Hey Greenpoint history nerds! Welcome to the second installment of “Do the Time Warp!”This post will check in with Greenpoint’s industrial past, when Newtown Creek was mightier than the Mississippi, and instead of a BQX trolly, Greenpointers were united in their demand for “a marginal railroad which shall extend all along the Brooklyn Waterfront from Bay Ridge to Newtown Creek, with spurs into all of the big factories.” Continue reading →
The Grand Street Bridge has been shuttling New Yorkers between Maspeth and Brooklyn since 1903. But, after 115 years of service, the span across Newtown Creek needs a facelift. To make it happen, the Department of Transportation has requested proposals for a new Grand Street Bridge, and for demolition of the old structure. Continue reading →
O captain, my captain! This Saturday from 12pm-4pm, the North Brooklyn Boat Club is having their Public Paddle Series. Expect an informal gathering with landlubber’s grub, frosty beverages, fellowship with friends and neighbors, and paddling in Newtown Creek! They’ll be hosting canoe tours with amazing views of the city, and this is a unique way to learn more about the waters that border our neighborhood. RSVP is not necessary, just show up! Plus, it’s kid and pet friendly.
North Brooklyn Boat Club Public Paddle Saturday, July 14th | 12pm-4pm @ the boatyard | 51 Ash Street (under the Pulaski Bridge) FREE
Do you feel alive, Greenpoint? Well, the valiant conservationists at Newtown Creek Alliance certainly do. The good folks at NCA have announced plans for a second Living Dock in Newtown Creek. The Living Dock is a “floating structure designed to provide valuable marine habitat within a heavy polluted and largely bulkheaded waterway.”
The original Living Dock was installed here in Greenpoint at the North Henry Street Public Basin in 2015, and its brand-new sister dock will be built this month and installed in the English Kills tributary of the creek. Continue reading →
A Rendering of the Timber Bridge between Greenpoint and LIC
The good folks at Creme / Jun Aizaki Architecture and Design are hoping to bridge the gap between Greenpoint and Long Island City with a floating bridge connecting Manhattan and Vernon Avenues across Newtown Creek.
Doesn’t the Pulaski Bridge already do almost exactly that? You might ask. The project, known as the Timber Bridge at LongPoint Corridor, seeks to do it better. According to the project’s Master Plan, the Timber Bridge would reduce the 12-minute trek across the Pulaski Bridge into a 2 minute jaunt.
Beyond that, the project calls for “a renovation of the street at Manhattan Landing, a pedestrian bridge across Newtown Creek, waterfront restoration and expansion on both sides of the bridge, and a pedestrian route across the LIRR railyard.” Continue reading →
The North Brooklyn Boat Club is truly a diamond in the rough of the polluted Newtown Creek waterway, bringing folks in our community together not only for boating and paddling but also environmental advocacy. For $40 a year you can become a member of the boat club, learn how to navigate Newtown Creek via kayak, and get access to paddling events, Boat Club parties and their shared upstate cabin. This Saturday, May 26th (from 1-6pm) is the Club’s annual opening day bash, where everyone is invited to join trained NBBC guides for free short canoe trips on Newtown Creek and out toward the East River, with stunning views of Manhattan. And you’ll be able to party on the shore with food and drinks while gathering around the fire pit. Their parties are always a fun time, and you can get to know your neighbors while taking in a unique view of the city.
North Brooklyn Boat Club Opening Day 2018 Celebration Saturday, May 26 | 1pm-6pm NBBC Broadway Stages Boatyard | 51 Ash St., under the Pulaski Bridge FREE! Continue reading →
Warm weather brings many of us out to Greenpoint’s greenest spots for a bit of sunworshiping, but for the community organization Newtown Creek Alliance, greening Greenpoint through ecological stewardship is an everyday business. NCA’s focus is not only on making Greenpoint’s most infamous/beloved creek as green as can be today, but also on looking forward to the green future in North Brooklyn. To make the most of that green future, NCA partnered with the advocacy group River Keeper to produce a Long Term Vision Plan for Newtown Creek that sees the Creek not as a polluted border between Brooklyn and Queens, but instead as “1,000 acres of opportunity,” and a 3.8 mile community asset. Continue reading →
You’ve probably seen at least some of Greenpoint’s favorite waterway (and superfund site) Newtown Creek, but have you seen ALL of Newtown Creek? Sunday morning kicks off the second annual walking tour of the entire length of Newtown Creek! The all-day 14-mile tour, hosted by Mitch Waxman (Newtown Creek Alliance Historian) and Willis Elkins (Program Manager of the NCA), begins at 10am in LIC and wraps up in Greenpoint, trekking through LIC, Blissville, Maspeth, Ridgewood, East Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Greenpoint, and stops along at the Creek’s many bridges.
The tour is FREE, but donations are welcome and the organizers ask that you RSVP in advance. There will be a lunch pitstop halfway through, and guests are welcome to come and go along the tour route as they please. More details can be found here.
Happy Friday, Greenpoint! This week, the New Yorker encouraged us all to get Medieval, praising Krolewskie Jadlo (694 Manhattan Avenue), “the sole medievalist eatery in the five boroughs” for its “seriousness of culinary intent.”
But polluted water isn’t just a thing of the past, it’s a true concern of the present. So pressing is the question of water safety, that Curbed asked, “How worried should New Yorkers be about sewage ending up in city waterways?” Their ultimate findings: “there’s virtually no way combined-sewer overflow could affect the city’s drinking water supply.” But swimming, can be another story…
