Whenever there is a full moon in New York City, I think about Oyster Island.
You can see it on old maps of the harbor, now little more than a sand bar, only visible a few times a year when the tide is very low.
There aren’t many people who even know about Oyster Island anymore, but two of them are Raphael Lyon and Lara Hidalgo, who picked me up in Greenpoint to make the trip.
Oyster Island is in the upper New York Harbor just south of the Statue of Liberty.
This whole area was once covered in oysters, and I think the island was probably made mostly of their shells, that might be why it used to be above water at mid-tide.
When the Oysters died, the island all but disapeared.
We had timed the day to arrive when the island would be at its largest, during an exceptionally low tide caused by the super-moon, when the moon is closest to the earth, and its gravity is pulling all the water away.
It was such a beautiful day and so unique to be on our very own stretch of beach, we almost forgot the main factor of the island, that as soon as it emerges, it starts to disappear.
Suddenly, Lara noticed that the sound all around us had begun to change. We could hear the waves on either side and the boat knocking against its anchor.
This is a sped up version of our hour long picnic.
We drove home along the Brooklyn coast
and admired the giants.
That night we saw friends and told them all about what we had seen,
there were a few friends who heard about it and wanted to go back.
Rob Buchanan, Hana Isihara, and Reena Sheth were able to commandeer the Billion Oyster boat. Jeff Williams, Robert Sullivan, and I stowed away for the ride.
We drew,
measured,
gathered facts and speculations,
and compared our findings with the charts.
We enjoyed the view and just being out.
This was the first time I had seen some of these friends since the pandemic,
and it seemed appropriate to meet in such a special place.
Again, we almost forgot about the main factor of the island, its diminishing size.
“I thought the island only came out once a year,†said, Raphael’s brother on Instagram.
“Well this year it came out twice,†I said, “and I went there both times.â€
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