Newtown Creek, a 3.5 mile estuary that separates Brooklyn and Queens, one of the most heavily used and highly polluted industrial locations in the United States, over 30,000,000 gallons of oil, raw sewage, and garbage. In 1978 the Greenpoint oil spill dumped 3 times the volume of the Exxon Valdez spill into the creek, the largest documented oil spill in American history. Newspaper articles dating back to the early 2000s address the immediate need for the removal of the boaters residing in Newtown Creek to ensure that the cleanup can commence yet here we are at the tail end of 2021 and Newtown Creek remains as polluted as ever.
Newtown Creek is not a marina, there is no running water, electric or docks, boats are tethered to seawalls. Most of the inhabitants of Newtown Creek prefer to remain anonymous, they are self -sufficient and operate with the full understanding that they are living there on borrowed time. Antonio, an Italian immigrant who currently resides in Newtown Creek as a way of avoiding mooring costs he can not afford and to facilitate his need to live a life unnoticed. Aaron who had his boat commandeered by other members of the Newtown Creek community. Boaters have floated and moved sunken discarded boats tying them together to create a home. These men provide unique observations about life in this heavily polluted environment and the ticking clock of the EPA in their attempt to remove them and commence the necessary task of cleaning Newtown Creek.
See more of the this artist's work: lyladowhie.com
