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Coney Island Creek

Coney Island Creek is a 1.8-mile-long (2.9 km)[1] tidal inlet in Brooklyn, New York City. It was created from a series of streams and inlets by land filling and digging activities starting in the mid-18th century which, by the 19th century, became a 3-mile-long (4.8 km) continual strait and a partial mudflat connecting Gravesend Bay and Sheepshead Bay, separating Coney Island from the mainland. The strait was closed off in the early 20th century due to further land development and later construction projects.[2] Today only the western half of Coney Island Creek exists.

Coney Island Creek
A New York City Subway train crossing the Coney Island Creek
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CityNew York City
BoroughBrooklyn
Physical characteristics
SourceShell Road (emerging from storm drain under the road)
MouthGravesend Bay
Length1.8 mi (2.9 km)

Course

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Shell Road terminus of Coney Island Creek

Coney Island Creek extends eastward 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from Gravesend Bay to Shell Road and separates the west end of Coney Island from the neighborhoods of Gravesend and Bath Beach. The west end of the creek is bordered by Coney Island Creek Park and Kaiser Park on the south side, and Calvert Vaux Park on the north side.[3] The creek is crossed by the Cropsey Avenue and Stillwell Avenue bridges as well as two parallel rail trestles carrying the West End and Sea Beach subway lines (respectively served by the D train and N train). The eastern end is bordered by the Shore Parkway on the north side and Neptune Avenue on the south side. The eastern portion of Coney Island Creek runs along private industrial property and several acres formerly owned by Keyspan, the local electricity provider. The creek terminates at Shell Road where a storm sewer emerges from under the road (designated stormwater outfall CI-641 in city plans).[4]

History

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Extensions and infilling

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At the time of European settlement the land that makes up the present day Coney Island was several barrier islands with interconnecting waterways that were all constantly changing shape. The waterway that became Coney Island Creek did not originally extend across the back side of the island since part of the land on the west end was a peninsula called Coney Hook. Hubbard's Creek, which ran down the eastern side of the peninsula, connected directly with the ocean. In 1750 a 0.25-mile-long canal (called the "Jamaica Ditch") was dug through the Coney Hook salt-marsh from a creek connecting to Gravesend Bay east to Hubbard's creek.[5][6] This new waterway, allowing shipping traffic to travel from Jamaica Bay to New York Harbor without having to venture out into the ocean, connected Gravesend Bay and Sheepshead Bay together.[7][8] The waterway behind the islands was called Gravesend Creek in the early 19th century since it cut below the town of Gravesend (later the name was used interchangeably with "Coney Island Creek").[9][10] Eventually Hubbard's and the other creeks and inlets that separated the islands were filled by a combination of natural process and land development, leaving just a single island that came to be called Coney Island and a single creek behind it that came to be called Coney Island Creek.

 
1879 map of Coney Island with Coney Island Creek running across the top of the island (planned canal and expansion of the urban grid can be seen overlaid in the map)

Coney Island Creek was still a minimally navigable waterway over its 3-mile length through the turn of the 20th century.[11] By the early part of the century, industries started to develop around the creek. This resulted in it becoming polluted with substances including arsenic, cyanide, and benzene. The largest polluters included the Brooklyn Yarn Dye Company and the Brooklyn Union Gas Company.[12]

In a period from the late 19th century through the early 20th century there were plans to turn the creek into the Gravesend Ship Canal.[13] It would re-dredge the creek into a canal running in a straight east–west line and fill all the marsh land on either side of the creek to expand the urban grid to the edge of the canal.[11] The plan was eventually abandoned and by 1924 local land owners had filled a portion of the creek.[14] A major section of the creek was further filled in to allow construction of the Belt Parkway in the 1930s. More fill was added in 1962 with the construction of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.[15] This turned Coney Island Creek into an inlet with the western and eastern ends of the island becoming peninsulas. None of the creek remains at the eastern end. That terminus, