Events
Please join us for upcoming meetings and events about Newtown Creek:
Newtown Creek Superfund CAG Meeting
Tuesday, July 25th
7 to 9pm
Location: McCarren Park Rec Center
776 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206
This public meeting will feature an update about the Newtown Creek Community Visioning Project from Riverkeeper and Newtown Creek Alliance and an update about the City’s Combined Sewer Overflow Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) from NYC Department of Environmental Protection. We encourage attendance from the general public and any who are interested in becoming active CAG members. Full info here.
Insalubrious Valley – Walking Tour with Mitch Waxman
Saturday, August 5th
10am to 1:30pm
Location: East Williamsburg + Maspeth
Join Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman for walk through the industrial heartlands of New York City and along the Newtown Creek. Following the currently undefended border of Brooklyn and Queens, we will be exploring the colonial, industrial, and environmental history of the borderland communities. We will encounter century old movable bridges, visit the remains of a 19th century highway, and explore two of the lesser known tributaries of the troubled Newtown Creek watershed. For the vulgarly curious, Conrad Wissell’s Dead Animal and Night Soil wharf will be described. Buy Tickets and get full details here.
Curb Your Litter Greenpoint
Saturday, August 12th
10am to 2pm
203 Diamond Street
Greenpoint, BK 11222
NCA is joining with Neighbors Allied for Good Growth and the Curb Your Litter Project to help pick-up street debris that clogs street drains and pollutes Newtown Creek. We will pick up street litter in Northeast Greenpoint (east of McGuinness Boulevard and north of Norman Avenue). Come join us; all volunteers will get a free lunch as a thank you for their efforts. Please RSVP here.
Poison Cauldron Redux – Walking Tour with Mitch Waxman
Sunday, August 13th
10am to 1:30pm
Location: Greenpoint
There’s a reason that Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman calls this “The Poison Cauldron.” That reason is why you shouldn’t bring your dog, or your kids, on this tour. DUKBO – Down Under the Kosciuszko Bridge Onramp – is the hellscape where the waste transfer and petroleum districts of North Brooklyn are found, along the bulkheads of the Federal Superfund site called Newtown Creek. This tour will take you through two miles of North Brooklyn, crossing the heart of the Greenpoint Oil Spill and exploring the fascinating history of industrial Greenpoint. Buy Tickets and get full details here.
Past 2017 Events:
Storm Drain Stenciling!
Saturday, July 15th
11 to 3pm
Location:
Falchi Bldg.
31-00 47th Ave
Long Island City, NY 11101
NCA, in partnership with Riverkeeper, the SWIM Coalition and Gowanus Canal Conservancy, will be painting a number of custom made stencils on local catch basins to remind people that these areas drain to Newtown Creek during rain events and bring any trash that is on the street into our already polluted waterway. This event is part of City of Water Day: In Your Neighborhood. We will have food and drinks available for volunteers!
13 Steps Around Dutch Kills – A Walking Tour with Mitch Waxman
Saturday, July 15th
10am to 1:00pm
Location: Dutch Kills
In 13 steps, Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman will be showing us the then and now of Dutch Kills tributary, once known as the “workshop of the United States.” A central maritime artery of Long Island City, Dutch Kills is surrounded by hundreds of factory buildings, titan rail yards, and crossed by century old bridges – and it’s found just a few blocks away from Queens Plaza. During this three hour tour, we will cover three miles of Brooklyn and Queens to see where the industrial revolution actually happened. Bring your camera, as the tour will be revealing an incredible landscape along this section of the troubled Newtown Creek Watershed.
Buy Tickets and get full details here.
Field Day Friday!
Friday, July 14th
4 to 7pm
Location: Kingsland Wildflowers
520 Kingsland Avenue
Greenpoint, Brooklyn 11222
Join NCA for a hands-on volunteer day helping maintain the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof. A great opportunity to check out this amazing green space.
Storm Drain Stenciling!
Saturday, July 8th
11 to 3pm
Location:
Falchi Bldg.
31-00 47th Ave
Long Island City, NY 11101
NCA, in partnership with Riverkeeper, the SWIM Coalition and Gowanus Canal Conservancy, will be painting a number of custom made stencils on local catch basins to remind people that these areas drain to Newtown Creek during rain events and bring any trash that is on the street into our already polluted waterway. No More Pollution Please! Come lend a hand with painting and stenciling!
