r/Greenpoint • u/AlexandraAiah • Jun 17 '26
❓Questions Is this what I think it is?
Moved to Greenpoint 6 months ago. Saw the water turning a deep red-brown a couple weeks ago and it lead me down the rabbit hole of learning about the disgusting history of pollution in Newtown Creek. Woke up today to see it the worst I’ve seen it yet. Is this caused by what I think it is or is it just some kind of water density difference meeting the East River… I can’t look at the river the same way anymore after learning what is continuing to be loaded into it. I know cities are always going to be dirty but this feels like such a disappointing failure to preserve the quality of living in NYC. Disturbed but not surprised. Hoping I’m misunderstanding something here?
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u/jodagasil Jun 17 '26
Definitely not radioactive poop.
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u/AlexandraAiah Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Worst part is watching the tourists on kayaks obliviously splashing through it
Edit: Really didn't mean to offend anyone! I didn't realize calling someone a 'tourist' was seen as a condescending call out in this sub and I definitely didn't mean it that way. Assumed they were literally flying-in-for-a-week tourists who didn't know the horrors of nyc water and were doing what is a pretty typical tourist activity around the world without knowing, like me, that it was in a superfund site. So I felt bad for them. Locals have warned me about going near nyc water since I first got here, I just didn't know there were areas where it got this polluted. But hey! Now I know and I mean I appreciate people living their life the way they want to so good for them over at the boat clubs! Just wouldn't be my cup of tea. I'm still new to this city for sure... It feels like I just barelyyy put my bags down after several years of living here!
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u/littledipper2 Jun 17 '26
Not tourists there is a community boat club in Greenpoint entirely made of LIC/GP/NB residents. You’re like barely not a tourist here
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u/yourmajesty_69 Jun 18 '26
regardless of some dumb boat club you’re in you would need to be a dummy to kayak through that slop poop water that’s the point he’s trying to make don’t be condescending tosspot.
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u/littledipper2 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Not a member and not a tourist. But it’s bold to come here admit ignorance of something so commonly known and then condescendingly call people who live here tourists after being in this neighborhood for 180 days… that feels like toss pottery to me
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u/veedey Jun 18 '26
Ok?? And you’re proud to be splashing around in poop water as a local? If anything that’s worse. Calling them barely not a tourist is not the flex you thing this is lmfao 🤡
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u/nel-E-nel Jun 17 '26
A good number of those are not tourists, but members of the
. North Brooklyn Community Boathouse 3
u/AlexandraAiah Jun 17 '26
Oh no way! I didn’t realise that my bad - they’re braver than I am
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u/theblackdane Jun 17 '26
There's a public paddle on Saturday from 12-4. The boathouse was founded by long time residents, like myself, and are some of the most knowledge folks about the creek. (Spoiler: It's not good and also getting surprisingly better!) Though the biggest ongoing pollution is our
during rain events, we have caught businesses like Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) system illegally dumping in the creek, and are part of the frontline advocating for its rehabilitation along with DKN Ready Mix . Since you seem to care deeply, I hope you check it out. Newtown Creek Alliance 17
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u/MadameCreole Jun 17 '26
I’ve seen some people swimming on that dirty water. No joke. Even children play in that water.
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u/jodagasil Jun 18 '26
Funny how you assumed the only morons willing to get in that water were oblivious tourists.
It’s also hilarious how you got attacked for assuming people living here would have common sense.
People can be wacky lol
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u/beershoes767 Jun 17 '26
When I was in Cancun I saw a guy doing laps in the pool. He swam right through a pile of puke.
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u/AndreMoney99 Jun 20 '26
lol reading all the comments responding to your harmless ‘tourist’ remark is hilarious. I stg redditors and New Yorkers whose parents were transplants which now technically makes them “real New Yorkers” are the two most offended groups. Y’all are mad that she accidentally called some ppl canoeing in one of the dirtiest bodies of water on planet earth tourists. Her bad she didn’t realize locals would willingly go splash in that water.
