College of Staten Island alumnus José Ramírez-Garofalo was recently featured in The New Yorker in the August 18, 2025 issue — in a piece titled “The Birds Flocking Back to the Fresh Kills Dump,” written by Eric Lach. The article highlights José’s leading role in documenting the remarkable return of wildlife to Freshkills Park, the vast Staten Island site once New York City’s largest landfill, now being transformed into one of the nation’s largest urban green spaces.

Starting as a graduate student at the College of Staten Island, José has spent over a decade observing the re-colonization of at-risk grassland birds — such as grasshopper sparrows, meadowlarks, and bobolinks — alongside other species including foxes, deer, turkeys, and ospreys. This work underscores both nature’s resilience and the promise of urban ecological restoration amid environmental challenges.

Read the full story in The New Yorker to explore José’s journey and the transformation of Freshkills Park firsthand.