Have you been yet to the new Newtown Creek Nature Walk in Greenpoint?
My first impulse when I heard about it was to laugh.
I mean, if this is nature, I would hate to see a sewage treatment facility.
But interestingly, the sign posted at the gate that details all the activities NOT ALLOWED in the nature walk, says nothing about putting a boat into the water.
So early on Thursday morning, Birgit Rathsman and I decided to give the nature walk a chance.
“This is totally Euro.” said Birgit.
I have less experience with European architecture than Birgit, but from here I would have to agree. It certainly looks different than most of the other stuff on Newtown Creek.
The Newtown Creak was glassy, inviting, and as empty as ever.
The city reflected brightly in the morning sun.
We passed by the Schamonchi Ferry, a favorite stop of the Tide and Current Taxi.
After three three years in the Newtown Creek, the ferry doesn’t look much closer to the eventual goal of turning it into a party boat.
We paddled under the Pulaski Bridge.
And slipped quietly by the new park at the end of Manhattan Avenue.
We had been chased away from there an hour before, trying to put the boat in the water. That is typically my experience with waterfront parks. So the nature walk, although lacking any real ‘nature’, is a great development in Greenpoint.
It was time for breakfast on the Newtown Creek.
Now some people might find this gross.
The water here is as bad as it gets,
but we both agreed that a nice view on a sunny morning was just the way to start the day.
The Budweiser was RTG at the distribution plant.
We saw a great new mural on the Brooklyn side.
We decided to try to get back out of the water at the park on Manhattan Avenue,
and this time we made it past without a hitch.
(Birgit Rathsmann is an Artist living in Greenpoint.)
-Marie Lorenz
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