Due to accidents of human land use and determined conservation efforts, however, New York City is now home to several grasslands that may bring some of these grassland species back. As in many areas of the country, two kinds of developed properties—airports and landfills—have provided opportunities to create and/or maintain grassland habitats for wildlife.

 

In NYC, these sites are predominantly areas of former salt marsh that were long ago filled with dredge spoils or garbage, creating upland. In fact, dumping began at many of these sites as a purposeful attempt to create developable land out of what was then considered “worthless” marshland. Though these invaluable salt marshes cannot be replaced, newly created grassland habitat upon filled lands provides critical stop-over sites for grassland birds passing through our city during migration. And some stay to nest: Savannah Sparrows breed at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, while Grasshopper Sparrows have recently established a nesting population at Freshkills Park on Staten Island.

Grasslands should be managed to include a rich variety of native plant species, which host the native insects that birds need during migration and to feed their young, and which provide plentiful seeds to fuel long migration flights and sustain birds like Snow Buntings and Horned Larks over the winter. Ongoing maintenance is required to minimize the presence of invasive, non-native plant species, which requires adequate funding for park habitat management over time. Read more about the importance of native plants for birds. 

 

In the absence of large grazing animals and given the difficulty of employing fire on a large scale as a suppression method in our urban community, our grasslands must be actively managed to prevent the establishment of shrubs and trees. (White-tailed Deer have become a common species in Staten Island; deer may contribute to the maintenance of new grasslands at Freshkills Park.) If mowing is employed to maintain the grassland, mowing should be scheduled after the nesting season, to best support and protect nesting grassland birds. 

 

Bird-friendly grassland management also involves minimal use of chemical pesticides that kill the insects upon which birds depend—and that may travel up the food chain when ingested, reducing reproductive success and harming birds in other ways scientists are just beginning to understand1.

 

Finally, grasslands, like any other habitat, are best for birds when disturbance by humans and their domestic companions, dogs and cats, is kept to a minimum. The Parks department must be encouraged to apply resources and assign Urban Park Rangers and Parks Enforcement Patrol officers strategically, as stewards to remind park-goers with pets of the rules regarding off-leash dogs—and to issue citations and fines when necessary. The public must also demand a bird-friendly and humane policy regarding feral cats. Learn more about the danger that domestic and feral cats pose for birds.

NYC Bird Alliance leads the NYC Grassland Working Group, which convenes local agencies, nonprofits, and academic researchers to discuss grassland research and collaborate on conservation strategies and recommendations for grassland management in New York City. We conduct collaborative advocacy to preserve and protect and advocate for bird-friendly management of City grasslands, and conduct native plant restoration projects including plantings and bird species monitoring. 

 

The protection of grassland habitat at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field was one of NYC Bird Alliance’s early conservation successes, and we continue to identify priority grasslands in the City and work to protect them. Learn more below. 

One of NYC Bird Alliance’s early conservation advocacy wins was the preservation of grassland habitat at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field. Built in 1931 as the City’s first municipal airport, Floyd Bennett Field was constructed atop filled Jamaica Bay salt marsh. The maintained grassland areas between runways, however, inadvertently provided habitat for grassland birds. 

 

When the airport was decommissioned in 1971, the management practice of suppressing woody vegetation by frequent mowing ceased; natural succession started to occur. In 1985, NYC Bird Alliance partnered with the United States Department of Interior’s National Park Service to initiate a grassland restoration project (GRAMP) on 130 acres of the 1,500-acre property. Trees and shrubs were removed and mowing was resumed (in sections, and scheduled long after the nesting of grassland birds to minimize disturbance to them).

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Today, Savannah Sparrow and Willet breed in Floyd Bennett Field, and American Kestrel and Northern Harrier are frequently observed hunting over its meadows. Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark stop by during migration, while species such as Horned Lark and Snowy Owl winter here. 

The grasslands are managed for bird- and pollinator-friendly native plants such as Little Bluestem, Common Milkweed, Butterfly Weed and Panic Grass. Milkweed and Butterfly Weed serve as host plants for Monarch Butterflies. Various mammals and reptiles also find shelter and food within the grasslands.

Shirley Chisholm State Park, first opened to the public in 2019, is named in honor of Brooklyn-born Shirley Chisholm, the first African American congresswoman and the first woman and African American candidate for the U.S. presidency. The 407-acre park bordering East New York and Jamaica Bay sits atop the former Pennsylvania and Fountain Avenue landfills, which were in operation from 1956 to 1983. 

 

The site is one of several landfills in the City that have been capped and repurposed for public recreation and wildlife habitat. This long and complex process involves installation of an impermeable plastic cap and a below-ground barrier to fully encapsulate the landfills, as well as a piping system to remove (and in some cases collect) methane gas emitted by slowly decomposing landfill contents. Tons of clean soil are then spread atop the barrier—in the case of Shirley Chisholm State Park, 100,000 dump trucks-worth—and native grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees are planted. 

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Since Shirley Chisholm State Park’s opening, visitors to the park’s resulting grassland, coastal meadow, and marsh habitats have already observed grassland specialists such as Ring-necked Pheasant, American Pipit, Eastern Meadowlark, Snow Bunting, Bobolink, and Blue Grosbeak. Learn more about birding in and visiting Shirley Chisholm State Park.

The name “Fresh Kills,” from the Dutch “kille” meaning “riverbed” or “water channel,” refers to the network of freshwater and estuarial creeks that drain much of western Staten Island, emptying into the Arthur Kill. This 1,000-acre tidal wetland system includes wetland areas that remain in relatively natural condition today, such as Isle of Meadows marsh and William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge, as well as three major tributaries including Main Creek, Richmond Creek, and Springville Creek. 

 

And in the middle of this vast watershed complex towers one of the highest points in New York City, created by our city’s trash. The sustained dumping that created Fresh Kills Landfill, once the largest of its kind in the world, began in 1948. Initially, the dumping was planned by NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses to last for just three years, in an attempt to create upland for development. Dumping continued for 50 additional years, however. A state law mandating closure of the landfill was passed in 1996 following intense public pressure, and it ceased regular operations in 2001. 

Fresh Kills Landfill’s transformation from infamous, smelly eyesore to the 2,200-acre Freshkills Park (three times the size of Central Park) is an immense experiment in urban renewal and restoration. And it is an enormous undertaking: park construction began in 2008 and will continue through 2036. The park is divided into four capped “mounds,” each of which include a system that collects methane and other emissions from decomposing materials underneath. 

 

The mounds have been planted with native grasses, and this habitat has attracted a good variety of grasslands birds including nesting populations of Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrows, possibly nesting Eastern Meadowlark, and Ring-necked Pheasant. Other wildlife include Muskrat and White-tailed Deer.
 
 A variety of public spaces and facilities are planned for the park, including playgrounds, athletic fields, kayak launches, horseback riding trails, and large-scale art installations. As the park is developed, it will be important that local community members remain vigilant to ensure that management decisions are made with the well-being of birds and other wildlife in mind. Learn more about birding in and visiting Freshkills Park.