Good morning. It's Wednesday. Today we'll find out why you won't see fireworks over two New York City parks on New Year's Eve. We'll also get details on how Dunkin' — the chain famous for coffee and doughnuts — will be onboard the Staten Island Ferry.
Don't expect to see the usual fireworks over Central Park or Prospect Park on New Year's Eve. They're casualties of the drought. Officials don't want to risk a stray spark that could ignite parched grass and dehydrated trees — especially not in Prospect Park, which was charred by a two-acre fire last month. New York Road Runners, a nonprofit that coordinates a race and fireworks show in Central Park, said its "city partners" — City Hall and the Parks Department — had asked the organization to skip the fireworks. "We are exploring other festive options," a New York Road Runners spokeswoman said by email. But the four-mile Midnight Run on the inner loop in the park will go ahead as usual. In Prospect Park, the plan is for a light show with illuminated drones programmed to turn the night sky into a canvas for sparkly representations of landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. The newfangled show will come after a celebration in Grand Army Plaza beginning at 10 p.m. on Dec. 31. Update on the droughtYes, it rained on Thanksgiving Day, but the average of the city's seven reservoirs seems stuck at 59 percent. The one-day soaking last week pushed the levels a fraction higher than they had been, and they remain well below the 82 percent mark that would be normal for this time of the year. The forecast calls for rain and even snow showers tonight and more rain and snow showers tomorrow. But Brian Ramsey, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said to expect only a tenth of an inch of rain. The snow won't amount to much, either. "Whatever falls will melt," he said — before temperatures dip to around 30 tomorrow night and the mid-20s on Friday night. There is a 40 percent chance of showers on Monday. The forecast for treesThe cold won't help the city's seven million trees after "a heartbreaking fall," according to Todd Forrest, vice president for horticulture and living collections at the New York Botanical Garden. He explained that fall is significant because trees "get no water all winter." Whatever they take in after summer and before winter has to carry them into the next growing season. Heading into winter during a severe drought "means that next year they will be stressed going into spring." And then? He said the trees would then "lose a little root mass if they're growing in stressful sites." He paused. "What do I mean by stressful sites?" Another pause. "Basically every tree in New York City." "There are few places where you have deep fertile soil," he said. "It's a big rock pile, New York. The soil is pretty shallow." Adrian Benepe, the president and chief executive of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, said there was "stress where there's no regular watering." "We've been watering like crazy all fall," Benepe, a former parks commissioner, said. "The larger risk is for parks that don't have irrigation built into them, which is most parks, or don't have crews that can do watering." Forrest said that even if it rained nonstop between now and March, "it's not going to make a difference for the trees." "The good news is if it does," he said, "we'll go into next year with full reservoirs, which will be helpful for watering the trees." Recovering from a fireProspect Park is recovering from a brush fire that broke out in the heavily wooded Nethermead area on Nov. 8. Officials are working to prevent soil erosion on a hillside that was damaged. The park will put in logs and netting to hold the soil in place. In time, the replanting will begin, with more than $200,000 for plants and labor, said Morgan Monaco, the president and chief executive of the Prospect Park Alliance. "It's a complex ecosystem that will take years to restore," she said. Monaco noted ruefully that she has been on the job for two years. "In my first year, we had one of the worst storms we've ever seen," she said. "It flooded the entire Long Meadow. There was flooding at Park Circle. And now, in my second year, a major fire. These major incidents are going to keep happening as a result of climate change." WEATHER Expect a cloudy day with temperatures in the low 40s. For, tonight expect rain with temperatures in the low 40s. ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING In effect until Dec. 9 (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception). The latest New York news
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Something is coming back to the Staten Island Ferry after disappearing during the coronavirus pandemic. My colleague Patrick McGeehan, who covers the city's transportation hubs, explains: Thousands of New Yorkers enjoy a free daily commute on the Staten Island Ferry. But for the past few years, they have been deprived of refreshments onboard the city's big yellow boats. The fleet's snack bars once served hot dogs, nachos, beer, soda and coffee on the passage between Staten Island and Manhattan. But the counters have been shut since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, nearly a year after announcing a competitive bid for a new operator of the shipboard concessions, the city's Department of Transportation has selected Dunkin' — the Boston-based chain that was known as Dunkin' Donuts until it rebranded itself five years ago. Dunkin' will start serving coffee and doughnuts on two of the newest ferries — the Dorothy Day and the Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis — by early next year, the department said. After that, the food service will be added to the rest of the nine-boat fleet, the department said. And eventually, the snack bars may again sell beer, the department said. The city's 10-year contract with Dunkin' allows for the sale of beer and wine, and the department said that the company was "pursuing all permitting necessary to sell beer." Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks, whose district includes the ferry terminal and Staten Island's north shore, called the deal with Dunkin' "a win for Staten Island commuters." Assemblyman Charles Fall called the deal "a welcome and long-overdue improvement" for passengers. The transportation commissioner, Ydanis Rodriguez, noted that the Staten Island Ferry was the busiest municipal ferry operation in the country, but he offered no suggestions on what might make a nice pairing on the trip home after a hard day. A young Beaujolais to go with that French Cruller, perhaps? Or, maybe a malty pilsner with that Bavarian Kreme? METROPOLITAN DIARY Independence Day
Dear Diary: I will never forget my very first Fourth of July. It was 30 years ago, and I had stationed myself at 14th Street on the Hudson River. The crowd had swelled like an uncontrolled wave. I did not mind the surge and was soaking in the frenzied celebration. Beside me was an older man who was wearing dark glasses and carrying a walking stick. When the fireworks lit up the sky, I leaned over to him. "It's blue, red, green … " I yelled. He cut me off. "I can see more colors than you possibly can!" he yelled back. — Shuvendu Sen Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B. P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Patrick McGeehan, Francis Mateo and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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N.Y. Today: Parks to skip New Year’s Eve fireworks
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