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.

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  1. 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?!

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