Street End Clean-Up: Penny Bridge (PART 4)
Saturday, June 24th
12pm to 4pm
Location: Where Meeker Avenue dead ends at Newtown Creek (Greenpoint)
NCA is running a series of public workdays at each street-end site. We are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish some simple tasks and short-term goals like trash and debris removal, planting native flora and path making. Gloves, shovels, trash bags and all other needed materials will be provided. Our cleanup will be preceeded by a guided tour underneath the new K-Bridge and potential for adjacent park space – get full details on the walk through here.
Field Day Friday!
Friday, June 16th
4 to 7pm
Location: Kingsland Wildflowers
Join NCA for a hands-on volunteer day helping maintain the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof.
Street End Clean-Up: Penny Bridge (PART 3)
Saturday, June 10th
11am to 3pm
Location: Where Meeker Avenue dead ends at Newtown Creek (Greenpoint)
NCA is running a series of public workdays at each street-end site. We are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish some simple tasks and short-term goals like trash and debris removal, planting native flora and path making. Gloves, shovels, trash bags and all other needed materials will be provided. Click here for full details.
Newtown Creek Community Visioning Workshop w/ Riverkeeper
Saturday, June 3rd
1 to 4pm
Location: Kingsland Wildflowers
520 Kingsland Avenue
Greenpoint, Brooklyn 11222
Join Riverkeeper and NCA in creating a cohesive community vision for Newtown Creek. With a superfund cleanup and long term plan to control sewage overflows on the horizon, now is an opportune time to engage stakeholders in imagining and designing a future Newtown Creek that provides greater opportunities for restoration, remediation, recreation, and resilience. RSVP and get info here.
History of Newtown Creek and Industrial North Brooklyn
Saturday, June 3rd
5 to 7:30pm
Location: Kingsland Wildflowers
520 Kingsland Avenue
Greenpoint, Brooklyn 11222
Following a tour of Kingsland Wildflowers green roof and community space, join Newtown Creek Alliance historian, Mitch Waxman, for a special presentation exploring one of the key epicenters of the Industrial Revolution: Newtown Creek. A photographer and blogger, Mitch has been documenting the area’s rich history and the environmental issues that plague the largely unknown 3.8-mile-long waterway, found at the center of New York City and recently placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Federal Superfund site list. The presentation will photographically carry viewers from Newtown Creek’s junction with the East River all the way back to the heart of darkness found at its end in East Williamsburg. A tour of the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof will follow the presentation, offering views of this historical site. RSVP and get full info here.
Evergreen Annual Awards Honoring NCA
Wednesday, May 24th
5 to 8pm
Location: Brooklyn Winery
213 North 8th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 11211
The Annual Evergreen Celebration is a chance for local business owners to reconnect with old colleagues and friends, and meet new industrial businesses that are opening up shop in the neighborhood. It is also a chance to recognize leaders in the community who have made a difference for North Brooklyn Businesses. This year NCA is being honored with the Community Partner Award. Come celebrate with us! Get your ticket and more info on the event here.
Newtown Creek Boat Tour! (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, May 21st
2 to 4pm
Location: Departs India Street Pier (Tickets required)
Newtown Creek Alliance invites you to take a boat ride with Historian Mitch Waxman and Program Manager Willis Elkins to learn about the rich industrial history, lasting legacy of contamination and environmental damage and on-going efforts to revitalize and restore this unique waterway in the heart of New York City. Purchase tickets and get more info here.
Field Day Friday!
Friday, May 19th
4 to 7pm
Location: Kingsland Wildflowers
Join NCA for a hands-on volunteer day helping maintain the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof.
Jane’s Walk
Sunday, May 7th
12:00 and 1:30pm
Join NCA’s project manager Will Elkins and NCA historian Mitch Waxman for a short walk past the birthplace of Mobil Oil; a visit to the new Broadway Stages Green Roof with its panoramic views of the Newtown Creek, the DEP’s Newtown Creek Waste Waster Treatment Plant, and the NYC skyline; and the North Henry Street project to discuss the restoration and revitalization of the Newtown Creek.
Get full info here.
Street End Clean-Up: Meeker Avenue
Saturday, May 6th
11am to 3pm
Location: Where Meeker Avenue dead ends at Newtown Creek (Greenpoint)
NCA is running a series of public workdays at each street-end site. We are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish some simple tasks and short-term goals like trash and debris removal, planting native flora and path making. Gloves, shovels, trash bags and all other needed materials will be provided. This event is part of the 2017 Riverkeeper Sweep. Click here for full details.
