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SPRING 2015
NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION
GATEWAY PARK, GREAT KILLS
CLEANUP
By Jim Scarcella
In early April, Assemblywoman Ni-
cole Malliotakis, tired of looking at all
of the garbage along the Hylan Blvd
perimeter of Great Kills Park, sought
assistance with getting the area
cleaned. Staten Island Deputy Parks
Commissioner,
Mike
Schnall,
reached out to the Bay Terrace Im-
provement Group President Ron
Aberante, Rich Chan and Jim
Scarcella of NRPA to see if we could
help. After some emails and help
from Paul at Nicole's office and Keith
White of National Parks Service, the
cleanup took place on April 19th.
People from these groups, Laura Piil
Cerqua, the Popolano family, Chuck
Perry and many more teamed up for
the debris removal effort. Our group
started at Bulkhead Road, which is
unfortunately still closed for Radium
clean up. Right away we picked up
soda cans, cigarette packaging and
fast food containers. This garbage
THE FLOATABLES SURVEY
PROGRAM
By Ida Sanoff
The New York City Department of
Environmental Protection’s (DEP)
Floatables Survey Program is up and
running again!
The debris that washes up along a
shoreline is referred to as floatable
debris, or just “floatables”. It’s a
wide variety of paper, wood, plastic,
metal and glass items. It may have
originated from decaying structures
like piers, or from trash that people
toss off boats or into the streets.
You may not realize it, but that
cigarette butt or bottle cap that you
carelessly toss on the sidewalk may
one day foul your favorite beach.
When it rains, street litter washes
into the storm drains on the corners
of streets. If there’s not too much
rain, all of that storm water and trash
will go to the local water treatment
plant where it can be removed. But
if there is too much rain in too short a
period of time, the storm water will
be diverted to local waterways via
huge pipes called outfalls. All of that
street trash then washes up on the
shore. Sometimes raw sewage is
diverted through these outfalls too
and along with it comes any plastic
items that may have been flushed
down a toilet.
Floatable debris isn’t just ugly, it’s
dangerous to marine life. Sea turtles
and dolphins have died from eating
plastic bags and other plastic items.
Balloons that escape a child’s hand
and soar skyward ultimately fall back
to earth and into the water where
their ribbons entangle shorebirds.
Carelessly discarded fishing line
traps birds too. Large floating
timbers are a hazard to boaters.
DEP has huge skimmer boats which
remove floating trash slicks in harbor
waterways. The Army Corps of
Engineers
demolishes
rotting
shoreline
structures
wherever
possible. But still, a lot of trash
escapes and winds up on our
beaches. You need to know what
trash items are on the beach and
how they got there in order to reduce
the likelihood that more will follow.
In the late 1990’s, DEP started a
Volunteer Beach Survey Program,
which everyone just calls the
Floatables Program. The only
requirements for participating are
that you enjoy walking along the
shore and you can get to the same
spot about once a week for a short
time. Once you select your area, the
DEP Program Manager, Robert
Gans, will come down to meet you
was joined by household debris, car
parts, cardboard boxes and broken
toys.
Keith and Larry from National Parks
Service did a great job with the traffic
cones and supplies to keep us safe.
The three mile stretch from Keegans
Lane to the Buffalo Street Entrance
was cleaned. We understand the
debris totaled more than a thousand
pounds. Special thanks to those
mentioned previously and John Kill-
cullen, Dominic Cenatiempo, Tony
Rose and everyone who put in the
effort to improve our community.
trip all around the city with members
of the Army Corps of Engineers as
they discuss various projects and
point out the sights. We may sit
down with local legislators to debate
the pros and cons of an upcoming
project in our neighborhood. Or just
watch the joy in the faces of a bunch
of kids as they go fishing for the first
time.
Volunteering gives you the oppor-
tunity to expand your horizons and
learn to do things that you never
thought you could do.
But maybe the best part of being a
volunteer is that you meet the most
wonderful people, from all walks of
life. Really good, honest, sincere,
people who care about their commu-
nity and their world.
Some of us came to NRPA decades
ago, when the organization was in its
infancy. Some of us only arrived a
few months ago. But we all share
the knowledge that by being here,
we are accomplishing something
wonderful!
So why are you still sitting there?
C’mon down and join us and start
volunteering!
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