Project Description
Before extensive development began in Brooklyn, NY during the 1820s, salt marshes extended from Coney Island to what is now 86th Street. Located north of Coney Island Creek, Dreier Offerman Park first opened in 1933. It had been expanded several times, including during the 1960s with the acquisition of 72 acres of land filled with debris excavated during the construction of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the park was a hotspot for illegal dumping until the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) began making improvements during the 1990s. The park was renamed Calvert Vaux Park in 1998.
This project, partially funded by the B.T. Nautilus oil spill settlement, restored approximately 3.5 acres of salt marsh, sand flats, and uplands. Tidal hydrology was restored by excavating existing fill material and lowering and regrading the wetland to intertidal elevation. Native salt marsh vegetation, and coastal shrub and grassland plants were planted throughout the marsh and transitional areas. The project design planning began in 2001, and the restored wetland was constructed by NYC Parks between 2011 and 2013.
Parties Implementing Restoration
New York City Department of Parks & Recreation; New York Department of Environmental Conservation
DOI Project Representatives
Fish and Wildlife Service