Walking the Bluebelt... NYC's largest stormwater management system
About this Event
We invite you to come check out one of the largest and most public facing of the Bluebelts- New Creek, with an exclusive look behind locked gates, under manholes, and into the world renowned storm water management system.
Across 19 watersheds, the Bluebelt system covers nearly a third of the entire borough of Staten Island. A world renowned groundbreaking natural storm water management system that’s been active in some parts for over 30 years, the Bluebelt is probably the single most effective system to mitigate flooding in the entire region. But a lot of people don't know about it.
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10am Join us early from Manhattan, where we’ll jump on the Ferry together to Staten Island discussing the wider watershed and flood mitigation practices with Sangamithra Iyer is Chief of Bluebelts and Urban Stormwater Planning at NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and will have a chance to enter the usually closed trails of the upper part of the Creek, called Last Chance Pond with Robert Brauman, Deputy Chief of Bluebelt Operations and Maintenance for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
12pm Join us in Staten Island at noon at the public entrance to New Creek (across the street and just southwest of the staples parking lot). There we’ll be joined by members of the DEP to guide us through the scavenger hunt route with exclusive audio from the founding forces behind the system or a walking tour led by photojournalist Nathan Kensinger (Limited spots!)
12-2pm Both groups will travel through New Creek and down to Midland Beach, learning about the history of the place, the challenges ahead and where we’ll see where New Creek lets out into the wide Atlantic.
Along the way you'll be able to see the photo exhibit New Creek Old Creek by Nathan Kensinger. For the past 20 years, Nathan Kensinger has been exploring, photographing, and writing about New York’s historic waterways. For this site-specific exhibit, his photographs of the New Creek watershed are installed throughout the New Creek Bluebelt. These images consider changing landscapes along the creek’s tributaries.
Kensinger began photographing around New Creek in 2012, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which pushed a 14-foot storm surge up the old creeks, flooding streets and homes. After the storm, he documented the “managed retreat” in two neighborhoods nearby, Ocean Breeze and Graham Beach, where residents sold their homes to New York State, with the promise they would be replaced by a wetlands buffer, which led to his short film Managed Retreat in 2018.
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Made in partnership with Holes in the Wall Collective, Nathan Kensinger and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection.
This is part of Imagined Futures: This Must be the Place scavenger hunt, connecting you deeper to 7 waterways across the city.
More info at holesinthewallcollective/imaginedfutures
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Made possible with support from NYC Cultural Affairs and NYC Tourism Foundation.
Packing list! Bring your own lunch 🥪, headphones/earbuds 🎧 for the scavenger hunt/screening and your water bottle 💧 sunscreen, hat or umbrella, depending on weather. We’ll provide snacks and backup water.
Note! this event will involve over two hours of walking, some of which is on uneven ground. Please wear good walking shoes and wahtever you need to be comofortabel for the walk 🤸🏼♂️.
This event is rain 🌧️ or shine☀️, unless there are severe conditions.
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Who is this for? Anyone implementing, studying, interested in storm water management and flood prevention in adjacent urban spaces. Anyone interested in wetland restoration, engineering, native planting. Anyone interested in learning about the first urban "managed retreat" in New York post Hurricane Sandy. Anyone who loves being on a journey, being on the water, watching for birds, and nature walking in NYC. Anyone who can't say no to getting behind a locked fence or under the manhole.
Who is this not for? Anyone who is unable to walk for up to two hours (we will have rest stops). For those who would like to join us for just the end screening, email us at [email protected]
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 12.51
