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Community Corner

The Rebuilding of Gabler's Creek

Preservation committee president's series on the formation of northeast Queens.

In my previous two columns, I described reforestation work carried out by the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee on a barren parcel of filled land fronting on Northern Boulevard as well as the removal of nearly 1.5 million pounds of concrete rubble from an area further north of the cove’s ravine that was near the Douglaston Firehouse. 

In carrying out the latter task, the preservation committee had - for the first time in its history - spent a considerable amount of money to hire a professional contractor because the heavy concrete chunks on the steep ravine slope were impossible for volunteers to move by hand. 

In addition to the concrete rubble blight, this area of the ravine was also afflicted by severe erosion that washed tons of sand and silt into the bed of Gabler’s Creek below. The erosion was caused by torrents of rainwater running down from 44th Avenue near Zion Episcopal Church. 

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So much silt had washed into the creek bed over the years that Gabler’s Creek actually runs underground for several hundred feet.

After another two years of fundraising, grant and permit applications, solicitation of bids, and contract writing, the preservation committee’s most ambitious restoration project got underway in April 2008. 

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The project had three major components: construction of a rock-lined drainage swale to control erosion, replenishment of lost topsoil and replanting the area with native species of trees and shrubs. 

The work was completed by a professional landscape contractor hired by the preservation committee at a cost of more than $75,000. It was carried out in conformance with the terms of a wetlands permit issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and construction and forestry permits issued by the city’s Parks Department.  

Funding came in part from two $20,000 installments – one secured by former state Sen. Frank Padavan and the other from Tony Avella, who was on the City Council at that time. The remaining funding came from member contributions.

The drainage swale was constructed using a “rip-rap” technique, with rocks of various sizes lining a gently curving channel through which the rainwater runs down the slope. The rocks protect the soil below from erosion and they slow the water as it flows downhill, allowing sediment to settle out. A small settling pond was also constructed in a level area about midway down the slope. 

The project site, immediately north of the firehouse, had been almost completely overgrown with invasive species - primarily Japanese Knotweed (a reedy plant), porcelain berry vines, and Norway Maple trees.

A few higher quality native trees (Hickory, Black Locust, Black Birch and River Birch) were saved, while the remaining low quality, invasive trees and weeds were removed. More than 200 cubic yards of topsoil were brought in to replace what had been lost to years of erosion. 

The entire site was covered with a thick layer of woodchip mulch and then replanted with more than 40 native trees of 2-inch to 3-inch diameter size (such as Oak, Elm, Gum and Tulip) and 50 native shrubs (including Viburnum, Chokecherry, Witch Hazel and Bayberry). 

An attractive split-rail fence was installed along the borders where the park abuts the city streets. It includes an opening that invites residents to stroll through the newly restored area and enjoy the lovely flora and fauna. 

The ravine is a small but ecologically important sliver of wilderness hidden within urban surroundings. These wooded uplands protect and feed the ponds, freshwater wetlands and thriving salt marsh downstream as well as the open water of Udalls Cove and Little Neck Bay beyond. 

Over the span of nearly 20 years the preservation committee’s restoration efforts have dramatically improved this important area.  But other parts of the park also cried out for restoration - more about that next time.

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