Riverdale residents explore whether prescribed burns could benefit city parks

Prescribed burning is the use of planned fires across the United States to improve ecosystems and prevent wildfires. What would it look like in a verdant, populated area like the northwest Bronx?

A handful of residents explored the idea at Riverdale Neighborhood House Aug. 6, where Matthew Sprague, a researcher at Cornell University’s Lab of Urban Plant Ecology, led a roundtable discussion.

Fire can be good for people and the land, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Without burns, trees get stressed by overcrowding, fire-dependent plant species can’t stay alive and flammable fuels build up in forest debris, posing a risk for natural wildfires that can’t be contained, the department said.

A controlled fire under the right circumstances can reduce hazardous fuels, promote growth, minimize the spread of pest insects and disease, and recycle nutrients back to the soil, according to the department. Sprague noted the practice dates back thousands of years to Indigenous populations.

Though rare, wildfires do happen in the city, Sprague said. In past instances, his lab observed after flames subsided, when charred material and bare soil remained, it made way for new, native plant growth — a possible solution to the ongoing issue of invasive species in city parks, Sprague said.

In November 2024, the New York City Fire Department responded to 271 brush fires across the city, the highest number recorded in a two-week period in New York City’s history, according to New York City Emergency Management.

The two most severe fires during this time were in Inwood Hill Park, which reportedly burned about four acres, and in Prospect Park, reportedly burning about two acres. The city’s emergency management attributed the abnormal spike to historically dry conditions.

There’s usually a big period of plant reproduction after a blaze, Sprague said, and the lab saw this in Inwood Hill Park and Prospect Park, making sure to sample in burned and unburned areas.

“After a fire — things are in the soil layer,” Sprague said. “There’s seeds that are ready to explode and take advantage of all this new sunlight that’s making it into the ground, and they’re not competing with all these other plants that exist right above them already.”

From 1996 to 2025, the city experienced 938 brush fires, 137 of them in the Bronx, city emergency management said.

No prescribed burning initiatives exist actively in the city. The closest is in Nassau County, on Long Island, at the Hempstead Plains Reserve. Hempstead Plains is an East Coast prairie that once covered 40,000 acres of central Long Island, according to nonprofit Friends of Hempstead Plains, but development pushed it to the brink of extinction. The nonprofit, in partnership with the state department of environmental conservation and other partners, has conducted prescribed burns since 2023.

Resident and roundtable attendee Diane Dittrick, a longtime environmental science professor at Barnard College of Columbia University, said prescribed burning has become more relevant due to climate change and an increase in wildfires. She drew attention to Riverdale Park, which contains about 50 forested acres, according to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

“It would be a colossal disaster if there was a raging fire along the Hudson River in the Palisade region,” Dittrick said. “Emotionally, I think it would really create a lot of disturbance among the people.”

Dittrick also questioned how those conducting prescribed burns prevent the fires from getting out of control. Sprague referred to work at the Hempstead Plains Reserve. There are mowed, existing paths that run throughout the grassland where fire naturally subsides. At that point, there is a team with shovels and pickaxes that throw dirt onto the fire to put it out completely. Firefighters are also positioned nearby to intervene if needed, Sprague said.

When asked about the health risks of smoke from prescribed fires in the city, Sprague told The Press this is the largest concern of burning in an urban area. He said burns could be done annually or less often, and executed in small areas — an acre or less, depending on the park. He also emphasized communication with nearby residents.

Sprague didn’t visit Riverdale to say “We need to burn,” he said, but instead to open a dialogue on why fires are a natural part of the city’s environment. Working with community members is the first step to informing others and working toward a common ground, he said.

The city’s dense population makes the possibility of prescribed burning slim, according to city department of parks and recreation press officer Judd Faulkner, who said the fire department does not permit it.

Prescribed or controlled burns are a useful tool for many ecosystems, but it is not feasible for New York City due to population density, as well as the air quality and safety risks, Faulkner said in a statement to The Press.

“As we face the ongoing changes and effects from climate change, we understand the need for additional considerations and preparation throughout the city,” Faulkner said. “[The city’s department of parks and recreation’s] number one priority is the safety of all New Yorkers, and as an agency we would not take any action which could potentially put the public at risk.”