil and has a minimum • A gas venting layer is constructed thickness of 24 inches. What follows are brief descriptions of a geocomposite to facilitate the of some of the landfill infrastructure movement of landfill gas towards the • The final layer is the planting soil layer systems that are in place at Fresh Kills: landfill gas vents or extraction wells. or top soil layer, which has a minimum thickness of six inches. The soil used is LANDFILL CAP • An impermeable plastic liner prevents a sandy loam, selected for its potential The essential design goals of the water from entering the waste by to prevent soil erosion and to provide a final cover placed over the solid waste stopping its flow and promoting storage good growing medium for vegetation. A are hydraulic performance, slope or drainage of water in the above layers. network of plant roots hold onto the soil, stability and long-term integrity or This layer also prevents the upward providing stability. durability of the landfill and its systems. migration of gas into the atmosphere These are achieved by minimizing except in controlled places. This is a LANDFILL GAS surface water infiltration, preventing crucial component of final cover. COLLECTION erosion, promoting proper surface water drainage, and separating the waste layer • A drainage layer is needed in some Landfill gas (LFG) is the from the environment to protect public portions of the final cover. This layer gas generated by the anaerobic health. reduces the pressure of water on the CONTINUED ON Next page

Fresh Perspectives Winter 2008 4 from previous page system is also in place and is equipped decomposition of organic materials at to handle all operations of managing solid waste disposal sites. Generally landfill gas when portions of the landfill landfill gas is 50-55 percent methane and gas infrastructure system need to be 40-45 percent carbon dioxide, with the repaired. remainder being residual gases. At Fresh As the landfill ages, the anaerobic Anaerobic decomposition Kills there is a landfill gas collection decomposition of the refuse will slow system that minimizes the impacts and eventually cease, and there will The decomposition of organic materials of landfill gas emissions in addition be no more landfill gas to collect. without exposure to oxygen is called to converting the landfill gas into a DSNY is committed to monitoring and anaerobic decomposition. It is a natural source of renewable energy. Instead of collecting the landfill gas until it is no process, occurring both in landfills and in being released into the atmosphere, a longer environmentally or economically wetland marshes. It is also the primary network of landfill gas wells, piping and feasible to do so. In this event, a passive chemical reaction in beer production. transmission lines brings the gas to a emission release sytem will be activated central location on the Fresh Kills site to avoid build-up of gases. The main gaseous products of where it is purified and converted to high anaerobic decomposition at Fresh BTUs (British Thermal Unit, the term LEACHATE COLLECTION Kills are Methane (CH4), Carbon used to describe the heat value of fuels). Leachate is another byproduct of Dioxide (CO2), and a combination of On a typical day at Fresh Kills, the decomposing waste in the landfill. Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen (H2, 10 million cubic feet of landfill gas is Leachate is the liquid produced when N2, O2). These gases are colorless collected, about half of which can be rainwater percolates through solid and odorless. Their capture is not converted to energy used for household waste. Soluble materials in the refuse are only economically viable but also cooking and heating. The high BTUs collected or dissolved into the passing environmentally responsible: carbon are sold to National Grid, a distributor of water and may contain chemicals that dioxide, the chief cause of global climate natural gas and generator of electricity, would be harmful to the surrounding change, is dwarfed by the effects of and can heat the equivalent of up to environment and groundwater. It is methane, which has about 25 times 22,000 homes per day. similar to the “goo” sometimes found in the global warming potential (GWP) To ensure the safety of the site, the bottom of your trash bin. of carbon dioxide as determined by its there are numerous aboveground landfill A series of leachate cutoff walls absorption of infrared radiation, spectral gas monitoring devices on the mounds around the base of each mound function location of absorbing wavelengths at Fresh Kills. Measuring at about three as a barrier to restrict the exchange and atmospheric lifetime. Landfill feet high, these devices can be read of water between the landfill and the infrastructure at Fresh Kills captures remotely to make sure that the levels of surrounding aquifers. The cutoff walls approximately 38,000 tons of methane emissions are safe for the landfill and are constructed of a clay material per year, equivalent to 735,000 tons of surrounding community. A back-up flare CONTINUED ON next page carbon dioxide emissions.

A diagram of the leachate collection systems in place at Fresh Kills, which collect up to 600,000 gallons of leachate daily.

5 http://www.nyc.gov/parks/freshkillspark North Park Arc, continued

from page 2 Overlook Deck at the end of the picnic lawn path and a Bird Observation Tower PICNIC LAWN at the end of the multi-use path. Both At its eastern edge, the densely forested structures will be situated at water’s plateau will break onto a sweeping edge and provide views not only of the plain. A picnic lawn will lie along this wetlands and their wildlife, but also area’s southern edge, providing space of the colossal landfill closure effort for lounging, kite-flying and enjoying underway on East Mound, as well as the scenery. The rest of the area will be sweeping vistas encompassing the rest dominated by the innovative Founder of the rest of the Freshkills Park site Seed Farm. This seven-acre matrix and the skylines of both Jersey City and of cultivation plots will form a vibrant Lower . mosaic of vegetation native to . The Founder Seed plots will be SIGNIFICANCE operated by the Department of Parks Development of North Park aims & Recreation’s Greenbelt Native Plant to extend the rich habitat of the Center and will be used to propagate Wildlife Refuge and to create space seed mixes for use at Freshkills Park. for recreation and relaxation. Human Similar to the tree nursery, the Farm activities, whether cultivation of the will allow the public to observe a tree nursery or propagation of native working landscape that will, in turn, help seed stock, will enrich the surrounding transform the rest of the site. A further ecosystem. The ecosystem, in turn, will Top: A view of the Bird Observation Tower from the Overlook Deck. transformation will take place after five enrich human activities with more birds years of operation, when nature will be for the bird watchers and trees for the Above: The multi-use path, with separate left to take its course and the area will shade seekers, a backdrop of blooming walking and high-speed lanes. become a flowering meadow. meadows and bustling wetlands. Over the next few years, North Park will strive Founder Seed THE WATERFRONT to become both a laboratory of new Main Creek flows south from the William sustainable practices for the continuing Seed collected from local, wild T. Davis Wildlife Refuge, a beautiful site transformation of Freshkills Park and populations to form the basis of further first set aside for preservation in 1928. a destination in its own right, a place seed production. Its cultivation is Providing views into the wildlife refuge of active use and quiet recuperation, the first step in producing genetically and its thriving ecosystem is a central a proving ground for new restoration appropriate supplies of seed for large- goal of North Park development. Two practices and a confident first step on a scale land restoration projects. structures will grant these views: an long path of change.