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u/BoJackMoleman Jun 17 '26
Newtown Creek is what happens when businesses were allowed to just do whatever they wanted with any new chemical compound they discovered. It was the Wild West of chemical engineering. They had little knowledge of what they had or what they did and they rushed to make as much as possible to fit a need that didn't yet exist. That was the dumping ground for chemical horrors.
I'm sorry you were unaware but this is not some closed secret. Efforts to clean it up have spanned decades. This isn't the only spot like this however. By East New York / Canarsie is a park that was essentially a landfill for ages. Lots of unstable swamp / landfill land. The industries that ruined it all are long gone and we have decades to clean it up.
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u/AlexandraAiah Jun 17 '26
This is just so sad! Was definitely naive especially the first few years after I moved from Australia to NYC and had such a lust for the city but now almost a decade in and the things I’ve been made aware of start to bother me more and more as they stack up - I love this city so much and Greenpoint has been a great move but this stuff is horrific to me! it’s such a shame it is so impossible to resolve and so many people just have to live with it and ignore it.
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u/BoJackMoleman Jun 17 '26
I will say this though: You can limit your exposure as much as you want but you still live in a city. There are things off gassing everywhere. There are toxic hazards yet undiscovered. You breathe in a ton of break dust before you pack your cells with microplastics. Others will chime in and say they don't have that problem - maybe or maybe it hasn't been documented yet. This is just the scourge of industrialization and port cities. If it wasn't for Newtown Creek maybe we would never have PFAS so think about that. JK.
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u/BrooklynRich29 Jun 17 '26
"....just have to live with it and ignore it'. These people WILLINGLY pay multiple thousands of dollars per month to have a front row seat of it. I can assure you that most people don't care.
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u/Turbulent_Employ7436 Jun 18 '26
do something positive donate, volunteer to the Billion oyster project they are doing something about it
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u/Limp_Database8609 Jun 17 '26
If you see this after large rain storms it is not chemical or part of the superfund…it is probably overflowing sewage.
While that’s still gross; that is how NYC’s ancient sewers manage overflow.
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u/Main-Length-6385 Jun 19 '26
This is why swimming near nyc just doesn’t sit right with me 😭😭😭😭
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u/North_Awareness_6006 Jun 19 '26
I believe there are also similarly strict rules to fish that are fished from these areas too. https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/fish/health_advisories/regional/new_york_city.htm
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u/Emergency-Skirt-5886 Jun 20 '26
And you see tourists out there on jet skis getting this in their face and mouth 🤣
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u/jakospence Jun 20 '26
Because of all the stormwater that goes into the sewers, it doesn’t even have to be that much rain. A friend who got a tour of the Newtown Creek Waste facility told me that if you flush your toilet in the UES it takes about 12 mins to get to Greenpoint. If it’s raining more than 0.25” it goes directly into the East River.
That’s why Stormwater Detention/Retention is required of all new construction projects.
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u/rdtisahateplatform Jun 17 '26
Lotta folks moving into Greenpoint unaware of it's cancerous history. Welcome to club fellow oblong.
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u/surge___ Jun 18 '26
Don't bury the lead! Let em know what $4,000+ rent gets them in GP. https://www.nycitynewsservice.com/2025/11/10/greenpointers-push-for-right-to-know-law-over-toxic-superfund-site/
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u/rdtisahateplatform Jun 18 '26
I'm here generations. Everyone in my family got cancer in some form. 🫠
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u/eballeste Jun 19 '26
I think Vice did a documentary about how all the old folks in Greenpoint / Bushwick had higher than usual cancer rates due to all the toxic crap under the homes they live in.
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u/CandyDabs188 Jun 17 '26
I’m so sorry you moved here and then learned about this. Welcome to the neighborhood!
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u/Ok_Value_3741 Jun 17 '26
I've called 311 about it and they referred me to another dept and when I told them about the daily occurrence (last summer it was nearly every day it would dock and do this), they seemed very alarmed and the guy even had me send pics. Apparently the ships aren't a supposed to be releasing anything into the water. It stopped for a little while but seems like they're doing it again. This is from Saturday.
