Though it can be helpful for reporting, I deleted the Citizen app from my phone last year, as its ethical implications feel murky at best. And you know what else could be classified as “murky at best”?
The East River!
While researching another story online, I came across a Citizen notification about two people swimming in the East River off of Transmitter Park. The incident took place on the morning of July 21. Days later, TikTok user @anotherkimk (whose work I highlighted in a recent TikTok roundup story) shared a video in which two people can be seen from a distance.
Swimming in the East River might not be such a crazy idea in the future. We reported last December how the new Two Trees residential development will heavily utilize the waterfront through the establishment of a new beach, open to wading and kayaking. In 2020, Curbed reported that the East River was, in fact, the cleanest it had been since the Civil War.
However, any Greenpointer who has been here for even five minutes could tell you about our toxic waterways. The East River is not the same as the hyper-polluted Newtown Creek, but it’s still a frequent dumping group for raw sewage overflows during heavy rainfall.
A general rule of thumb for life is that if it’s something that Kramer did on Seinfeld, it’s probably not the best idea.
Anyway, if that was you, or you know who this is, I’d love to get in touch. Did you lose a bet? Do you have a Teflon-like immune system? Let us know!
That was me Rob Herschenfeld and my friend Andy McDowell.
We swim most mornings at 7:45am. That was my birthday swim.
Rob@rhdprojects.com
This wasn’t me but I swam in the river in 2010 with my friend we had a bet to see who could make it to the other end the fastest.. it ended with police boats,helicopters,divers etc took us both to the hospital where they put a 24hr hold on us in the physiatrics ward 
