In mid-June, a contractor sprayed pesticides in Southpoint Park. Subsequently, more than ten small animals died. Now, RIOC makes strides in preventing a recurrence and even improving the park’s ugly meadows.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The sloping meadows in Southpoint are barely used by humans. The grasses are clipped short and dried brown, but countless living things survive there – small animals, insects, trees and other plants. Pesticides sprayed on this unattractive landscape make little sense and have only one purpose: killing living things.
We reported on the deaths of seven goslings and three baby squirrels, seeking answers from RIOC about the likely pesticide-related killings. The answers that came back from RIOC were provably false and misleading. We then confronted the state agency.
After The Daily asked RIOC‘s executives for answers, Acting Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen offered a concession and an at least temporary resolution.
“We’re not going to spray pesticides for the rest of the year,” she said. That gives managers time to assess the situation and consider options.
A big step for RIOC…
It may not seem like much, but pressed, Cunneen confirmed that its contractor, BrightView, violated its guidelines concerning when pesticides could be sprayed. Although she never conceded responsibility for the deaths, that’s remarkable because the violation was obvious. RIOC had never admitted to a mistake in any story to date, not with The Daily anyway, no matter how undeniable. Maybe there’s an adult in the room after all.
Taking the Next Step
Since she was open to options, we shared with Cunneen an article we published featuring the values of wild meadows over shaved lawns in parks. Along with the link, we attached a photo from Central Park showing how they creatively landscaped a similar sloping meadow.
Cunneen’s response was as encouraging as it was enlightening.
“It’s funny you mentioned the meadow,” she wrote in an email. “We are meeting with Central Park Conservancy in the upcoming weeks and will certainly bring this up. I could see the maze being fun for kids and animals alike!”
We’d like to see more community involvement in planning. The community abounds with creative environmental ideas, from Rosanna Ceruzzi’s Wildlife Freedom Foundation to Christina Delfico’s iDig2Learn.
Over the last three decades, the Central Park Conservancy has evolved the park from deteriorated and car-crowded to an adored green space. It’s thrilling finding that RIOC has reached out.
This version of the state agency may yet step far beyond any of those past.
When Representation Was the Promise
There was a time when representation felt like the answer.
