Newtown Creek Alliance

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Newtown Creek Alliance

NCA is a community-based organization working to restore, reveal, and revitalize Newtown Creek.

06/15/2026

NCA is excited to welcome our 2026 TIDALS Research Fellows: Ramisa, Saanvi, Pawel, Jonah, and Rachel! 🌊🛥️🌿

For 10 weeks this summer, this cohort will be studying shoreline habitats in Newtown Creek, helping our marine-focused restoration projects, and contributing to ongoing field work research. Their work will support our larger efforts for improved water quality and increased habitat restoration. Say hi to them around the Creek, and stay tuned for announcements for public programming in July and August. 📊

Thank you New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Environmental Justice for funding this program!

For more about our fellows and the program, visit the link in our bio 🔗

06/11/2026

🌼 SAVE THE DATE 🌼

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 the 10th Annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival returns! This free family-friendly event will include exciting activities and the chance to:

🪻 Explore our rooftop wildflower meadows
🎶 Experience art installations, performances, & live music
🐟 Learn about native wildlife & ecology of Newtown Creek
💚 Meet local community & environmental organizations
🌼 Buy native plants for your garden
🥗 Enjoy food & drinks with friends & family

Kingsland Wildflowers is a 25,000 sqft. native pollinator garden nestled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s industrial business zone. The project partners include: Marni Majorelle Broadway Stages Newtown Creek Alliance Noosphere Arts

RSVP at KWFestival2026.eventbrite.com or via link in bio 🔗

Interested in Volunteering? We would love your help! Register as a volunteer through Eventbrite, and we will send an email with more information.

Stay posted for the full schedule of events!

06/09/2026

Have you seen this bird? A common Creek dweller, the Black-crowned Night Heron, historically the most abundant wading bird in NY-NJ harbor, is vanishing fast. New research by scientists confirms that without action, these birds face local as soon as 2037.

The good news? We’re joining the fight to save this bird! As stewards of Newtown Creek, we’re asking you to:

✍️ sign the petition
🐦 follow
🔎 share your sightings + stories with the hashtag

Learn more at nycbirdalliance.org/nightheron or visit ’s page

Photos on Newtown Creek of juvenile BCNHs by Mitch Waxman.

05/20/2026

⚠️ On May 18, a video posted to Reddit titled “Something is very wrong with Newtown Creek tonight” attracted attention from concerned community members about potential contamination entering the waterway. The prominent legacy of pollution, chemical dumping, the Superfund status, and the Greenpoint Oil Spill, makes this a sensitive issue for surrounding communities and those concerned with the health of the Creek.

Thankfully, commenters and viewers were quick to contact NYSDEC and EPA, as well as local electeds, to respond to a potential oil/chemical spill. The original video was dark and hard to make out, making identification difficult; furthermore, responders who arrived on scene later were not able to identify signs of a large spill. Water and wind movement, as well as dispersal by marine traffic, can break up or dissipate large patches of pollution on surface waters and make source identification extremely difficult.

While the events of the video are inconclusive, Newtown Creek Alliance encourages community members to contact relevant state and federal agencies – NYSDEC and EPA – via the NYS Spill Hotline (800-457-7362) and National Response Center (800-424-8802) respectively with photographs and videos of potential oil or chemical spills.

Here are a few photos of other pollutants we’ve encountered on the Creek in recent years – rainbow sheens (oil pollution), legacy coal tar, algal blooms, sewage, concrete/sediment runoff, and surface contaminants ranging from floating plastic to chicken blood.

Have any questions about something you see on the Creek? Our DM’s are always open! 📥

05/13/2026

Join Newtown Creek Alliance, and artist Jan Mun at Plank Road to put art into practice through bioremediation!

Meet us at Plank Road on May 30 to participate in the making of a social sculpture — working with biochar and fungi to improve soil and reduce street water runoff into the Creek. Learn about the benefits of fungal mycrofiltration, how biochar offers housing to our invisible microorganism neighbors, and how to redirect waste materials to develop a new lifecycle that helps repair our environment! 🍄

Special thanks to and for their generous material support!

RSVP in bio 🔗

05/06/2026

Duckling rescue 2026! 🦆

Each year, mama mallard nests on the greenroofs at Kingsland Wildflowers requiring NCA's assistance after her eggs hatch. We are grateful to be able to support our native wildlife and to help introduce these 12 ducklings to the Creek! 💛

Special thanks to bird expert Gabriel Willow for guiding the rescue.

04/29/2026

Last week, NCA celebrated Earth Day by launching our mini marsh, "TINA."

Over the next 6 months, TINA will filter hundreds of thousands of gallons of Creek water, acting as a pilot project for nature-based solutions in combatting climate change.

Filmed & Edited by Elias Parise.

Want to meet TINA? We welcome visitors to check out the mini marsh at Kingsland Wildflowers Open Hours, every Friday from 5 to 8 p.m., now through the end of June.

This project is made possible thanks to our climate resilience partnership with Con Edison

04/15/2026

🌱 Greenhouse Gang is back! 🌱

Looking to get your hands dirty? Join us Tuesday, May 5 as we kick off the spring season on the greenroofs! 🌿

Volunteers and horticulture enthusiasts are invited to help us expand the Newtown Native Nursery, which is propagated from locally collected wild seed. Plants grown in our greenhouse are used to supplement our restoration projects around the Creek, maintain the rooftop meadows, and are available for purchase via the Newtown Native Nursery. This is an ideal opportunity for those looking to support natural habitats and our local ecology!

No experience required — sign up via the link in bio! 🔗

🌱 🧤 🪴

04/03/2026

Open Hours at returns Friday, April 24! 🌷

Join us on the green roofs to explore the scenic wildflower meadows during golden hour, learn about native plants and Newtown Creek, listen to live music, and watch the sunset over the NYC skyline. 🌇

- FREE and open to the public.
- Every Friday, April 24 - June 26, 2026, weather-permitting. ☀️
- 5 to 8 p.m.
- Live music & programming on select Fridays!

Hope to see you on the roofs! 🌿

RSVP in bio 🔗

04/02/2026

The 2026 TIDALS Summer Research Fellowship application is NOW OPEN! 🌱🐟

NCA is excited to announce the return of the TIDALS Fellowship program — our hands-on summer internship that explores the impacts of shoreline restoration in Newtown Creek through water quality testing, plant matter sampling, wildlife tracking, and more. Ideal candidates have an interest in or a relationship to the Creek and its surrounding neighborhoods and have not completed a bachelor’s degree. Fellows are expected to be able to commit to a Tuesday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. schedule from June 9 to August 14. Rolling applications close April 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (EST).

For more information and to apply, visit tinyurl.com/TIDALS26 or visit link in bio 🔗

Address

520 Kingsland Ave
Brooklyn, NY
11222

Website

http://www.newtowncreekalliance.org/, https://linktr.ee/newtowncreek

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