Bird wires: another DEP slap to the community

Posted

To the editor:

Thank you for your detailed report on plans for construction at the Jerome Park Reservoir. It is unfortunate that after all these years, the DEP still views the facility as theirs to run, separate from considerations of the surrounding community of tens of thousands of Bronx residents.

First, while this is old news, it’s still true: had the city built the Croton Filtration Plant in Westchester as so many of us had fiercely advocated, none of this would be an issue.  Bird-wires, fencing, and other protective considerations would not be necessary, we could have public access to the reservoir and environs, and the city could have saved hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. Building the plant in the Bronx and keeping the reservoir as part of the city’s water system was a boondoggle of epic proportions that we are all still paying for, not only with the $3-plus billion dollars of our money that was spent on an inefficient plant, but with the disruption the on-going construction will mean for the entire region into — at least —– the next decade. 

As regards the reservoir’s security, in March, 2016 members of the Jerome Park Reservoir’s Public Access Task Force met with members of the NYPD’s Counter-Terrorism Division in a meeting brokered by the DEP.  At that meeting we made it clear that no one wants to see any of our drinking water polluted, terrorized, or otherwise made unsafe for the public.  We also indicated directly that we believe that with cooperation, much like public access that’s permitted at the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and at high-profile events like the World Series, compromises could be reached that would incorporate the need for security of the water supply and facilities and the public’s access considerations.

We were told that by the end of this year the NYPD would be devising a security plan for the Reservoir and in the spirit of cooperation, we asked for on-going community input.  Well, here we are at the beginning of December and there’s no sign of that plan and there’s been no further communication about it. 

For this latest access event, the DEP was asked to minimize the visual intensity of their security measures, by making the guards with automatic weapons less intrusive to the peaceful public who are coming for a pastoral day around their historic facility.  Either put them in a vehicle or in the security station, we asked.  This simple request for cooperation that would barely compromise security was flatly refused.

Also, for many months at Facility Monitoring Committee meetings we asked the DEP to provide some information about the planned construction at the reservoir.  But they never provided anything but vague generalities and certainly did not indicate that they were planning a network of anti-bird wires to cover it.  Despite continual requests for information, as usual, the DEP was secretive and now are engaged in their despicable habit of attempting to bulldoze their community-unfriendly plans.

As noted in your article, the insanity of constructing a filtration plant with billions of dollars of public money that is not equipped to filter out common waste from birds is beyond comprehension.

Really, you spent all that money to filter the water and now have to further protect it with yet another intrusive public expenditure?   

It’s long past the time that the DEP really works with the community to design their construction plans and provide for on-going access to the Jerome Park Reservoir.  We know it can be done and done securely.  Let’s finally do it.

Gary Axelbank

Jerome Park Reservoir, DEP, Gary Axelbank

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