DEP Long Term Control Plan (LTCP): Alternatives Meeting
Wednesday, April 26
6pm to 8pm
Location: WWTP Visitor Center, 329 Greenpoint Avenue
NYC DEP has been evaluating potential CSO controls and the related water quality benefits and costs. This event will include a presentation and discussion on the various “alternatives” that have been evaluated. This is a very important opportunity for community members seeking improvements in water quality to have our voices hears. Get full info and RSVP here.
Water, Soil and Visioning for Newtown Creek
Tuesday, April 25th
7 to 9pm
Location: A/D/O, 29 Norman Avenue
Join NCA for an evening of presentations, discussion and visioning workshop. We will be distributing custom posters on bioremediation issues and techniques; presenting findings from our 2016 water quality testing and run a hands on workshop with our partners at Riverkeeper for future visions of Newtown Creek. The event is free and open to the public. More info here.
Street End Clean-Up: Meeker Avenue
Sunday, April 23rd
11am to 3pm
Location: Where Meeker Avenue dead ends at Newtown Creek (Greenpoint)
NCA is running a series of public workdays at each street-end site. We are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish some simple tasks and short-term goals like trash and debris removal, planting native flora and path making. Gloves, shovels, trash bags and all other needed materials will be provided. Click here for full details.
Kingsland Wildflowers Roof Season Kick-Off
Saturday, April 22nd (Earth Day)
1pm to 3pm
Location: Kingsland Wildflowers, 520 Kingsland Avenue (Greenpoint)
Please join us at the Kingsland Wildflowers Roof and Community Space in Greenpoint for a presentation by Joyann Cirigliano, president and Atlantic Flyway projects coordinator at Four Harbors Audubon Society. Learn about the importance of backyard gardens for birds, and the ways in which utilizing native plants in landscape design will attract these feathered friends. Refreshments will be provided.
The lecture will be followed by a tour of the Kingsland Wildflowers roof.
NEWTOWN CREEK-A-THON
Sunday, April 9th
9:30am to 5:30pm
The full monty of Newtown Creek walking tours, a grueling walk covering the entire Newtown Creek in a single day. Covering some 14 miles, the tour will cover both boroughs and every neighborhood that borders the Creek and its tributaries. Get full details and reserve a spot here.
Newtown Creek Superfund CAG
Wednesday, April 5th
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Location: TBA
Join the Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) as we hear from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on latest updates on the Superfund investigation and remediation of Newtown Creek.
More info at CAG website.
Street End Clean-Up: Apollo Street
Sunday, April 2nd
11am to 3pm
Location: Where Apollo Street dead ends at Newtown Creek (Greenpoint)
NCA is running a series of public workdays at each street-end site. We are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish some simple tasks and short-term goals like trash and debris removal, planting native flora and path making. Gloves, shovels, trash bags and all other needed materials will be provided. Click here for full details.
Reclaiming Our Estuary: The Newtown Creek Experience
Thursday, March 9th, 4-9 PM
LaGuardia Community College
Little Theater in Shenker Hall
31-10 Thomson Ave
Long Island City, NY
Join NCA and our partners at LaGuardia Community College for a special event about the ecology and restoration projects and possibilities in Newtown Creek. The event is open to all; see schedule here.
Waterfront Defenders Party
Tuesday March 7th, 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Diamond Bar, 43 Franklin Street
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Diamond Bar is hosting an evening to feature local waterway stewardship organizations. All proceeds from beverage sales between 7-10pm will be donated and split evenly between the Billion Oyster Project, the Newtown Creek Alliance, and Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park. Meet the guest bartenders from these great organizations. Learn about what they do and how you can get your hands dirty! More info here.
Long Term Control Plan Meeting
Tuesday Feb 21st
6:30 pm
Newtown Creek WWTP Visitor Center
329 Greenpoint Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Join the NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection in discussion of ways to address the impacts of Combined Sewer Overflow and improve water quality in Newtown Creek. The meeting is open to all, get more info and RSVP here.
Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG)
Wednesday Feb 1st
6:30 to 8:30 pm
McCarren Park Community Room
776 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
The CAG will be joined by representatives of the US EPA to discuss updates with the cleanup of Newtown Creek, including the Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment reports. The event is open to all.