RIOC Southpoint Park Shoreline Restoration Project Tour Answers Questions From Assembly Member Seawright, Borough President Brewer And Residents On Crumbling Seawall, Public Access To Waterfront, Removing Trees, Soil Contamination Cat Sanctuary & More - Watch Video Of The Tour To Find Out What's Going On

This AM walkthrough of the Southpoint Park Project that I was proud to secure joined by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and resident stakeholders. RIOC commitments include walkthroughs of the project, public site and a dedicated email for neighbors. pic.twitter.com/haLqschMl0

— Rebecca Seawright (@SeawrightForNY) July 17, 2020

Last Saturday, July 17, NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Chief Financial Officer John O'Reilly together with RIOC staff joined with local residents on a tour of the Southpoint Park Restoration Project. According to Ms Seawright, the purpose of the tour was to:

... better understand and address the RI community concerns of the upcoming Southpoint Shoreline project...

As previously reported, some Roosevelt Island community members, led by the Wildlife Freedom Foundation (WFF) President Rossana Ceruzzi, vigorously oppose the Shoreline Restoration project to fix the crumbling seawall and provide greater waterfront access to the public because they claim the project will:

... destroy 325 Trees and decimate the wildlife living in the area....

RIOC answers that the Southpoint Park Shoreline Restoration Project:

... preserves the natural habitat and wildlife that currently exist, while also enhancing the surrounding greenspace paths. The required work involves the removal of toxic soil that has been inundated with overgrown landfills, choked with invasive vegetation, that must be removed before the seawall can be repaired. Roughly 99 small trees (ten inches in diameter) will be removed and replaced with 79 trees. The tree removal is necessary to access the area to be remediated. In addition, 870 shrubs, 645 other indigenous plantings, and approximately 14,500 sq. ft. of new grass that will encourage more wildlife to visit the shoreline. This project must be completed in order to prevent further deterioration of the seawall due to the ever-increasing impacts of climate change....

... Due to community concerns of the project’s potential effects on local flora and fauna, we are pushing the start date back. In the interim, RIOC will provide the community with regular updates on the project through meetings, press releases, its website and social media....

Here's portion of the Southpoint Park Shoreline Restoration Project tour.

Part 1 - Questions raised about need for cutting down trees, soil contamination and moving Cat Sanctuary to a new location.



Part 2 - RIOC shows off new Southpoint Park WFF Cat Sanctuary.

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