Site

For many, the Battery Park City experience is defined by interactions in the public realm—in the streets and sidewalks, the parks, the Esplanade, and other open spaces. Sustainability in the neighborhood must extend to these spaces, in addition to encompassing energy, water, and materials and waste. In this Plan, Site refers to topics of broader environmental quality in Battery Park City, covering transportation/mobility, environmental health, and ecosystems and resiliency.

Highlights:

As leaders in ecological stewardship, Battery Park City’ 36 acres of open space are maintained organically. Compost and compost teas are used to return nutrients to and enrich biological activity in our soil. In their careful selection of plants, BPCA’s horticulture staff values native plants and considers plant communities as a whole. Trees and shrubs are pruned in a manner that follows the plant’s natural growth patterns, and smart irrigation systems are installed to reduce excess water usage.

These careful management procedures allow for great biodiversity at Battery Park City, and with this, resiliency to different weather conditions, storm events, and climate change. Better ecosystem health for the flora and fauna results in better environmental health, a key component of the 2019 Resilience Action Plan—establishing Battery Park City as a biodiversity haven.

Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. For example, Parks Programming’s Go Fish! Event –  Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.

BPC Wildlife on iNaturalist
Battery Park city is home to a wide range of wildlife across its 36 adres of parks and public spaces, from native insects to more than 100 species of birds. Help Battery Park City improve its natural habitat by downloading the free iNaturalist app. User-generated observations help contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories like the Global Biodiveristy Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. View the Battery Park City iNaturalist page

Sustainability-themed programs can be found throughout Parks Programming’s active calendar of classes, programs, and events. In 2019, for example, Parks Programming hosted Go Fish!, Battery Park City’s annual celebration of life in the Hudson Estuary and its first Migration Celebration. Art programs regularly use recycled materials such as plant clippings from the parks and re-purpose discarded newspapers, scrap paper, and boxes from deliveries.