“From coastal resiliency and sustainable green practices to the preservation of affordable housing, world-class public art, and vibrant, year-round programming in award-winning public spaces, Battery Park City leads the way in many of the measures that makes cities livable."
BPC Parks Happenings is a monthly “snapshot” of the Authority’s work in maintaining Battery Park City’s parks and public spaces. Scroll down to see what’s on tap for October!
– Falling for Spring: Spring flowering bulbs for fall planting season will be delivered this month, with plantings to occur later this month and into November.
– Future Growth: Timing is everything to ensure the optimal survival of plants when transplanting. As we approach the start of construction on the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, the Authority has worked to salvage more than 100 plants and replant them elsewhere throughout Battery Park City. Now, BPCA is partnering with other local parks and public spaces that may benefit from these plantings – including trees, shrubs, and perennials – and facilitating transfer of the plant material. This week (pictured below), we’re taking advantage of the great, cool weather to remove some Wagner Park plantings and ensure these beloved plants can continue to bring the public great enjoyment!
– Make like a tree…: BPCA has planted a new concolor fir (also commonly called white fir), an evergreen native to New York State, in Rockefeller Park. This beautiful new addition (pictured below) provides year-round shelter for birds and wildlife and its needles have a fantastic citrusy fragrance.
– …and leave: Leaf pickup begins across Battery Park City this month, with all leaves to be used for composting. The resulting compost is used to nourish and sustain soils across Battery Park City’s parks. It’s also used to help create the compost tea – compost steeped in water – to inoculate soils with beneficial fungi and bacteria in the spring and fall.
– Cold Wind Blows: As the cold weather approaches, winterization of children’s water play features begins. This starts with shutting off water in the play features at the West Thames, Kowsky Plaza, Teardrop Park, and Rockefeller Park playgrounds, followed by removing water from the pipes to prevent freezing.
– A new coat: Our Park Operations team will be applying an essential oil treatment to the Teardrop Park South’s teak wooden amphitheater space to protect it from the elements and preserve the condition of the wood.
– Winning with Zero Waste: As a decades-long leader in sustainability, BPCA is striving to divert 90% of what is sent to landfill! To continue helping toward our Zero Waste goal, we ask that you rethink what you are bringing into the parks, and if possible please recycle or compost items. For our part, we’ll keep watching and adjusting the recycling cans to ensure they are in the right places for optimal use and updating signage on landfill and recycling cans across our open spaces. Read more about our Materials & Waste efforts as part of Battery Park City’s Sustainability Plan.
* Reminder: Wagner Park will be closing this fall as South Battery Park City Resiliency Project work gets underway. Read more here.
