As if we didn’t have enough reasons to clean up the Superfund superstar that is Newtown Creek, a pair of dolphins were spotted in the Whale Creek Tributary, which runs alongside the Newtown Creek Nature Walk.
Unfortunately for said dolphins, the EPA has delayed the much-needed Newtown Creek cleanup — one of the most polluted waterways in the nation thanks to sewage dumping, industrial pollution, and oil spillage, which earned it a Superfund designation in 2010 — until 2032 (yes, 32, not 23). The agency partially attributes the timeline shift to extensive groundwater monitoring underneath creekside properties.
This dolphin sighting follows a summer 2022 sighting at Bushwick Inlet (though that dolphin was sadly deceased) and spring 2021 sighting at Transmitter Park; we can only begin to speculate where they’ll set their sights on for next year.
Can’t they do both, monitor the groundwater AND clean up that damned toxic, cancer causing, wildlife killing creek?!?! How long has this stupidity been going on, since the 50’s?!