Events

Autumn Evenings – Newtown Native Nursery

Start date: 09/27/2024
End date: 11/01/2024
Time: 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: 520 Kingsland Ave Brooklyn, NY 11222

Newtown Creek Alliance would like to welcome the public to join us at Kingsland Wildflowers on select Fridays for our Autumn Evenings– browse our native plant nursery for plants to take home, or just come to enjoy sunset and a skyline view from the green roofs at Kingsland Wildflowers until 7 pm. More details here.

Visit our (Online Store) to check our plant availibility and make purchases ahead of time, or feel free to browse and buy plants on site.

Please note that we will not be open on Friday, October 18th — we’ll be breaking down from our annual Tidal Toast!

Greenpoint Library Lecture Series: The Crafting of Newtown Creek

Date: 10/10/2024
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: Greenpoint Library

Join us for an evening to learn about the development of Newtown Creek with urban planner and academic, Carter Craft.

Carter Craft is a water and energy expert with more than twenty-five years of experience working on and along New York Harbor and the surrounding estuary. As an outdoor enthusiast, captain and occasional swimmer he brings a deep understanding of the complex issues inherent in connecting ecological and political systems in synergistic ways. Currently, Carter is a Sr. Economic Policy Officer at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York. He is a founder or co-founder of many organizations, including the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, and has been instrumental in the establishment, growth and evolution of many others including the Newtown Creek Alliance, RETI Center, the River Project, and Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse.

Bike Tour: Six Miles of “Last Mile”

Date: 10/13/2024
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Cooper Park

In the context of Newtown Creek’s 200+ year history of logistics infrastructure, from horse-carts and rails to barges and trucks, this bike tour will focus on the expanding infrastructure of commodity circulation, and the real-world footprint of e-commerce.

The rise of e-commerce has seen a rapid increase in last-mile developments in the industrial business zones, like those surrounding Newtown Creek. These mega facilities bring significant amounts of increased truck traffic to overburdened communities leading to higher levels of congestion, worsened air quality, urban heat island impacts, stormwater runoff, as well as ongoing issues with worker protections, fair wagers, and labor rights. NYC is now working to implement a special permit process to curtail the proliferation of last mile facilities, thanks in large part to the advocacy from elected leaders and the Last Mile Coalition (of which NCA is a member).

Get more info and register here.

7th Annual Tidal Toast!

Date: 10/17/2024
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Greenpoint Loft, 67 West Street Brooklyn, NY

Join us for our annual celebration of Newtown Creek! Bringing together community members, local businesses, and long-time champions of the Creek, Tidal Toast is an evening of inspiration and impact.
We are thrilled to celebrate the 2024 Restore, Reveal, and Revitalize Honorees Randy AustinShino Tanikawa, and Tri-Lox, for their amazing work as environmental stewards of Newtown Creek and the local community.

Get tickets and full details here!

Splash! for East Branch

Date: 10/26/2024
Time: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location: Plank Road Public Shoreline: 4801 58th Road Maspeth NY 11378

Get ready for an action-packed day advocating for the future of Newtown Creek! Newtown Creek Alliance, North Brooklyn Community Boathouse (NBCB), and Riverkeeper are teaming up for a hands-on event centered around the EPA’s Proposed Early Action Cleanup of the East Branch tributary of Newtown Creek. This is the first proposed Superfund cleanup of our waterway and we are concerned that the plan doesn’t go far enough to protect long term human and ecological health. What are the exact issues, and how do we propose improving the plan? Come find out!

Register for the event here!

Past Events

Bike Tour: Fossil Fuel Infrastructure of Newtown Creek

Date: 10/06/2024
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Manhattan Avenue Street End Park

This 5-mile bike tour will explore the past, present, and future of fossil fuel infrastructure along Newtown Creek. From the establishment of the world’s first kerosene refinery in 1854, to the ongoing cleanup of the country’s largest terrestrial oil spill, to the current environmental justice impacts stemming from National Grid’s 117 acre Liquified Natural Gas facility – Newtown Creek has a long and troubled history with fossil fuel production, storage, and pollution. We will see many of the historic and current operations along the Creek, learn more about the hazards they present, and discuss paths towards a cleaner energy future.

Get more info and register here.

Greenpoint Library Lecture Series: The Chemicals of Newtown Creek

Date: 09/26/2024
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: Greenpoint Library

Join us for an evening to learn about the history of chemicals of Newtown Creek with with author and academic, Peter Spellane.

Peter Spellane is a member of the Chemistry department at City Tech, a campus of the CUNY system located in downtown Brooklyn. He had studied at Hamilton College, the University of Washington, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Before joining CUNY, he had worked as a research chemist at the IBM Thomas J. Watson lab in Yorktown Heights and at Akzo Nobel Chemicals in Dobbs Ferry and in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

Street Tree Care w/ Councilmember Restler

Date: 09/22/2024
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location: McGolrick Park (Russell and Nassau)

Join NCA and community partners for tree bed maintenance to improve our tree canopy and prevent flooding. We will weed, clean tree beds, cultivate soil, add compost and mulch, and clear storm drains along our route. Get full info and register here.

EPA’s Early Action Cleanup Plan Public Meeting

Date: 09/18/2024
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Elsewhere, 599 Johnson Avenue

We have been waiting for a cleanup plan for Newtown Creek for many years! The release of the East Branch Early Action Proposed Cleanup Plan is a significant first step towards the cleanup of Newtown Creek as a whole. If done properly, cleaning the East Branch tributary will reduce human health risks and contaminants in this area of the Creek, create opportunities for habitat restoration and community access, and serve as a reference for the rest of the Newtown Creek cleanup.

EPA will hold a public meeting to present the proposed cleanup plan and take public comments on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the Chatroom at Elsewhere, 599 Johnson Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.