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A Nature Trail Next to the Sewage Plant in Greenpoint
By
tien mao
Published Sep 27, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
tien mao
Published Sep 27, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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In the shadows of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, residents of Greenpoint will soon be able to go on a nature walk. The Department of Environmental Protection, which operates the sewage plant, is officially opening the Newtown Creek Nature Walk this Saturday. The 800-foot nature walk along Newtown Creek, which took 9-years and $3.2 million to complete, is landscaped and features access points to the polluted creek.
The Times even observed a school of fish at one point during a walk through of the trail. Perfect, as the walkway features seven fishing piers on a tributary of Newtown Creek. We hope that anyone that does go fishing in the new park keeps in mind this quote from Emily Lloyd, the city's environmental commissioner, "There’s the oil. There’s a lot of bacteria in the water." That warning goes out to people using the nature trail as a launching point for kayaks and canoes too.
While we commend the DEP and Newtown Creek for adding a little bit of nature to Greenpoint and listening to community requests for access to Newtown Creek, spending a lazy afternoon fishing next to a wastewater treatment plant (the largest in the city, in fact) seems like a less than ideal. We suppose one could get used to the smell of sewage if you're out there long enough.
The opening celebration festivities are this Saturday from 11AM - 4PM with light refreshments and activities for children.
Photo of members of the LIC Community Boathouse on Newtown Creek (is that the trail in the background?) by elderta_2001 on flickr
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