From the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s, ferries traveled westward on Newtown Creek, bringing farmers’ goods to marketplaces in Manhattan. The creek’s freshwater teemed with fish and shellfish, and it mingled with the seawater of the East River estuary. Today Newtown Creek is an overlooked waterway, primarily known for its industrial pollution and as the boundary between Queens and Brooklyn.
Mitch Waxman has explored and photographed the architecture and landscape of the Newtown Creek area and serves as historian of the Newtown Creek Alliance. Waxman will share photographs of In the Shadows at Newtown Creek, his recently published book. He will describe the rich history, industrial use and environmental challenges in the area, at a lecture.
The event is FREE and open to the public. It is the first in the Society’s annual series of Fall lectures, which is supported by Amalgamated Bank, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s Public Purpose Fund and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos, with funding from the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.
DIRECTIONS: Take the Tram at 59th Street and Second Avenue or the F train to Roosevelt Island. Take the red bus (no charge) or walk eight minutes north to 524 Main Street.