Green Spray Paint on Brooklyn Sidewalks
Why is NYC putting green paint on expensive cement work? Residents pay thousands to have the cement outside of their house done! There is no reason to tag the sidewalk, if it is documented on the computer as NYC trees are on a map.
Coucilman Brannan explained what the markings are:
The NYC Department of Environmental Protection is exploring installing “rain gardens” to manage storm water on streets.
This is a good thing because storm water runoff in NYC has been a problem. (More info) The rain gardens can handle 1000’s of gallons of water. (See here)
See this video because it shows the whole process:
?????: Rain gardens are effective tools in urban areas that improve water quality, reducing sewer overflow as well as flood, environmental, and health risks. Find out how they’re made in this video. pic.twitter.com/PLiE12xNuc
— NYC DDC (@NYCDDC) April 23, 2019
If you are worried that you have to care for this: NYC has a crew which will maintain these rain gardens by removing trash and replacing dead plants. (Yeah you and I both know they aren’t going to do a good job and there is going to be garbage in there that you will need to clean out).
You are going to probably have to trim the grass and plants a bit too:
Brannan wrote: “They are still in the “exploratory phase” and no locations have been officially chosen yet. If you see these green markings on your sidewalk, it still doesn‘t mean you’re definitely getting one of these rain gardens.”
DEP has a hotline and email setup to handle inquiries and complaints: 718-595-7599 or raingardens@dep.nyc.gov
Brannan explained: “If homeowners want to opt out, they need to prove they have either a handicapped parking permit in their car, or lawn sprinkler lines under their sidewalk supplying irrigation for a grass strip on their sidewalk.” (Yeah that means the city is forcing this upon you.)
You definitely don’t want the alternative design below! No one is talking about the dog poop or how to keep dogs out of there.
Homeowners can also request an alternative design, where the rain garden box is installed under a new concrete sidewalk, with only an opening at the face of the curb like this:
You can read more about these rain gardens here.
Bay Ridge’s water drains into the East River and is clean. Dyker Heights drains into Coney Island Creek which is already polluted so they are trying to cut down on the pollution.
Hugs,
marlene
Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »