By Chris Cobb, Greenpoint Resident and Advocate.
Sick of seeing trash in New York’s waterways? So is everyone else! Come out this Saturday May 4th and be a part of this year’s Riverkeeper‘s massive 8th annual Sweep!
At last year’s event, Riverkeeper organized more than 2,200 volunteers and collected an estimated 36 tons of trash – and this year, they are doing it again. There will be 86 different locations in and around New York City and you can participate at any one of them. As an added bonus, Riverkeeper is partnering with businesses and restaurants throughout the city to host meetups after the Sweep, where your hard work entitles you to a free drink (one per person & non-alcoholic beverages available too)!
Riverkeeper asks that volunteers “wear sturdy shoes or boots, clothing they can get dirty, and to bring work gloves, a hat, sunscreen, a reusable water bottle and snacks.”
So if you’ve ever felt you are the only one who cares about keeping your community clean, this event is certain to convince you otherwise. Since the project began in 2011, the Riverkeeper Sweep has drawn over 12,000 volunteers, and has collectively removed 228 tons of trash, planted 2,228 trees and connected all kind of like-minded people.
The day of service cleans hundreds of miles of shoreline from Brooklyn to the Adirondacks.
Community Based Environmental Activism
Riverkeeper, originally called the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, has been promoting clean water in New York ever since its inception in 1966. Distressed by the virtually unregulated toxic sludge being dumped into the Hudson and East rivers, the fishermen decided to shine a light on big polluters.
By 1966 the damage to New York’s waterways was a tragic sight, the result of 100 years of continuous dumping. The species that hadn’t died off in the rivers by then were contaminated by various chemicals and oil. The organization began education campaigns, held meetings in various communities, and became an advocate and watchdog for the environment.
In Greenpoint (which has been home to over 50 oil refineries and numerous oil spills over the years), Riverkeeper found that not only was the soil heavily contaminated, but that fumes of benzene being detected in the air. Benzene fumes were byproduct of chemical and oil refineries and can cause a variety of cancers. Ultimately, Riverkeeper, along with Newtown Creek Alliance and former Congressman David Yassky’s office, filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobile in 2004 and settled in 2010 winning 19.5 million dollars for environmental projects in Greenpoint through the Greenpoint Community Environmental Benefit Fund. Clean up has been slow however.
Ironically redevelopment and gentrification in North Brooklyn has drawn a renewed interest into the preservation of the area. Groups such as Riverkeeper – along with Concerned Citizens of Greenpoint, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park and Newtown Creek Alliance – have become the most visible promoters of a cleaner New York.
2019 Riverkeeper Sweep in North Brooklyn
If you ever wanted to get involved or get your kids involved in helping the environment, May 8th is a great day to do it!
GREENPOINT: Manhattan Avenue Street End Cleanup Brooklyn
Location: Manhattan Ave Street End Park – End of Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11222
Time: 10 AM – 12 PM
Site leader: Lisa Bloodgood, lbloodgood@newtowncreekalliance.org
GREENPOINT: Meeker Ave (Penny Bridge) Cleanup, Site Maintenance, and Planting
Location: Newtown Creek 1000 Meeker Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11222
Time: 12 PM – 4 PM
Site leaders: Lisa Bloodgood, lbloodgood@newtowncreekalliance.org |Willis Elkins, welkins@newtowncreekalliance.org
GREENPOINT: WNYC Transmitter Park Cleanup
Location: Greenpoint Avenue and West Street (East River), Brooklyn, NY 11222
Time: 10 AM – 1 PM
Site leader Steve Chesler, stevechesler@me.com
WILLIAMSBURG: Bushwick Inlet Park Cleanup
Location: Bushwick Inlet Park Community Building 86 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Time: 10 AM – 1 PM
Site leader: Katherine Thompson, kcthompson718@gmail.com
WILLIAMSBURG: Grand Ferry Park
Location: Grand Street and River Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 (near the Williamsburg Bridge)
Time: 12 PM – 3 PM
Site leader: Olive Raymond, olive.raymond21@nycischool.org
Click here for a full list of all the sites participating all throughout the New York Harbor, the East River, and Hudson River – and sign up to help! And drop by to say THANK YOU and learn more at the Riverkeeper booth at Go Green! BK Festival on June 1st.
