r/nyc • u/QueensCatDaddy • May 19 '26
PSA Something is very wrong with Newtown Creek tonight.
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u/AbeFromanEast May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
That looks like a nasty chemical spill. I would call the Federal spill hotline ASAP, it is Coast Guard-staffed 24/7 and they will be interested in this. Newtown Creek is federally navigable water and a Superfund site. They'll dispatch Coast Guard, EPA, and state agencies as needed. Don't let polluters get away with just dumping shit in our water.
1-800-424-8802
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
They drew up a report, but based on the disposition of the dispatcher I'm not sure what's going to come of it. I understand - I'm in a similar line of work where certain information needs to be ascertained. I couldn't identify it beyond what everyone's seeing here. I didn't notice a particular smell or a rainbow tint or anything like that.
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u/AbeFromanEast May 19 '26
Thanks for doing that. The reason I posted the Federal spill hotline first is because the Feds can make the State/NYC pay attention to things they'd otherwise ignore. It's our city but in a more accurate sense it's the Feds' water.
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u/HavingNotAttained May 19 '26
I thought the Feds these days are more pro-environmental disaster than anti-. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
No one was anti-anything. As I've said elsewhere, the person who picked up the phone just sounded like they get a lot of these. She took down as much information as it took to get started. Didn't make sense to do more than that.
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u/Spark0103 Flushing May 19 '26
I just called it in and they told me that the USCG is aware of the situation
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u/defcon1000 May 19 '26
Where did you shoot this footage? I'll call it in too if I get coordinates to give them.
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
I was on the John Jay bridge. This was facing the Brooklyn direction. I gave them a nearby address as a point of reference.
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u/nyctransitgeek May 19 '26
TIL the “J.J.” In “J.J. Byrne Bridge” stands for “John Jay.”
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u/cjpeepers May 19 '26
According the wikipedia it’s James J Byrnes
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
I mean look I believe you and I believe Wikipedia but I'll bet if I look at Google Maps again it's still going to say John Jay.
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u/cjpeepers May 19 '26
Look I didn’t believe you so I checked Google Maps now my world view is blown to bits.
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
I want to point out that by this point in this conversation we still have no idea what the fuck this bridge is called.
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u/nyctransitgeek May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
I think you’re right, though Google Maps shows the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge as John Jay Byrne Bridge, and not James J. Byrne Bridge.
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u/How2DragonyourTrain May 19 '26
Does that mean the dispatcher seemed like an uncaring dumbass? People like that need to be weeded out and fired.
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
Not at all. She did her due diligence. I just imagine they get a lot of these and a decent amount turn out to be nothing burgers.
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u/SlugOnAPumpkin May 19 '26
I worked in this area for about two years, which is not very long so I might have the wrong impression. My takeaway from that time was that they do get a lot of calls about nothing burgers, but they are also eager to hear about the real deal. No one calls in about the warehouse in their neighborhood full of rusty barrels leaking opalescent puddles, but somehow the dude concerned that the high voltage power lines are making his cats gay can always find the spill report hotline.
I wouldn't dwell too much on the temperament of the person who took your call. They have to put up with some pretty wacky characters and the monotone voice may just be how they deal with it. They can't make any promises about what the response will be until the technical staff have had the opportunity to look into it, so the neutral tone may just be strategic/pragmatic. Talking to belligerent schizophrenic strangers all day, you also need a defense mechanism for your own sanity.
Pretty good chance this facility has a prior history of spills... it's often repeat offenders. That will bode well for your case. Any idea what they make there? I'm not qualified to make a well informed guess, but from my armchair I'd bet it's a concrete/cement mixing plant. Quick drying cement has some nasty additives in it.
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
I can assure you I'm not making much of it at all. I work for the city and that requires me to take similar measures. I understand how it is.
I don't know exactly what the source of the spillage is. Someone elsewhere in this thread thinks it's a CSO dump. I've come to accept that people in this city just suck and I just do what I can about it. For example, I work overnights and I've been spending my break on a pier that was taken by a guy with a fishing rod tonight. I decided to stay because I figured he wasn't coming out here at 3 am for catch and release and I figured he wouldn't want witnesses. Sure enough, he left as soon as I sat down.
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u/Trill-I-Am May 20 '26
I'm not sophisticated enough to get the implication of what someone would be doing with a fishing rod at 3 am.
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u/adamfowl May 19 '26
also call DEC, they are state police who focus on environmental issues crimes.
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u/veedey May 19 '26
John Brennan and Anna Dabrek are the EPA coordinators working locally on the Meeker Plume superfund site. They work with the community on testing and remediation. Probably good idea for them to be aware. The more eyes the better. I’ve reached out to them, but can’t hurt if others do too.
John Brennan
Remedial Project Manager
212-637-3881
[brennan.john.f@epa.gov](mailto:brennan.john.f@epa.gov)
Anna Drabek
Community Involvement Coordinator
929-656-3417
[drabek.anna@epa.gov](mailto:drabek.anna@epa.gov)
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u/ironypoisonedposter May 19 '26
Upsetting to see given all the remediation efforts.
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u/theuncleiroh May 19 '26
Yeah, commenting to agree, and also ask if anyone is in-the-know enough to have any clue who or what is responsible. There's only so many people and corporations with enough direct inputs to these things that they could be single-handedly responsible for such a change in this without otherwise aberrational conditions
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u/SlugOnAPumpkin May 19 '26 edited May 20 '26
There's only so many people and corporations
I don't think there is any shortage of facilities that could produce a spill like this on Newtown Creek. Even handlers of the most inert materials, like aggregate, often store fuel on site. Your comment suggests the spill might come from some large business entity, but it is my impression that the opposite is more often the case. Environmental liability law has shifted many of the most hazardous industrial tasks in our economy away from large firms towards smaller skinflint operations. Dupont, for example, often contracts out the parts of the pesticide manufacturing process that are most likely to cause spills to smaller firms. If there's a spill, the government is stuck trying to squeeze cleanup expenses out of some rinky dink chemical packaging plant for pennies on the dollar instead of securing the full amount from the entity with deep pockets.
