Rep. Adriano Espaillat wrote to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation requesting that they collaborate on two projects to restore historic wetland sites at Inwood Hill Park and Sherman Creek Park within New York’s 13th congressional district. Thousands of Upper Manhattan residents rely on these for access to green space and the waterfront to escape the stresses of city life.
Inwood Hill Park and Sherman Creek Park are also home to some of Manhattan’s only salt marshes. These vital ecosystems serve as homes and nurseries for aquatic life and attract many species of waterfowl. Espaillat recognized that the full restoration of these marshes would expand the parks’ green space into the river and provide a more immersive natural environment for visitors.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specializes in wetland restoration and often collaborates with local government agencies on restoration projects.
The full text of the letters can be found here.
Last month, during a U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on federal water resources policies, Rep. Espaillat urged Army Corps leadership to work with local agencies to address these sites, as well as explore ways to protect East Harlem from the kind of flooding that occurred during Superstorm Sandy.
First elected to Congress in 2016, Rep. Adriano Espaillat is serving his second term in Congress where he serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Small Business Committee. He serves as a Senior Whip of the House Democratic Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where he also serves in a leadership role as CHC Whip. He is also chairman of the CHC Task Force for Transportation, Infrastructure and Housing. Rep. Espaillat’s Congressional District includes Harlem, East Harlem, northern Manhattan and the north-west Bronx.
Spanish
El congresista Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) escribió al Cuerpo de Ingenieros del Ejército de los EE.UU. y al Departamento de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Nueva York solicitando que colaboren en dos proyectos para restaurar los humedales en los parques Inwood Hill y Sherman Creek, en el Distrito Congresual 13 de Nueva York. Miles de residentes del Alto Manhattan confían en estos para acceder a espacios verdes y a la costa para escapar del estrés de la vida en la ciudad.
Los parques Inwood Hill y Sherman Creek también albergan algunas de las únicas marismas salobres de Manhattan. Estos ecosistemas vitales sirven como hogares y viveros para la vida acuática y atraen muchas especies de aves acuáticas. Espaillat reconoció que la restauración completa de estas marismas expandiría el espacio verde de los parques hacia el río y proporcionaría un entorno natural más envolvente para los visitantes.
El Cuerpo de Ingenieros del Ejército de EE.UU. se especializa en la restauración de humedales y a menudo colabora con agencias del gobierno local en proyectos de restauración.
El texto completo de la carta puede encontrarse aquí.
El mes pasado, durante una audiencia del Comité de Infraestructura y Transporte de la Cámara de Representantes de EE.UU. sobre las políticas federales de recursos hídricos, el congresista Espaillat instó al liderazgo del Cuerpo del Ejército a trabajar con las agencias locales para abordar estos sitios, así como a explorar formas de proteger East Harlem del tipo de inundaciones que ocurrió durante la súper tormenta Sandy.
Photo credit: Inwood Hill Park and Inwood Tulip Tree 1930s. Wikipedia.
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