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u/CapitalDream Jun 17 '26
I used to live there and yeah you could see trails coming from the big ships. not sure if they were leaking or if it was them disturbing the oil / sediment / toxins
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u/Boring_Ear8961 Jun 17 '26
Vessels do not dump in the rivers. If they tying up at low tide the screws will stir up the bottom. It's not great right here but it's also not that bad. Up Newtown creek is really bad but "luckily" that material is super heavy and stays well below the mud line.
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u/Ok_Value_3741 Jun 17 '26
Yes they do
I have videos of it docking, releasing, moving on. The guy from one of the city depts i spoke to was surprised and asked me to send them to him.
ETA: I tried 100 times to add the picture of the boat releasing the stuff but it won't let me
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u/Boring_Ear8961 Jun 17 '26
I am a commercial diver in the harbor. They absolutely do not. I literally explained to you what it is exactly you're seeing. I don't think you understand the ramifications should they get caught. They do understand.
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u/Razee_Speaks Jun 19 '26
The idea of a commercial vessel docking just to illegally discharge in a prohibited zone and then leaving is hysterical. You’re probably spot on or they’re just seeing raw water cooling systems discharge o/b and crying wolf about that.
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u/Basil_Gin_Gimlet Jun 18 '26
Imagine how many people this woman has showed this image to, talking about the boats dumping, only to be proven wrong by someone online in a thread from someone else’s post. Amazing.
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u/chiraltoad Jun 19 '26
I know for a fact that the moored sailboats and motorboats do the Pulaski bridge do dump their shit directly into the river. I know you guys are talking about larger vessels though
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Jun 17 '26
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u/relevantnewman Jun 17 '26
You've got Dave Matthews Band poo below the KSB, harsher winters, and "food" that's disrespectful to pizza, so you've got that going for you, which is nice.
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u/Long-Structure-6584 Jun 17 '26
lmao New York pizza is the GOAT but the Chicago food scene is sooo much more than deep dish
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u/relevantnewman Jun 18 '26
lol, NY pizza holds a short candle to New Haven pizza...at least in the upper echelon....When it comes to consistently solid pizza, NYC takes the cake. What does Chicago do better than NYC, with regards to food...I'll wait while you struggle to name 3
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u/Primary-Belt7668 Jun 18 '26
You’ve got dickheads fighting and destroying your entire city for *checks notes* winning the first title in decades of what’s been a pitiful franchise’s history 👏
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u/Long-Structure-6584 Jun 17 '26
I’m about to get downvoted too but same lmao. Proud of our city for cleaning up the Chicago river!!
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u/BrooklynRich29 Jun 17 '26
"preserve the quality of living in NYC"
Where have you been? Its never existed.
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u/nel-E-nel Jun 17 '26
Right? This is the result of over a hundred years of industry along the Newtown Creek.
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u/KoalifiedGorilla Jun 18 '26
arguably some of the best in the united states. wtf are you talking about?
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u/Various-Cry-6668 Jun 19 '26
Come on man lol it’s nice that we have whatever we want and like cultural abundance but this is not a physically healthy environment at all
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u/Speedracer666 Jun 17 '26
During rainstorms, New York City's sewer system is routinely overwhelmed, resulting in billions of gallons of raw domestic sewage and untreated urban runoff flushing directly into the creek. Additionally, there is a thick, 15 to 25-foot layer of polluted sludge congealed on the creek bed, laden with heavy metals, PCBs, and petroleum products. Yum.
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u/zunzunzito Jun 17 '26
A good part of Greenpoint is a superfund site. The air quality and the ground water are both an issue. Even if they remediate past issues, there are still a lot of industrial activity around the creek.
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u/CSPOONYG Jun 17 '26
Are you new here? I've lived along the Hudson River my entire life. When I was a kid, if you got splashed with Hudson River water, no one would ever speak to you again. You'd lose all your friends, and you probably shouldn't even go outside anymore. These guys you see on Jet Skis... psychopaths!
