Greening the Industrial Shoreline of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint

In 2018, through a competitive process, the City Parks Foundation was awarded $53,777 in GCEF funding (and provided $15,130 in matching funds) to create a comprehensive planting plan for areas around Newtown Creek shorelines in Greenpoint, and then plant those areas with native plants, trees, and shrubs. For the project, volunteers from North Brooklyn Community Boathouse and Newtown Creek Alliance were trained to identify local species of trees and plants, and conduct surveys of the shoreline vegetation. Analysis of the resulting survey map helped formulate a planting plan, which was then used by volunteers to plant trees, shrubs and perennials in seven separate locations. These seven locations comprised a new green corridor and pollinator pathway in northern industrial Greenpoint. The corridor and pathway connect the Manhattan Avenue Street End (MASE) Park to the Newtown Creek Nature Walk and several other nearby green spaces. The corridor and pathway also connect to two other GCEF-funded projects, “Kingsland Wildflowers” rooftop and the “Under the K Bridge Park.”

The project also conducted public paddles on Newtown Creek to teach participants about the environmental history and ecology of the waterway.

Photo 1 by Sophia Wohl.

• Trained volunteers to conduct surveys of the shoreline vegetation and identify local species of trees and plants
• Contributed information from the shoreline surveys to the website: iNaturalist
• Created a site summary and planting plan, based on the survey, for 7 separate locations along the Newtown Creek shoreline and nearby street-ends
• Planted and maintained 70 trees, 160 shrubs, and 1,500 perennials in those 7 locations locations
• Engaged approximately 90 participants in 3 public paddles to learn about the environmental history and ecology of Newtown Creek
• Helped establish a green corridor linking the Newtown Creek Nature walk with other green spaces along Newtown Creek and the existing shoreline habitat

• Greening the Industrial Shoreline of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint Site: Summaries and Planting Plans