2020-07-23.html (5434B)
1 <div class="wide64"> 2 <p> 3 Dear Assembly Member Seawright, and Borough President Brewer, 4 </p> 5 <p> 6 I attended the Southpoint Park tour on Friday and wanted to follow 7 up on the concerns I expressed to you there. 8 </p> 9 <p> 10 I understand the importance of repairing the sea wall. But I want 11 to share why this patch of invasive plants, resting on 12 contaminated soil, is so important to me. 13 </p> 14 <p> 15 I've been a resident of Roosevelt Island since 1994, since I 16 emigrated from Naples, Italy. Growing up here was special. My 17 childhood memories include ladybugs and hummingbirds, watching 18 cormorants and seagulls fish, and the southern tip of the Island, 19 when it was still green. As a child, all of these were sources of 20 joy, delight, and curiosity. Later, they often prompted feelings 21 of gratitude, and appreciation for the gift of life. 22 </p> 23 <p> 24 Over my lifetime, I have seen most of these sources vanish. I have 25 seen one hummingbird in the last decade, maybe a handful of 26 ladybugs. I understand that there were compelling reasons, 27 sometimes, to develop the Island. But I still mourn the losses I 28 have witnessed. 29 </p> 30 <p> 31 I visit Southpoint Park several times a week. I've been there in 32 all seasons, in all kinds of weather, at dawn, afternoon, and 33 dusk. It is perhaps the one place left where I can still 34 experience the delights I remember as a child. This summer, it was 35 watching red sparrows eat mulberries, or the rainbow after a storm 36 caught me reading in the park. In 2014, I studied for the bar 37 exam there. When my grandmother suffered a heart attack last year, 38 I went to Southpoint Park to collect my thoughts. 39 </p> 40 <p> 41 I know that, in days to come, I will walk to that park and find 42 its shores bare. In place of the maze of green branches will be 43 overturned dirt, machinery, and views of man-made structures on 44 the horizon. Even now, I dread to see that view. 45 </p> 46 <p> 47 While I have watched this reverse alchemy of the Island -- of 48 turning emerald to stone -- I have also learned more of our 49 planet's situation. It is a fact, today, that the ecological 50 foundations of human society are buckling. I am wondering when we 51 will start to turn things around, and if governments' approach to 52 nature can shift in time. 53 </p> 54 <p> 55 RIOC's current vision for the park entails a loss of twenty trees. 56 This number hides the fact that some are mature trees, whose 57 equivalent cannot be planted. There will also be a net loss in 58 terms of square feet left to nature. This outcome, better than the 59 original proposal, is only because residents stepped up. 60 Otherwise, we would have been facing a greater loss. 61 </p> 62 <p> 63 I would love to see RIOC commit to, at the least, maintaining an 64 equivalent number of trees in the park. I would love for more 65 space to be left wild. More than that, I would love to see RIOC 66 match residents' passion and appreciation for the nature we have 67 here. 68 </p> 69 <p> 70 If you can help to bridge this gap, I will be indebted to you. 71 </p> 72 <p> 73 Thank you very much for your time, 74 </p> 75 <p> 76 David Wen Riccardi-Zhu</br> 77 555 Main Street 78 </p> 79 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20180604T185738_edit.jpg"> 80 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20180604T185738_edit.jpg"> 81 </a> 82 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20180702T194515.jpg"> 83 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20180702T194515.jpg"> 84 </a> 85 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20181202T120957.jpg"> 86 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20181202T120957.jpg"> 87 </a> 88 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20190302T170654.jpg"> 89 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20190302T170654.jpg"> 90 </a> 91 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20190922T172424.jpg"> 92 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20190922T172424.jpg"> 93 </a> 94 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20191110T154821.jpg"> 95 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20191110T154821.jpg"> 96 </a> 97 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200321T145850.jpg"> 98 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200321T145850.jpg"> 99 </a> 100 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200414T182733.jpg"> 101 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200414T182733.jpg"> 102 </a> 103 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200512T221837.jpg"> 104 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200512T221837.jpg"> 105 </a> 106 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200512T222426.jpg"> 107 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200512T222426.jpg"> 108 </a> 109 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200525T222228.jpg"> 110 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200525T222228.jpg"> 111 </a> 112 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200528T220022.jpg"> 113 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200528T220022.jpg"> 114 </a> 115 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200530T221922.jpg"> 116 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200530T221922.jpg"> 117 </a> 118 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200629T223151.jpg"> 119 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200629T223151.jpg"> 120 </a> 121 <a href="/static/media/1920/dwrz_20200701T225232.jpg"> 122 <img class="img-center" src="/static/media/720/dwrz_20200701T225232.jpg"> 123 </a> 124 </div>