Wood from Madison Square Park
BY HAEVEN GIBBONS
Below a hill in Hunts
Point, the Bronx River glistens
offering an escape from
the city. Herons and egrets
glide above the water and the
air is fresh. A 20-foot sailboat
slices through the calm fl ow
of the river. But this sailboat
was made by kids.
Rocking the Boat is
a Bronx-based nonprofi t
that empowers local youth
through teaching them to
build and sail wooden boats.
On Friday, the organization
received enough wood to
build fi ve more boats from
the deinstallation of a Manhattan
art installation.
Ghost Forest, the public
art installation by Maya
Lin that illuminated the effects
of climate change on
the world’s forests, was uninstalled
from Madison
Square Park on Nov. 19 after
six months of display. The
lumber was milled on site by
Tri-Lox, a Brooklyn-based,
sustainability focused millworks
and workshop. The 49
50-foot-tall Atlantic white cedar
trees will no longer stand
in the park’s Oval Lawn but
will glide through the waters
of the Bronx River. Because
Rocking the Boat builds
their boats out of solid wood
and not plywood. Finding the
right materials can be diffi -
cult.
Madison Square Park
Conservancy teamed up with
Rocking the Boat and Tri-Lox
to repurpose the trees, amplifying
the environmental and
social impact of Ghost Forest.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 14 OV. 26-DEC. 2,2021 BTR
All of the cedars used in
Ghost Forest were originally
sourced from a restoration
project in the New Jersey
Pine Barrens, where climate
change-related phenomena
have caused large swaths of
forest die-off.
“It was really important
to the artist that we do this,”
said Tom Reidy, deputy director
of fi nance and special
projects with the Madison
Square Park Conservancy.
It was also important to
the Madison Square Park
Conservancy. The park
launched a sustainability division
to look at the park’s
practices from a sustainability
lens and to educate the
community about sustainability
initiatives. Donating
the wood from Ghost Forest
allows the Conservancy to
practice sustainability.
Rocking the Boat is based
in Hunts Point on the Bronx
River and offers three tracks
for its students including
boat building, environmental
science and sailing. Beyond
rowing and sailing, the
group uses the boats to conduct
environmental research
and restoration on the Bronx
River. Staff social workers
also work with participants
throughout their high school
years and beyond. The organization
offers public programs
to school groups and a
free community rowing and
sailing program. The goal of
the program is to show kids
the opportunities they have
and help them recognize
their potential, said Adam
Green, founder and executive
director of Rocking the Boat.
Andy Aguilar is a junior
in high school and a sailor
with Rocking the Boat. She
said using the wood from the
art installation to now build
boats is powerful and “gives
the wood a new life.”
Sebastian Ramos is an
apprentice in the boat building
program. He said be-
Adam Green talks to members of Rocking the Boat and others who gathered in Madison Square Park on Friday
to witness the milling of the wood. Photo courtesy Joaquin Cotten