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Friends of Gateway

Jamaica Bay

Friends  of Gateway wishes to thank Ken Fitch of  Friends for Parks and Public Lands for permission to reprint this thoughtful essay on Jamaica Bay, written in November of 1999.

When President Richard Nixon flew over the area that was soon to become Gateway National Recreation Area, one wonders if he could have imagined the significance this place would have in a continuing regional and national  debate, a place whose existence would serve as a catalyst for consideration of some of the most important issues the country must consider as it enters the new century.

Further, he might not have envisioned that the EPA, which would eventually be seen as one of the positive contributions of his administration, would figure so significantly in the preservation of our natural resources and environment, and specifically in this area.

Located as it is at the edge of the city that might otherwise surround it, Jamaica Bay has become a place of discharge for disgorged effluents, aerial sound blasts, overloaded fuel dropped from the sky, and emissions of all kinds.

Jamaica Bay has also become a place for consideration of what is happening to our environment and the challenges and threats from accumulated impacts of proposed actions. Here, we see and experience the changes in our water, air, air waves and demographics, as well as the flow of history, and it is here also that we see how the democratic processes of our country are invoked in community and individual actions and implemented in initiatives that reflect individual and community values. 

How we treat this place and its resources, what measures we take to protect its special values, and how our shared open space is utilized and preserved will speak much to our future as natural creatures in this region.  The question is whether this place will serve as an urban model for preservation, restoration and reclamation of some of the natural areas, natural resources and values that cities in the past have so often disregarded and despoiled -- or will this area merely represent an underutilized opportunity for urban development.

The actions taken here and the programs initiated also have a great potential to teach and inform, as well as  illuminate and enlarge the perspectives and horizons of fellow citizens and generations to follow. Examples as presently implemented are the educational programs at Gateway National Recreation Area, the new Nature Center in Marine Park, the restoration of historic aircraft by aviators and aeronautic veterans at Floyd Bennett Field, the Tours and Cleanup Operations by Friends of Gateway and the community task force cleanups and the continuing flow of innovative projects by Friends of Marine Park/Gerritsen Creek as well as other significant programs and activities initiated by individuals and community organizations in the area.

The recent gatherings of citizens, organizations and regional leaders  have great importance to the resources of the area, and also possesses significance far beyond the region.. The decisions and actions taken here have potential for precedent. 

It is important to encourage and support the involvement of all interested persons, both locally, and beyond, for many of the actions here are responsive to and mandated by larger entities and agencies of government with larger frameworks of concern such as ACEC, FAA, EPA, etc.

Recently, Joe Foy of  Jamaica Bay Cares has noted that despite a tendency on the part of a number of individuals to claim individual credit for influencing recent successful protests and actions, it has been the strong actions, protests and statements of many different groups and individuals that collectively have provided substantial and substantive opposition to recent actions and decisions of poential negative impact.  This is a very significant insight, and this is why it is important that the initiatives here cultivate the participation of many people from diverse backgrounds and experience.

Of course, there are potentially contentious issues and conflicts here: recreation versus preservationist use of the waterways, birdwatchers vs. bikers at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, etc., but all of these issues assume and share a common respect for the existence of this specific environment and its resources.  

Divisive conflict on specific issues that alienates persons with a shared vision from participating in thelarger process should be carefully ameliorated and mediated. Such conflicts, of course, would be readily manipulated by persons with agendas for uses incompatible with the presently existing environment. 

Jamaica Bay and its major constituent partner, Gateway National Recreation Area, have been and will continue to be subject to many adverse pressures, locally and nationally.

Fortunately, this area has been served (and preserved) by some extraordinary grassroots organizations. Local meetings on a variety of issues related to the Bay in which articulate protests and also alternatives were presented have evidenced a great depth of committed, informed, thoughtful and insightful commentary. For example, who could forget the Mill Basin Meeting regarding the TDWR tower in Gateway NRA with its eloquent, cogent statements from residents and legislative representatives, including the unforgettable presentation by the late Assemblyman Anthony Genovesi, and the devastating insightful analysis by the President of the local homeowners association which summed up the rather inadequate and embarrassing presentation by the FAA as a "dog and pony show."

This area has been fortunate in its political representation including Charles  Schumer and Anthony Wiener, but what makes the citizen involvement so effective and treasured is the eloquence of the grassroots support on these issues.

While, there have been many meetings held on a variety of issues, and a number of communications networks are now in place, it is important that this proliferation not seem exhaustive (and exhausting), but rather as a demonstration of citizens gathering to make their voices heard regarding issues that affect individuals and the local and larger community.

There are, of course, many places and resources of specialized interest whether it be the birds, wildlife and plants of Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the historic planes, buildings and runways of Floyd Bennett Field or the considerable unknown history of World War 2 and the Cold War only now being revealed. It is important that each aspect of the Bay and its life retain its individual integrity. However, as Paul Mankiewicz, one of the region's most thoughtful and diligent ecologists, pointed out, beyond consideration the specific merits of individual projects, in order to restore Jamaica Bay, it is essential to view Jamaica Bay in its entirety.

Indeed it is this larger perspective that should guide our efforts, with the realization that there are many resources and issues to consider, but also many extraordinary, committed persons and organizations that can offer important contributions.

There are many who are concerned about what happens in this special place in our city and in our nation. Many people have done extraordinary work here. Others should be encouraged to become part of a continuing process to reclaim, restore and renew.


Ken Fitch
Friends for Parks and Public Lands