As a resident in North Bergen, I have some alarming concerns to share with you. My mother has recently come across the new kayaking lessons at the center pond of James J. Braddock Park. While it may seem a great idea for neighborhood activities, the water actually causes great harm. You see, many people around the area love to feed the surrounding ducks and birds with bread. However, bread is extremely dangerous to these birds as it attaches to their stomachs causing them to feel full when they are actually not. Eventually, this leads them to starvation and eventually death. That’s just not all though. The rotting bread at the bottom of the pond is causing a thing called “surface algae”. As you may have seen, that thin film of light green on the top of the pond waters is “surface algae”. It’s a collection of bacteria that poisons the fish and creates a stench of toxins that can pose a risk to humans if inhaled for long periods of time. This is a serious issue, especially if the kayaking lessons are on a daily or weekly basis. Also, the majority of the sections in the pond are already covered in this toxic layer. If it gets any worse, it can also affect our large athletic community in our area, since a plethora of students and adults use the area of the pond to run, walk, or train. Something needs to change in order to not just protect the wildlife, but also our North Bergen community. With your petitions, it will help me educate our community about the importance of helping our environment. It could also help the mayor realize the negative impacts of allowing residents to feed the wildlife and the negative impact on human safety rather than risking our community for money.