Brooklyn, NY — On Monday, November 9th Senator Julia Salazar and Senator Kristen Gonzalez announced $500,000 in funding to Newtown Creek Alliance, a community-based organization dedicated to restoring, revealing and revitalizing Newtown Creek. 

Willis Elkins, Executive Director of Newtown Creek Alliance said, "We are so thankful to Senator Gonzalez and Senator Salazar for this historic investment in Newtown Creek. While large-scale remediation will take years to complete, there is immediate opportunity to continue the transformation of the waterway from a burden to a resource for the surrounding communities. This funding will help support our ongoing environmental education programming, advocacy work, and community engagement initiatives on both sides of the Creek." 

Senator Kristen Gonzalez said, “The Newtown Creek Alliance has been essential to the environmental remediation and revitalization of communities surrounding Newtown Creek and the creek itself. I’m proud to present $500,000 in operational funding to Newtown Creek Alliance alongside Senator Salazar. Thank you to the staff, the board, and all the volunteers! This funding will go a long way in continuing the restoration of the waterway and the improvement of a neighborhood facing brownfield impact.” 

Senator Julia Salazar said, “I’m thrilled to present $500,000 in funding to Newtown Creek Alliance. I’ve represented a large part of Newtown Creek for the past eight years, and have long admired the vital work that NCA does. It’s thanks to the heroic efforts of Newtown Creek Alliance that our creek is visibly cleaner than it has ever been, with promising signs of wildlife. I hope this funding makes it easier for NCA to expand and continue their critical work.” 

Additional Info 

A Polluted Waterway: Up until the latter part of the 20th Century, industries along the creek had free reign over the disposal of unwanted byproducts – polluting the creek for decades on end. This included a 17 to 30 million gallon underground oil spill caused by Standard Oil’s progeny companies, copper contamination from the Phelps Dodge Superfund site, and creek beds coated with old tires, car frames, seats and loose paper. Nearly the entire creek had the sheen and smell of petroleum, with the bed and banks slicked black. 

Remediation, although halting has started: Since 2002, Newtown Creek Alliance has been actively fighting to help life return to the Creek by decreasing pollution and helping restore its ecological function.  Recently, life has returned to the Creek. You can find blue crabs at the mouth, fish swim in its waters, and waterfowl are prevalent. Wetland plants are taking over abandoned bulkheads and sediment piles.  

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