The city has banned grilling in public parks following this weekend’s brush fire in Prospect Park. The city is facing drought conditions amid a historic dry spell.
New York has been without significant rainfall for more than a month, and the directive is just the latest from City Hall to prevent the downstream effects of drought, such as water shortages and fires.
“Effective immediately, we are prohibiting grilling in our parks, and we need all New Yorkers to take commonsense steps to prevent brush fires,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “Getting through this drought will take all of us working together, and every drop counts, so let’s keep doing our part to save as much water as we can.”
Last week, Hizzoner issued a citywide “drought watch” and urged New Yorkers to conserve water as much as possible following a historically bone-dry October, the second longest dry streak since record-keeping began in 1869.
The dry spell leaves New York to experience weather events more typically associated with the west coast, such as brush fires. Friday night’s fire in Prospect Park damaged two wooded acres in the Nethermead, a short distance from the Prospect Park Boathouse.
While Prospect Park’s fire only left one firefighter with minor injuries, upstate in Orange County, an 18-year-old state parks worker died Saturday fighting a fire in the Sterling Forest, near the New Jersey border.
Smoke from the wildfires has wafted throughout the New York Metropolitan Area all weekend.
On Sunday, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality health advisory for the New York City area; DEC says the city’s air quality index (AQI) was at levels that are “unhealthy for sensitive groups” as of mid-afternoon Nov. 10.
