Enduring strong wind, harsh rain and cold weather, volunteers rallied together on Saturday to beautify and clean up the shoreline around Canarsie Pier.
In collaboration with Assemblywoman Jaime Williams, the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC) joined Bloomberg Services, a volunteer group of Bloomberg employees and their families, to clean up the pier in celebration of the 11th anniversary of I Love My Park Day, which is held on the first Saturday of May. Volunteers participate in cleanup events at more than 150 state parks, historic sites and public areas across New York State.
Volunteers of all ages – from neighboring areas and even as far as New Jersey – pitched in, as
plastics and marine debris have inundated the marsh grass near the shoreline, threatening the ecosystem.
“I’m very excited to come out today, and I am enjoying myself because I think what we’re doing here is greater than the weather right now,” said Danielle Sang, a volunteer from Mill Basin.
Despite the harsh environment, they pushed through, removing over 400 pounds of foam items, glass bottles, and various plastic items such as a tire and other forms of garbage from the shoreline.
“It takes volunteers like this to come out on a rainy Saturday, full of energy, to remove trash that is so harmful to the environment, to this estuary, which is important to wildlife and our city,” said Alex Zablocki, executive director of JBRPC. “It’s empowering to see how many people came out on a day where when you woke up this morning, you probably wanted to go back on your couch or go back to bed but instead came out to Canarsie Pier and showed it some love.”