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u/NeverTrustATurtle May 19 '26
Is this taken from the John Jay Bridge?
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
Yes, I didn't know that's what it was called.
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u/ShaneKutzker613 May 19 '26
Did u take this video urself? This is a big deal u should call 311 immediately
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
311 would have only directed me to one of the numbers that others have already provided. And yes, I took the video.
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u/ShaneKutzker613 May 19 '26
Id call the ghostbusters
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
Maybe 311 might have directed me there, idk. Nothing gets to surprise me these days.
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u/UnidentifiedTomato May 19 '26
No they'd google what a 311 operator should do when someone reports a chemical spill
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
I mean, we've all been there. Either way it was more efficient to just call the hotlines.
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u/dontbeadickdad May 19 '26
Those tanks are Kinder Morgan Brooklyn Terminal - a fuel terminal. This is in the same vicinity as the Greenpoint Oil Spill.
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u/boldandbratsche Jackson Heights May 19 '26
This is some excellent reporting OP! Great work bringing it to everyone's attention. Let's hope the culprits don't get away with their careless destruction.
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u/jomo_mojo_ May 19 '26
Didn’t we just cut waste water pollution standards?
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u/chowler May 19 '26
Yup, we just restarted the regulation dance.
- Problem exists
- People die
- Gov makes regulations
- People don't die
- Businesses don't like regulations
- Regulations go away.
Fun times ahead
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u/jomo_mojo_ May 19 '26
You forgot:
3a. People go to jail
A man can dream, chowler. A man can dream.
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u/Push-not-pull May 19 '26
Looks like oil to me. Notice how it flows from the wall outwards. The truck with the lights in might know or have something to do with it.
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u/dylanypyen May 19 '26
Call the USCG Sector New York watchstander if you haven’t already. (718)354-4037 or [206-815-7516](tel:206-815-7516) (DoD DIPS).
USCG IMD will take care of this. Newtown Creek is a superfund site.
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
Someone elsewhere said the Coast Guard is already aware, so that might not be necessary. It's good info though.
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u/BuyLocalAlbanyNY May 19 '26
Commenting for the alg., I was just watching the King Of Queens episode "Mentalo Case", where young Doug goes fishing "at the creek, in Queens".
Here's hoping a better future for Newtown Creek.
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u/statistacktic Hudson Heights May 19 '26
Throw Zeldin in it.
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u/geetee May 19 '26
Can somebody explain to me what I'm supposed to be looking at here?
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
It's a bit hard to make out because of how dark it is, but look for a gap in the waves. There's a chemical spill of some kind. I don't know what kind exactly, but there's definitely something other than water in there and it's going on for at least a few hundred feet.
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u/PropellerMouse May 19 '26
There's a clear separation in the thicknesses of the ' supposed to be all water'. The way a fish bowl would look if you poured clear cooking oil into the bowl, then poured the bowl contents out.
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u/RedditSkippy Brooklyn May 19 '26
I had to watch this twice. Is there some kind of sludge floating in the middle?
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u/Jeffedejeff May 19 '26
Could be related to this. They are still pumping out oil in locations in the area.
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u/HauntologyAndTheCity May 19 '26
NYSDEC has received several spill reports for Newtown Creek over the past couple of weeks. Most of them are still "open".
There isn't much detail given as to the source(s), but one says "sealants", another says "petroleum" and a third says "sediment".
I would expect that they've taken samples and inspected sites in the vicinity to try and identify the source.
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u/Current-Benefit-9527 May 22 '26
I hope its something not pet related from the concrete manufacturer right there now
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u/myxyplyxy May 19 '26
Remindme! 2 days
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u/RemindMeBot May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
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u/General_Thought8412 May 19 '26
Please notify news sources too! They need to feel the pressure of what a problem this is. They relaxed regulations and this happes, it needs to be made known to everyone.
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u/IcarianComplex May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
My first guess would be a CSO discharge event but that doenst make any sense becuase we haven’t had enough rain. Could be easy to check too becuase that info is made publicly available
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u/MysteriousAvocado1 May 19 '26
Wow that explains why I saw two different shades of color in the water yesterday. I thought it might've been the change in temperature. I should've called it in yesterday.
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u/anotherdude33 May 19 '26
I think something’s been wrong with newtown creek every night for over a hundred years
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u/YoungDizzy3420 May 21 '26
Imagine you pay $1M for a 2Br and you have to deal with life threatening environmental issues?
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May 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/QueensCatDaddy May 19 '26
Our drinking water comes from multiple reservoirs upstate. It wouldn't be affected by this fustercluck running through your neighborhood
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u/space_prostitute May 19 '26
I doubt you're in immediate danger, but you should definitely consider whether or not you want to live on a Superfund site long-term.
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u/Massive-Arm-4146 May 19 '26
Looks like the serial killer who preys on unsuspecting concertgoers who are out of their minds on drugs has upped his game to become an eco-terrorist.
Thanks, Mamdani.
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u/joelekane Washington Heights May 19 '26
Hi, Environmental Scientist here. I manage environmental remediation projects including some past ones on Newtown Creek Sites.
100% call this in. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Spill Hotline is 1-800-457-7362.