BRONX HOPS ON NYC'S BLUEBELTWAY

New York City's famous Bluebelt system -- which uses natural drainage corridors like streams and ponds to direct excess stormwater to wetlands and thus reduce flooding and combined sewer overflows -- originated on Staten Island. A full third of the island is now part of this award-winning, ecologically sound program, saving the City millions of dollars that might have been spent on gray infrastructure (e.g. sewer systems).

Last month, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection opened the first Bluebelt system in the Bronx, along Southern Boulevard and in the New York Botanical Garden.

Once the scene of regular flooding in rainy weather, the sides of Southern Boulevard now feature catch basins that direct water into a new, half-million-dollar Botanical Garden wetland, which was funded by DEP.

Botanical Garden officials are grateful. Chief Executive Officer Gregory Long thanked the Bloomberg Administration for "a project that solves the flooding problem, enhances the Garden's natural beauty, creates habitat for birds and other wildlife, and will serve as an educational tool to teach everyone about the benefits of proper stormwater management."