City Island Oyster Project looks to improve water quality
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
An ambitious grassroots effort
to restore marine ecology in local
waterways is gaining traction.
The City Island Oyster Project
held its fi rst fundraiser at the
Harlem Yacht Club on Friday,
May 17 to encourage a long-term
effort to re-populate oyster beds
in local waterways, stretching
from the county line with Pelham
into Eastchester Bay around City
Island and Throggs Neck.
Volunteers are currently in
the process of collecting used
oyster shells and placing them
on pallets for curing purposes before
they are deposited back into
waterways, said Maria Caruso, a
member of the City Island Drift, a
group sponsoring the effort.
The volunteers have placed 32
gallon bins to collect used oyster
shells in seven City Island seafood
eateries: The Lobster House, Seafood
City, Seashore Restaurant,
Sammy‘s Shrimp Box, Tony’s
Pier, Johnny’s Reef and the Harlem
Yacht Club, said Caruso.
The process requires the
shells be cured for a year so that
bacteria can die off before they
are placed back into the water,
she said.
Oyster larvae, already present
in the local waterways, would
attach to the recycled shells and
reach maturity.
An adult oyster can clean up
to 50 gallons of seawater a day,
improving ecology and possibly
bring back wildlife that has disappeared
from local waterways,
said Caruso.
“The purpose is to have the
oysters clean the water and become
the basis to bring a multitude
of other marine species back
into Eastchester Bay, creating
an ecologically bio-diverse corridor,”
said Caruso.
As part of the longer-range vision,
the City Island Drift’s volunteers
foresee eco-tourism to keep
building on the island’s nautical
history while making full use
of natural resources, said Lois
Wagh, a member of the Drift.
“While we are doing all of this,
we are bringing the community
together,” said Caruso. “Those
who attended the fundraiser and
volunteered didn’t socialize before
and now they are working together
towards a common goal.”
The group is relying on the
expertise of a City Island biologist,
Paul Mankiewicz, and Mike
Carew, of the island’s Captain
Mike’s Diving, to determine locations
to place the oysters in the
water for maximum success, said
Caruso.
Carew told the Bronx Times
that they are considering places
like Cuban Ledge (which was formerly
an oyster reef) located in
Eastchester Bay between Country
Club and City Island, and locations
off the Chimney Sweeps
Islands, High Island and Hart
Island as possible locations for a
‘chain’ of installations.
“When we are diving, we are
looking for good areas for the
oysters we are collecting,” said
Carew, adding “There would
be multiple places to put these
shells.”
Carew, a former NYPD diver,
said that he has found that oysters
are growing near the jetty
at Orchard Beach naturally, indicating
that the water quality in
that area is already improving.
Assemblyman Michael Benedetto
and Councilman Mark
Gjonaj attended the May 17 event.
Benedetto said he will allocate
the group a $2,000 grant
for the project and is sponsoring
state legislation that would
provide tax credits to restaurants
based on every pound of oyster
shells they contribute to this and
similar efforts.
www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY May 26, 2019 12
Volunteers fi ll bags of oysters that will sit outdoors for a year, being prepared for
release into the waters of Eastchester Bay. Photo courtesy of City Island Drift
$1.8M renovated historic Walton Playground reopens
BY ROBERT WIRSING
Bronx Parks Commissioner Iris
Rodriguez-Rosa, Councilman Fernando
Cabrera, Assemblyman Victor
Pichardo, Community Board 5
members and P.S. 279 students and
staff and residents joined in cutting
the ribbon on the fully renovated
Walton Playground, a Community
Parks Initiative site, on Thursday,
May 9.
The 0.34-acre playground’s revitalization
was made possible
through funding with $1.4 million
coming from the mayor and
$400,000 from Cabrera.
The reconstruction added new
equipment, water play features,
a half-court basketball court and
seating areas to the children’s play
area.
The new park design incorporates
such sustainable features as
permeable surfacing, improved
drainage systems to capture stormwater
and decrease runoff, new
tree plantings to increase shade
and improve air quality, water play
features that are controller-operated
to minimize water waste and
new lighting with energy effi cient
lamps.
“This summer when kids are
splashing and laughing as they play
in the sprinklers, we’ll be able to
bask in the joy of knowing we’re improving
our communities one park
at a time,” expressed Rodriguez-
Rosa.
To commemorate the momentous
occasion, Cabrera, Rodriguez-
Rosa, CB 5 chairman Dr. Bola Omotosho
joined local youth in shooting
some hoops at the playground’s
half-court basketball court.
“Walton Playground is now a
beautiful inclusive green space for
gathering, recreation and exercise
for everyone to enjoy - kids, seniors,
young adults, families- regardless
of physical abilities, and with ADA
accessible entrances,” stated Cabrera.
Walton Playground’s extensive
makeover was inspired by residents’
input of what they specifi -
cally wanted to see added to the
playground, according to Cabrera.
“It is important that we invest in
community spaces such as Walton
Park to ensure children can have
a safe and fun space to go to enjoy
their summer,” said Pichardo.
The park’s reconstruction commenced
on May 10, 2018 following a
groundbreaking ceremony.
Prior to its renovation, the park
had been forgotten for nearly 20
years, according to Parks.
Walton Park is one of 17 parks
in the borough listed for renovation
as part of the mayor’s Community
Parks Initiative.
The park’s namesake is Mary
Walton, who lived from 1726 to 1794,
and married Lewis Morris III who
was the sole New York signer of the
Declaration of Independence.
The couple had ten children and
resided in Morrisania.
Their son, Captain William Walton
Morris, who lived from 1760 to
1832, served as aide-de-camp to general
Anthony Wayne in the Revolutionary
War.
It is commonly believed that the
adjacent Walton Avenue is named
in honor of Gerard Walton Morris, a
landowner and descendant of Mary
and Lewis.
Parks acquired the property for
Walton Park, located along East
181st Street between Jerome and
Walton avenues, on November 24,
1897.
The park was originally known
as ‘Walton Avenue AA Park’ until
the late NYC Commissioner Henry
Stern shortened its name.
(l-r) Councilman Cabrera; Bronx Parks Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa; Ms. Medina, Davidson Community Center; Assemblyman
Pichardo; Dr. Bola Omotosho, CB 5 chairman and Ken Brown, CB 5 district manager were eager to cut the ribbon for
Walton Playground. Photo by Fernando Justiniano
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