After daily brush fires ravaged nearly six acres of Marine Park during some of the driest months last fall amid drought conditions and wildfires citywide, help came in an announcement from the nonprofit City Parks Foundation on March 11th, announcing grant funding to help with wildfire recovery.
Marine Park Alliance (MPA) was one of five park groups selected to share in the foundation’s $140,000 NYC Green Fund Wildfire Rapid Response Grant.
The funds are awarded to parkland organizations that manage natural areas and experienced significant damage last fall to support their response efforts. And they come none too soon as a large brush fire recently broke out in Marine Park just days before the announcement and more are expected to continue into spring.
MPA Executive Director Scott Middleton attended New York City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee and Fire and Emergency Management Committee public hearing to give testimony about what happened in Marine Park in the fall (see “Marine Park Alliance Executive Director Testifies at City Council Hearing,” Canarsie Courier, February 13, 2025).
In an announcement of the award on MPA’s newsletter, the funds will be used to plan for the “restoration of burned areas east of Gerritsen Creek along the shoreline and loop trail, within the park’s coastal meadow and behind the golf course.” The plan “includes both native planting and removal of invasive seeds and fruits in order to favor native seedling recruitment.”
MPA stated that they will also curb future fires and vandalism through community stewardship with the help of volunteers and will be working closely with the Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department who will provide guidance in curbing future fires. They ask that anyone interested in helping out with these efforts to contact them at reachus@marineparkalliance.org.
