Field Trip/Climate Justice – East River Park

Zachary Tinubu-Karch

Sustainable Systems SP

April 27, 2022

The East River Park has been a cultural landmark for decades from its inception in 1939. The park has an exceptional way of bringing a variety of different demographics, people, and social classes together. However as we bring this space into our contemporary landscape, the dynamics of this increasingly communal space are inhibited by threats to equitable decision making. Risk of flooding has increased as a result of global warming, leaving us with volatile weather conditions as already seen throughout this year’s rainfall and with the unfortunate occurrence of hurricane sandy. 

East River Park is standing right in the fire zone, and ultimately this circumstance places the park in a difficult situation. The park is both threatened by flooding and acts as a buffer zone for it simultaneously. The dynamic becomes complicated when we look at the latter half of this predicament:the buffer zone. The potential for the East River Park to provide protection still needs to be developed in a thoughtful and ethical way. It requires further construction to fortify the area and protect East River residents. However who makes these decisions? The residents of the East River have lived there for years and rely heavily on the park for its green lush nature–highly contrasting from the dense urban center that is manhattan–and additionally, further construction will affect the livelihoods of residents, from transportation, sound and air pollution and mobility restriction. Decisions are made by a select few government officials and disregard the lives of those on the East River Park. The trip was informative and allowed us to see the beginnings of the preventative measures and infrastructures put in place to stop flooding and other weather. As seen in the documentation below, the utilities of the communities right off the FDR are being raised so that buildings can retain energy functions when flooding occurs. Tall cement walls are erected as barriers. Lastly, places of leisure are being demolished for the sake of more absorbent structures. 

After the field trip I looked at the NYC Stormwater Flood Map Viewer that depicts stormwater flooding resilience based on the geographic location within the city. They use a variety of variables that cater to five modes of classification amongst results. From looking at map I realized that Manhattan and the western most part of bk are not the only places that exist in nyc. Weather is only becoming more adverse, and flooding will threaten city wide at increasing rates. This dynamic will only increase – community decisions vs those of a select few. How do we incorporate a system for dealing democratically with time-pressing and complex infrastructural issues within communities. Especially when these changes lead to displacement, hindrance, and disempowerment.

Kombucha leather duration: 3.5-4weeks

Location: Bathroom

Average Temperature: 75-80ºF

Findings: The Kombucha leather grew sparsely at first producing small bubbles/islands of matter. As the week continued I kept the mixture covered to hopefully increase the growing rate of the leather. As the formula was in the bathroom, I kept all doors closed in order to seal the temperature in and hold the room at a constant average temperature. However as the bathroom wasn’t a controlled environment, certain components of the experiment fluctuated. Those included: Temperature (any fluctuations occurred through showering, washing hands, the fan/heater, leaving the door open, and leaving the window open in adjacent rooms. Light: as the formula was to be kept in a dimly lit room, fluctuations in consistency could be seen in using the lights, leaving them on, or again light from an adjacent room were to creep in. As it was in a frequently used area of the apartment I was never away from the substance for too long and was able to take care of it despite any minor interruptions that may have occurred.

The growth was fast but has plateaued slightly due to it shifting into its formation stages. The solution should be ready to be cultivated in a weeks time. In this next week I can begin the drying process and create an object or mold in that time.

I’m actually quite satisfied with the process I’ve completed up until this point. I’ve checked in consistently, maintained an average temperature, and prevented any invasive matter from entering the area.