Landfill infrastructure, continued from previous page a biological and chemical treatment wane and eventually become negligible and soil or cement. The cutoff walls process. The leachate treatment plant as the landfill ages. are embedded into a layer of low- separates the water from the solid DSNY and the Department of permeability soils, mostly clay, that materials and chemicals. The clean water Parks & Recreation have entered into serve as a natural liner under the major must meet quality permit standards so a partnership for the management of part of the landfill mounds. Groundwater that it can be discharged into the Arthur Fresh Kills. They are committed to and surface water monitoring wells Kill without having negative effects upon ensuring that the infrastructure systems are located around the site to insure the ecosystem and environment. The at Fresh Kills that protect environmental that chemicals are not seeping into the remaining materials, known as “leachate and public health on and around the site surrounding aquifiers. cakes,” are disposed of in a landfill remain uncompromised throughout the Leachate is collected throughout designed to accept this type of waste. upcoming construction and use of Fresh the site and channeled to a leachate Currently, the leachate treatment Kills as a public park. The monitoring treatment plant located south of West plant processes up to 600,000 gallons of and maintenance of the landfill is Mound. Here the leachate is treated for leachate per day. As with the landfill gas, an integral part of the successful ammonia and suspended solids through the amount of leachate collected will functioning of the park.

Fresh Perspectives Winter 2008 6 Wildlife Spotlight: the West Shore’s growing population of white-tailed deer

There have been quite a few deer spotted at Fresh Kills. In July of this year, a tour group caught sight of a doe and fawn at the top of North Mound. That was just one of numerous reports of deer sightings around Staten Island. According to a state study released in May of this year, there are at least 24 deer in the borough, mostly concentrated on the western side of the island.

White-tailed deer are the most abundant of the large North American mammals. They are extremely agile and can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour even through uneven forest terrain. During the summer, deer usually keep to meadows and fields, while in the winter they use the forest as protection from the harsh elements. The

Photo by Valerie Abbott diverse habitat types of Fresh Kills make an ideal location for their habitat. White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus Deer depend mainly on their sense of smell to detect danger and will raise their tail–exposing a white un- Range: Found throughout most of the derside–to communicate danger to other deer. In wild and Canada, Mexico, Central America, northern parts areas, deer are preyed on by large predators such as of South America, and some parts of Europe. wolves, coyotes and bears. Humans are the only threat posed to deer on Staten Island. Size: Males range in weight from 130 to 220 pounds; females range in weight from 90 to 200 pounds. They range in size from 3 to 3.5 feet tall. Deer feed primarily on young leaves, fresh grasses, shrubs, fungi and soft twigs. They are excellent swim- Lifespan: most deer live an average of 2 to 3 years, mers and often enter large bodies of water to escape although it can be as long as 20 years. Few live past predators or insects. It is said that many deer have 10 years. swam across the from New Jersey to inhabit Staten Island.

Native trees to be planted at Freshkills Park:

How many do you know?

Pine, Red Maple Red Pine,

Second Row Second : River Birch; Tulip Poplar; White White Poplar; Tulip Birch; River :

Cedar; Flowering Dogwood; Paper Birch. Birch. Paper Dogwood; Flowering Cedar;

irst row irst F : American Sycamore; Eastern Red Red Eastern Sycamore; American :

7 http://www.nyc.gov/parks/freshkillspark Fresh Perspectives Freshkills Park Newsletter

Freshkills Park Composting, Recycling and Department of Parks & Recreation Ecological Resources www.nyc.gov/parks/freshkillspark Council on the Environment of NYC http://www.cenyc.org/ Project Partners and Consultants Department of City Planning The Compost Project In Memory of www.nyc.gov/freshkills http://www.nyccompost.org/ Sheila Metcalf Department of Sanitation NYC Green Apple Map Dedicated Fresh Kills Project Manager www.nyc.gov/html/dsny http://www.greenapplemap.org/ for the New York City Department of City Planning and the New York City Field Operations, NYC WasteLe$$ Department of Sanitation http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/ www.fieldoperations.net html/recycling/recycling_nyc.shtml

Related City Initiatives PlaNYC 2030 http://www.nyc.gov/planyc2030/ The New York Department of State, through the Division of Coastal Resources, MillionTreesNYC has provided funding for the Freshkills Park newsletter, Fresh Perspectives, under Title 11 http://www.milliontreesnyc.org of the Environmental Protection Fund.

51 Chambers Street, Room 100 New York, NY 10007 www.nyc.gov/parks/freshkillspark

City of New York Parks & Recreation Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor Adrian Benepe, Commissioner 100 %