NORTH COVE - SHERMAN CREEK TIDAL BASIN INITIATIVE

The North Cove is a New York City a natural habitat treasure, that New Yorkers should support restoring. People are beginning to cherish this resource envisioning the exciting opportunity to restore North Cove, enabling it to support a uniquely high range of vegetation and wildlife species. Even though it property is relatively small, our research indicates that the high species dominance can be maintained, due to rare environment of mix of or relationship of water and salinity; and other factors including, that fact the North Cove is upstream from Con Edison and brown soil contamination of prior gas dumping as is the case of Swindlers Cove. (We also believe that the risk of significant PCB contamination is low making the cost of restoration more affordable.

NORTH COVE TIDAL MARSH ESTUARINE

The basic vision provides for private investment and resources (on-going), for land and water cleaning, land and wildlife rehabilitation and marsh and meadow enrichment the North Cove- Sherman Creek Tidal Basin and "property", now underway for a little over a year. We see the North Cove as gateway to ocean and the Air, as east coast migratory flight paths of 330 migratory birds utilize Manhattan as a stop over in east coast migratory flight paths; many of which need wetlands.

The North Cove Tidal Basin is fresh water and salt water marsh/ "Inwood treasure" called North Cove (by City planners), and jewel of the Sherman Creek Project; and currently provides vital natural habitat functions for many area fish and wildlife species (primarily federally protected birds) in northern Manhattan, and Bronx NY. The North Cove is a natural Habitat with tidal action where nutrient cycling and production taking place there.

Even in it's current state (a year into the process) the North Cove wetland/ tidal basin serve as sources of food, breeding areas and nurseries for many species of fish and shellfish as well as many species of plants, amphibians, migrating and indigenous birds dependent on wetland eco systems, in the extended Inwood NYC area, for survival.

Develop and maintain two distinct but interconnected natural habitat areas, at North Cove, restoring and enhancing among the most naturally promising fertile areas of New York City:

a. Salt Marsh - primarily consist of cord grass and Salt Marsh Bulrush - tolerant of salt and changing water levels- natural water shed habitat supporting diverse fish shell fish, crustacean, Waterfowl and water bird species.

Five natural Habitat Salt Mash or Tidal Basin Zones would be developed and maintained - from the natural high down to the low tidal water levels :

1. Juncus marsh
2. Salicornia-Distichlis Marsh (High Tide)
3. Short Spartina Marsh (High Tide)
4. Medium spartina Levee Marsh with Marsh Grass (High Tide)
5. Tall Spartina Edge Marsh (High tide) with Mud Algae and phytoplanckton (Low Tide)

b) Meadow / forest - A natural micro Habitat at street level primarily consist of grasses and native wild flowers; trees and bushes 

GENERAL PLAN HIGHLIGHTS

• property restoration, rehabilitation and Improve the water quality at and around North Cove.
• reinforce realization that these tidal basins natural habitat resources .
• Promote and preserve Natural Habitat environment
• Fight erosion and water pollution
• Stop sediment leaching and burdening into river
• protect one of Manhattan's last salt marsh estuaries/ fresh and salt water tidal basins,  to monitor and provide wildlife conservation, first by land and soil clearing; improving environment for grasses, trees, flowers, shrubs, trees, soil and wildlife.
• begin final design and construction phase of Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Project and restore the degraded shoreline and upland fill landscape at north cove.
• return north cove into valuable salt marsh wetland .
• restore a small portion of the ecological, physical, and biogeochemical functions that have been lost at north Cove.
• Fill to be excavated down to tidal elevations, covered with clean soil, and planted with the low marsh plant salt marsh cord grass and upland plants including salt meadow hay, groundsel bush, and marsh elder.
• restored tidal marsh system would ultimately attract wildlife to cove and surrounding area
• local Manhattan and Bronx residents will be able to enjoy seeing more bird life and a lush wetland from several viewing points surrounding the project area, and the community will gain more outreach and environmental education opportunities
• restoring the salt marsh habitat and coastal maritime upland communities with cove property people will experience Manhattan much as it might have looked before development
• frequent visitors of North Cove, will become familiar with different biotic communities and learn what birds require, usually not observable because they are usually obscured by vegetation.
• Visitors will begin to understand
• the often harsh physical environment of the salt marsh and various plant and animal survival strategies which have developed through evolution
• major elements of the North Cove Salt March and how they interrelate.
• Function as an Outdoor laboratory tied into pre-visit activities, people/students exposed to North Cove marine elements (at the North Cove visit) using classroom and take-home word games, scientific experiments and hands-on activities.
• Support experiments and first-hand experience to draw conclusions about the stresses of inhabiting a salt marsh; or observe tidal action and explain how the tide affects the salt marsh plants, animals and shoreline; or learn about salt marsh animals, birds and plants in their natural habitat as well be able to identify and name the most common animals, birds and plants of the North Cove Salt Marsh;
• Support discussions of wildlife's major adaptations to this habitat.
  
