Questions raised about benefits of artificial reefs

Abstract

Twenty‐seven subway cars lined on a barge awaited their fate off the coast of Delaware, about 26 kilometers east of the Indian River Inlet, on August 22.A priest blessed the dark‐red cars donated by the New York City Transit Authority, and prayed for the safety of all creatures using them. The song, “Sidewalks of New York” filled the festivities: “East side, west side, all around the town…” A woman tossed tokens from those subway lines into the sea. Then, down went the cars, having first been scrubbed clean, with windows removed for better circulation. Shoved by a bulldozer, the cars were deployed in 35 minutes to join a heap of military vehicles, old tires, and other used materials already accumulated at Reef Site 11, a 1.3‐square‐nautical‐mile artificial reef.