On any given day, children play in the dirt area at the center of Bennett Park in Washington Heights, happily digging away.
Rachel Graham Kagan’s 2-year-old daughter is often among them, though possibly not for much longer — if the Parks Department moves forward with plans to replace part of the dirt section with a multipurpose artificial turf field.
“If they actually put this artificial turf in, my daughter is not going to be playing on it,” said Kagan, who grew up in the neighborhood.
To some neighbors, the dust bowl is an eye sore and turf will be a welcome change. But Kagan is one of nearly 300 locals who sent a letter to officials ahead of a protest Thursday against the installation of synthetic turf in what they consider their shared backyard. They cited a growing body of research about the presence of chemicals, microplastics and other harmful substances in the turf and the risks those may present to human health and the environment.
Artificial turf has recently been the subject of scrutiny, as concern mounts nationwide around PFAS, or dangerous “forever chemicals” that don’t break down, accumulate in the body over time and are linked to a number of serious health issues. Boston in 2022 banned artificial turf because it can contain PFAS, and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection also raised concerns about PFAS in artificial turf.
The Environmental Protection Agency last year set strict — near-zero — limits on these forever chemicals in drinking water.
But Bennett Park, which sits at the highest natural point on Manhattan, is one of over 50 parks slated to get artificial turf over the next five years as part of upgrades the Parks Department is making. The agency currently manages 275 artificial turf fields and play areas, totalling more than three times the size of the Central Park Reservoir.
“We follow all guidelines to ensure that we are using materials that are tested and approved by experts,” Parks spokesperson Kelsey Jean-Baptiste said in a statement. “Synthetic turf fields are highly durable, usable year-round, and able to accommodate a variety of sports and activities.”
Still, guidance from Mount Sinai recommends against installing artificial turf because of uncertainties around how safe the turf is and the potential exposure to chemicals and heat, as the turf can get extremely hot.
“We know that artificial turf of all types contains chemicals that have been linked to cancer, that may be harmful to the nervous system, that may harm the reproductive system,” said Sarah Evans, a public health and environmental medicine professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We don’t know what the extent of exposure to children is when they play on those fields, so that is a very big emerging concern.”
There’s not yet data to say whether artificial turf is safe, Evans said. Her colleague Homero Harari is leading a first-of-its-kind five-year study examining how youth are exposed to different components of the synthetic turf fields.
Until there’s more scientific evidence, some parents like Kagan prefer to take a more cautious route — and would rather have dirt than turf.
“I don’t really want to spend these years when my kid would actually be on the turf and the science is unclear and then it becomes clear — I don’t want that to be something I regret,” Kagan said. “We’re making it clear to the Parks Department that this is not just an issue for our park and neighborhood, but something they should be considering citywide.”
PFAS Problems
Artificial turf is often made of plastic blades and a layer of “infill” between those blades. The city in recent years has moved away from installing artificial turf that featured infill made from crumb rubber, which is manufactured from used tires and can contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals.
The Parks Department will place turf made of tufted nylon carpet — without any infill — at Bennett Park and other multipurpose areas. For sports fields, the agency opts for turf with infill made of coated sand. The Parks Department admits that PFAS are detectable in the nylon turf it plans to install.
“How can they in good conscience put this stuff down knowing there’s PFAS in it?” said Kyla Bennett, science policy director at the watchdog groupPublic Employees for Environmental Responsibility and one of the researchers who discovered PFAS in turf in Massachusetts in 2019. “It boggles my mind. Children will be exposed to this PFAS. These are carcinogens. What are they thinking?”
She said children, who are still developing and thus more susceptible to the harmful effects of the chemicals, can be exposed through inhaling, ingesting and touching the chemicals. Abrasion of the turf can release the chemicals and microplastics from the surface, onto children and into the environment, she added.
The Parks Department indicated it’s working with manufacturers working to reduce or eliminate PFAS from the synthetic turf products. It soon will have to, as Gov. Kathy Hochul last year signed into law a bill that bans the sale of carpets — including artificial turf — that contain PFAS, by 2027.
TenCate Americas, whose company installed the turf at Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side, emphasized that levels of PFAS in turf are low and the company has now “eliminated these trace amounts of non-soluble PFAS from our manufacturing process,” according to spokesperson Erica Rumpke.
Mitchell Silver, who was parks commissioner for more than 7 years under Mayor Bill de Blasio, emphasized that he never encountered health problems with turf fields in his tenure.
“We had, at the time I was commissioner, over 180 synthetic turf fields and we didn’t hear that people were expressing concern about cancer or any other chronic illnesses,” Silver said. “The scientists may say one thing, but again, I need to know what field, what manufacturer, what are you hearing specifically, are these just generic claims? Because our goal was to protect public health, safety and welfare.”
Bennett said the city should take a more precautionary stance.
“The absence of evidence is not the same thing as the evidence of absence,” she said.
Plastic Over Grass
Still, former Parks Department commissioners framed artificial turf as necessary and requiring less maintenance for high intensity sports like soccer, football and lacrosse. Grass fields become dirt fields with heavy use, they said.
“People who think that you can have a large network of urban sports fields composed entirely of grass are living in La La Land,” said Adrian Benepe, who served as Parks commissioner for over a decade under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “The only way you can have people play on grass over it is if you deny the use most of the year.”
That’s no comfort to some of the Washington Heights neighbors pushing against what they worry will be a short-sighted decision to put down turf.
Maggi Farmer, a lawyer who lives in the neighborhood, at first liked the idea of artificial turf at the park, though her almost 3-year-old son enjoyed playing in what she called the “dust bowl” at Bennett.
“It feels nice to sit on, there’s no dirt, it makes places look clean,” she said. But as she read up on artificial turf, she changed her mind. She said she tries to reduce plastic in her life and worries about the effects of chemicals that could be in the synthetic turf.
“This is one of the most natural places we have — how can we just cover it with a plastic carpet?” she said.
Em Asher, a decade-long resident of Washington Heights and the parent of a toddler, said they’d prefer the community tend to a natural green space, instead of trashing the synthetic turf once it reaches the end of its lifespan.
“I know microplastics are ubiquitous, but to me that’s an argument to regulate their use even more — not to use them when unnecessary,” Asher said. “I don’t want my child rubbing their face or rolling around on the plastic.”