  • BIRDS, FISH CRUSTACEANS AND MOLLUSKS OF A MARSH WHICH MIGHT BE ATTRACTED
  • greater variety of ducks, geese and song birds
  • perching or standing birds
  • Birds of the shore , who are waders
  • Fish 
  • crustaceans, (blue crab and fiddler crabs
  • mollusks (oyster and ribbed mussel).

REAL PROGRESS IS BEING MADE- self funded

The phase one of the project commenced in late 2009 and will take approximately several years to complete. After one year of research , planning, physical effort (including removal of over 1560 cubic yards of garbage and clearing some of the invasive vegetation, the North Cove is starting to recover from decades of soil erosion, arson, point source pollution, uncontrolled person and vehicle access, dumping, , invasion of non native plants, undirected foot traffic, damaged ecology leaving mass garbage dump leaching into the soil, marsh and river with mass damage to eco environment. There is extensive sedimentation and soil nutrient loss into east river contributing to low oxygen levels, and extensively degrading of North Cove

In the past, wetlands in northern Manhattan were considered to be nuisances to "progress" and development has been the rule rather than the exception. Of the 215 million archers of vegetated and non-vegetated wetlands in the United States, over 120 million have been destroyed since the arrival of Europeans immigrants, with a significantly higher rate in and around New York. Despite the enactment of wetlands, "title basin protection legislation such as section 404 of the clean water act, as estimated 4300,00 to 450,000 acres of wetlands are destroyed each year.

Inwood citizens and City planners have begun to realize that these resources are extremely valuable and should be lost for ever.

FOUNDER - JAMES  [ BirdMan of Inwood ]  CATALDI 

Mr. Cataldi is a licensed by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation as a New York State Wildlife Rehabilitator, and is authorized to capture, transport, rehabilitate, and release injured displaced and orphaned New York State Wildlife, and works closely with its federal partners licensed by the department of the interior for federally protected wildlife. Mr. Cataldi has received years of training and support from the principals of the Wild Bird Fund.

Former Professional Wall Street Business Career-Prior Accomplishments Authorized Technology Vendor of (Citicorp: 1985-2001); (General Electric: 91-2001); (Deutsche Bank - 98-9/11/2001) Was the first AT&T Information Systems VAR: 1981- 83 non-Bell Labs or Western Electric affiliate.

Prior to the World Trade disaster: 25 years in the field, operation technology businesses, and in conducting R&D and practicing in multi disciplinary fields of finance, telecommunications and software intensive hardware systems. Accumulated extensive experience in requirements analysis, design and development, deployment and operations support including training of mission critical production systems. Acquired expertise in multiple inter disciplinary computer languages and platforms specializing in Specification Development; Expert Systems (AI); private R&D in elemental logical structures.

Cataldi performed extensive work involving quantitative analytical modeling of financials/ sensitivities (origination, valuation, corporate forecasting, and operational risk management). Involved in all aspects of the product development life cycle (waterfall, modified waterfall and MIT RAD and Microsoft RAD), with enhanced expertise in risk management (theory and practice).

Highlights Correspondence; meetings and project development with/ for a new Mr. Ken Williamson, head of NASA's 3,600 Software Engineers At the Marshal Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Al. (Advanced Stealth Anomalies Detection Models) -1993- and Formal Invitations from the senior advisor for high performance communications and computers for the White House (Clinton Administration: Dr. Levy) to speak on proprietary fractal software models based on advanced stochastic quantum geometry: theory and problem application -1992. Conducted extensive work in Mathematical Methods of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and in developing and refining business planning, long-term strategic planning, short-term tactical implementation, business process re-engineering, risk mitigation.