NYC Green Infrastructure

Another stop on our road trip, after Chicago, St. Louis, Foamhenge, and Philadelphia, was good 'ole New York City!  My roommate and travel companion Sabrina has family in NYC that we stopped in with for a few hours.  I have only been to the most touristy parts of the city before, so getting to see other sides of it was really nice.  It hadn't occurred to me before that NYC actually has some green infrastructure in place.

Recently, New York City has started implementing hundreds of Bioswales across the city.  Bioswales are storm runoff transfer systems that can absorb and slow down storm runoff from the sewers.  Where normally sewers would overflow after heavy rain or snow melt, causing sewage to overflow and [disgustingly] pollute the streets and the Hudson River, Bioswales allow the affects from runoff to be diminished.  

A Bioswale in Queens

So far, there are 130 Bioswales in NYC, and counting.  The more Bioswales that are put in place, the better off NYC will be after wet storms.  Along with cleaner streets, the Hudson River will be cleaned up, too.  If the Bioswales can absorb and slow enough of the runoff down, the sewers won't overflow and allow leakage into NYC and the river.  Thus, with this example of green infrastructure, NYC is making strides towards eco-friendly living!

Along with putting in Bioswales, I learned that New York City has a "Million Tree Project."  According to the website, "MillionTreesNYC, one of the 132 PlaNYC initiatives, is a citywide, public-private program with an ambitious goal:  to plant and care for one million new trees across the City's five boroughs over the next decade."  

The MillionTreesNYC website has instructions on how one can plant a tree, adopt a tree, care for a tree, attend an event, attend a workshop, and even apply for a mini-grant.  The program is being put into action mainly by the community--a topic we have been discussing a lot in class, recently.  It will be interesting to see how it all works out when the community is responsible for all aspects of the Million Trees, including their planting and care. I have faith that those involved will follow through with the plan, creating a greener, cleaner, and happier NYC for all.

Though I haven't been to New York City many times, I do enjoy it more each time I go.  In the near future, I plan on traveling to it even more.  So NYC is one of my traveled places, and even better, it is becoming one of my green places.