Riverside Park Goats Sent Home For Brief Vacation: Reports

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — Some of New York City's most diligent park workers are getting a well-deserved vacation. The herd of goats brought in to clear a section of Riverside Park of weeds will be sent back upstate and return to Morningside Heights some time in the summer to finish the job, according to reports.

The goat herd is being sent home because they are working way ahead of schedule, neighborhood publication the West Side Rag first reported. Goats are expected to return to the park sometime in July, according to the report.

The Riverside Park Conservancy brought in a herd of 24 goats to help clear weeds such as porcelain berry, English ivy, mugwort, multiflora rose and poison ivy in a two-acre stretch located roughly between West 119th and 125th streets. Steep slopes and dense vegetation in the area make it hard for human landscapers to work effectively. Goats are also immune to the effects of poison ivy and apparently have a never-ending appetite.

The herd was driven to Riverside Park from Green Goats Farm in Rhinebeck in May. All 24 members of the herd have retired from farm work and now spend their golden years traveling the state for weed whacking jobs.
The conservancy's summer program is called "GOaTHAM" as a play on New York City's nickname of Gotham. Gotham actually means "goat town" in Old English and was first meant as an insult to the city when it was introduced in the early 19th century, according to the conservancy.

The "Goatham" initiative will run between May 21 and Aug. 30, according to the Riverside Park Conservancy. Goats will be kept in a fenced-in area while they are working to ensure that none escape and that humans don't attempt to bother them while they're working.