Coney Island Urban Waterfront Governance
Monica Palta, PhD, and Anne Toomey, PhD, assistant professors in the ESS department, teamed up on a project to investigate the social-ecological dynamics of urban waterfront governance along the Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn. The creek is currently the site of an active combined sewer outfall, which results in raw sewage and stormwater bypassing treatment plants and overflowing directly into the creek during storms.
Assistant Professor Palta is carrying out an ecological study of the creek, with a specific look at the extent and sources of nutrient pollution in the system, and whether filter feeders in the creek (mussels, oysters) are effectively removing this nutrient pollution.
Assistant Professor Toomey has been documenting the social-cultural uses and perceptions of the water quality of the creek. Various Pace students and alumni have been involved in this research, including Brielle Manzolillo ’17, Christina Thomas ‘19, Elaina Kovnat ‘20, and Tatyana Graham ‘21.
Recent Posts
Presenting at the Pace University Spring Research Conference
Students from the class Soils and Society: The Critical Zone (ENV 297T) presented at the Pace University Spring Research Conference, discussing their unique environmental studies course that examines soil as both a scientific and metaphorical framework for understanding environmental justice, labor, and identity.
Banning the Sale of the Red-Eared Slider
Students from Pace University’s Animal Advocacy Clinic drafted legislation in early May— now introduced in the New York State Legislature, that would prohibit the breeding, sale, and trade of the invasive red-eared slider turtle.