Hunkered Down

A Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), one of the three dozen or so species of birds that nest in Prospect Park. This one is hunkered down before the onslaught of the Googa Mooga bullshit that has taken over the heart of the park for a week and culminates in many full porta-potties this weekend. Farther away, a Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) nest, only the second record of breeding for this species in the park, should be safe from bloated consumers careening around in the Midwood, bemoaning their scandalous lack of cell-phone coverage. The Green Heron (Butorides virescens) nesting thirty feet from the stage, well, that’s a harder one to judge. Will she stay on the nest through the terrors of this three-day hijacking of the park?

In addition to all else that is wrong with it, it is unconscionable that no environmental impact statement was made before the scheduling of this event in the middle of migration and breeding. (A tip of the hat to the Flatbush Gardener for bringing this to my attention.)
***Nothing says “park” like dozens upon dozens of porta-potties and a traffic jam.

UPDATED: Although I hardly believed it when I heard that the Prospect Park Alliance was getting such a paltry sum for selling off the Nethermead ($75,000 — $25,000 LESS than they contracted for the SHORTER event last year), I am even more stunned that the NYPD got a far better deal: they’re making $325,000 from the Googa Mooga (another fine piece of neoliberalism, buying your own police protection), and evidently spending it on helicopter fuel. More details here in this City Room piece. Outfuckingrageous. As a former volunteer for the Alliance, I’m disgusted.

More on the Googa Mooga Occupation:Nethermead in Bondage
Snake/Privatization