Newtown Creek

Brooklyn, NY - Catherine Penfold-Waxman - Monday, September 15th, 2008 : goo

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As blogged earlier today:

12:20pm
We're about to embark on a three hour tour up Newtown Creek, NY. It's one of the most poluted waterways in the country. Mr. Me and a friend, the Watchmaker, are on board the Half Moon boat at the 23rd street port waiting to be off. There will be lectures about the history and ecology of the creek and the area.

2:06pm
Oh god the smell.

We're at the end of the creek next to the metropolitan ave bridge. The water is colon-blow black. The stench is worse than I thought it would be. There no oxygen in the water. The only liquid that comes into the creek is 310 million gallons of treated sewage a day and 2 billion from untreated overflow from storm drains a year.

We've just heard some of the dire warnings of getting the 'water' on you. Budweiser used to use Creek water at least to wash the bottles and maybe for the beer itself. Sadly, I just drank a Bud. And I'm thinking about another one.

A concrete firm, Empire, up until recently used to sluice it's concrete trucks right into the river. Once threatened with the EPA, Empire mended their ways.

It's funny to hear that this place was a hunting and fishing paradise until the 1860's. There were trout and oysters.

2:28pm
We're going into the heart of darkness, the industrial center.

Ah, the toxic plumes. TCE and PCE poisoning. delicious. I bet the rent is cheap.

And now we're looking at sewers. We did just see a plastic bag floating by with a frog sitting on top of it. So there is hope.

2:45pm
Fresh Bud. Ahhhhh.

We're hearing about an oil spill during the 70's. Exxon, thanks, you bastards. In 2003 Riverkeeper slapped a lawsuit on them (one of three in progress). Hopefully they'll win and the money goes to cleaning up the creek.

Civil war buildings oposite the liquor distributer that my beer just told me it came from.

2:56pm
We're going under the Greenpoint ave bridge. it's a draw bridge. We're in what used to be called Blissville (now long island city). Newtown creek has been considered polluted since 1880. Horrors.

3:08pm
Newtown creek was the busiest waterway in the country until WW2. Did I mention this is a hidden harbour tour (workingharbour.org)? If I don't say it later, this is really cool three hour tour.

This is still a working waterway. I've see some really cool tug boats. There is a lot of illegal dumping, as you can imagine. We're looking at dumped barges. Now I'm thinking about living on one, just like 'Houseboat' but with less Sophia Loren

The aftermath:
When we got home I showered, Silkwood style.

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