A beautiful marine environment in the shadow of JFK airport.
If you haven’t been to Jamaica Bay, go! I visited for the first time, despite downpours and the threat of a tornado. Not only was I rewarded with the beautiful rainbow that stretched across the bay (pic above), I got to learn about the bay from long-time resident Dan Mundy and author William Kornblum (more info on each is below). I also got to visit the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Here are just a few things you’ll discover in this episode.
- The bay is a wetland estuary and salt marsh.
- It touches the shores of both Brooklyn and Queens. The two boroughs split the bay down the middle.
- JFK airport sits on the shores of the bay. If you’ve flown into, or out of, JFK airport, you’ve flown over Jamaica Bay.
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this bay was the greatest natural resource lying with the boundaries of any city in the country.
- The Clean Water Act of 1972, and the amazing efforts of residents and local organizations like Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers helped revive the bay after years of industrial dumping.
- Seals are once again a common site on the islands of the bay. And you’re likely to see horseshoe crabs on the shoreline.
- More than 330 species of birds have been seen in Jamaica Bay. The bay sits along the Atlantic Coastal Flyway migration route.
Who You’ll Meet In This Episode
- Dan Mundy Dan wears multiple hats. He is the President of the Broad Channel Civic Association, which represents the home owners on the island of Broad Channel. He’s also the Vice President of the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers, an evironmental group established roughly 20 years ago to preserve and protect Jamaica Bay. Last but not last, Dan is a Battalion Chief of the New York City Fire Department. Dan spoke with me from his home in Broad Channel Island where he has a beautiful view of the bay.
- Professor Elizabeth Alter Liz is a marine biologist and professor at York College at the City University of New York. Her specialty is environment and ecological genomics, which means she studies how species and ecosystems evolve using the tools of genetics. Her specific focus in New York is environmental DNA, which means using DNA that is shed by organisms into the environment to understand how many are there and how they are adapting to the environmental conditions around them.
- Emeritus Professor William Kornblum Bill is a native New Yorker, self-taught sailor, urban sociologist and author of the book, At Sea In the City. Bill and his family spent years exploring the waters of New York City in his sailboat, Tradition. I talked with Bill at his home on Long Island and he treated me to a private reading of his favorite chapter in his book.
Websites and Resources Mentioned In This Episode
- DOITT Map Tip for how to use: Find Jamaica Bay on the map (it’s cradled beneath Brooklyn and Queens), zoom in and then click on the “Map” button in the upper right corner of the map to change the year view.
- Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers
- Science and Resilience Institute, Jamaica Bay
- Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
- Gateway National Recreation Area, Things to Do in Jamaica Bay
- Jamaica Bay: A History, a study by Frederick R. Black, Associate Professor of History, C. W. Post Center, Long Island University