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u/anachronology Jun 18 '26
But think of all the mutant powers you could gain! Peter Parker was splashed with NYC river water, right?
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u/PudgyChocoDonut Jun 18 '26
True....buuuuut, does anyone know what this actually is? Two bodies of water we itb different sediment content just look like this when they mix
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u/AbeFromanEast Jun 17 '26
Welcome to the neighborhood. Newtown creek is a superfund site. It's been polluted for 150 years.
From the EPA description
In the mid-1800s, the area next to the 3.8-mile-long creek was one of the busiest industrial areas in New York City. More than 50 refineries were located along its banks, including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, fertilizer and glue factories, sawmills, and lumber and coal yards. Newtown Creek was crowded with commercial vessels, including large boats bringing in raw materials and fuel and taking out oil, chemicals and metals. In addition to the industrial pollution that resulted from all of this activity, the city began dumping raw sewage directly into the water in 1856. During World War II, the creek was one of the busiest ports in the nation. Currently, factories and other privately owned and municipal facilities still operate along the creek. Various contaminated sites upland of Newtown Creek have contributed to the contamination in the creek.
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u/zebo_99 Jun 17 '26
Hard to believe the area once had an abundance of clams, oysters, lobsters, and lots of other tasty seafood.
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u/Fuj_apple Jun 18 '26
That’s what the area needs. Hopefully with invigorating these species around New York, water will become better.
I have friends who started oyster farm south of Miami, and there is so much benefit of having them. Yay!
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u/MysteriousAvocado1 Jun 17 '26
This happened the other day too! When I was walking back last week across the Pulaski…..
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u/Good_Split_3749 Jun 17 '26
at first site, I was like damn thats an amazing new building on the Gowanus canal…
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u/bkln69 Jun 18 '26
Half this city is built on toxic waste, the other half on the bones of natives and slaves.
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u/neonklingon Jun 17 '26
“Disappointing failure” from the 15th floor window of your new development
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u/BrooklynRich29 Jun 17 '26
She discussed this with her doorman and MD neighbor in the shared steam room of their building.
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u/nicholo1 Jun 17 '26
What do you think it is? We can’t read minds.
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u/OrbitObit Jun 18 '26
OP seems consistently annoying across the post and replies here.
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u/nicholo1 Jun 18 '26
Calling the kayak community “tourists” when she lives in a new luxury tower and moved here 6 months ago 😂
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u/Perfect_Distance434 Jun 17 '26
Bottom right corner looks like a Transformer hiding beneath the surface (submechanophobia is off the charts!).
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u/NYCstateng Jun 17 '26
Years ago our parents told us to stay away from the Creek “No one knows what’s in there“ 🤣
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u/FinePalpitation4611 Jun 17 '26
I heard that Björk’s boyfriend wrote a song about that particular Inlet. But I haven’t been able to locate it. I’d love to listen to it.
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u/habiba2000 Jun 18 '26
As many others have mentioned, this is a highly toxic site and the water is contaminated.
Sorry for the rude surprise. NYC is a scam - places like the Greenpoint waterfront should never have been developed for residential purposes, but it is greed drives this city, not consequences to human lives.
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u/Strict-Bag-1271 Jun 18 '26
How people jet ski here is beyond me. I’m from NYC and know how gross it is.
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u/Reasonable_Tie_9975 Jun 18 '26
Lemme guess. Landlord/broker got ya with the luxury unit that has "Stunning ViewS oF thE CiTY ANd UbëR cOol Ye Ole BruekLin WatErFroNt, ScenIc EasT RivEr" for prob 4k a month...
That water has shit flowing through it. At one time bodies. And lord only knows how many handguns are in that mf. I'm born and raised here, trust me. They're lying to you.
With that said Greenpoint is still beautiful, skip the hipster shit, and hit up the Polish spots. That's the real Brooklyn
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u/numuhukumakiakiaia Jun 17 '26
Yes, that is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the entire country and has been a knownSuperfund site