A recent brush fire in the Fresh Creek Nature Preserve is having residents living next to the dry wetlands worrying if their homes are in jeopardy.
And if their houses do go up like so much kindling, some residents believe kids from a nearby synagogue will be to blame.
That was the thrust of a special meeting on a sweltering Sunday afternoon where residents living at the easternmost tip of Canarsie banded together to swap complaints and hammer out solutions about the nature preserve surrounding 74.3 acre Fresh Creek Basin, an area bounded by East 108th Street, Louisiana Avenue, Shore Parkway and Flatlands Avenue, which is included in the city’s Forever Wild Initiative.
Fears about the combustibility of the dry, dusty thatch of weeds and crab grass surrounding the small inlet came to light on the afternoon of June 3 when a small brush fire erupted near a resident’s home on East 108th Street near Flatlands 7th Street.
Firefighters were forced to cut through a resident’s back fence to get to the fire, which was put out before it could reach anyone’s property.
“But if it was just a little drier or a little more windy, things could have been a lot worse,” explained Maria Garrett, who called Sunday’s meeting.
“The fire marshal told us that the weeds need to be cut down,” Garrett reported. “He said, if there were a strong wind, the whole area would have gone, including our homes.
“This is where we live,” stressed Garrett. “We have to make sure we protect our homes.”
Some residents believe that the fire was started by a group of teens from the nearby Young Israel of Canarsie, which is reportedly renting out their space to a Williamsburg yeshiva.
Neighbors said that they have seen the youths playing in the scrub brush on countless occasions. The teens have also been seen smoking in the back near the nature preserve which – though it is closed to the public – is accessible to trespassers through holes in the fence and a broken barrier.
“It’s been an ongoing problem,” averred Garrett.
“[On the day of the fire] my daughter smelled smoke and told my husband,” remembered resident Delores Washington. “He ran out and there were the kids watching the fire. But we were the only ones to call 911.”
“The kids from the school were standing there, but they said nothing,” added Garrett. “They didn’t call the police. When my daughter asked who was responsible for the fire, they started laughing.”
“No one is supposed to be back there, but now their actions are starting to ruin our private property,” Washington said.
Officials said that Tuesday’s fire has been determined to be suspicious because a point of origin was located. It has yet to be determined how the fire was set or if the fire was set on purpose.
Resident Justina Gibson reported having captured on videotape, some time back, “boys deliberately trying to set a fire. They put paper in a pile, set it on fire, then quickly put it out. I’ve always been concerned that they might accidentally start a fire, so I wasn’t surprised when the fire happened. I knew it would happen someday. I don’t think it was deliberate, but it was careless.”
Sources said that the fire’s flashpoint was just a few paces from the school.
Although they claim not to know how the fire started, synagogue officials have reportedly promised to replace their neighbor’s damaged fence, neighbors said. Attempts to reach the synagogue were unsuccessful because of the Jewish holidays.
Captain Milt Marmara, the new commanding officer of the 69th Precinct said that the city’s Parks Department had agreed to put up new signage reminding people that they can’t go into the nature preserve.
State Senator John Sampson, who attended Sunday’s meeting, also agreed to look into the resident’s complaints.
“I’m going to make it a point to see the rabbi and see if he’s handling the situation,” said Sampson. “We want everyone to be good neighbors.”
Besides youths playing in the preserve, residents complained that the grassy fields have become a dumping ground for everything from tires to car radios. They have also complained about graffiti inside the nature preserve.
Many are hoping that more care is given to the preserve, although no agency has claimed responsibility for the forgotten river that feeds into Gateway National Recreation Area.
“The federal authorities say it’s the Parks Department’s responsibility to take care of the park,” Garrett explained. “The Parks Department says it’s federal land…everybody’s passing the buck.”
“We just want to make Canarsie beautiful again,” she said.
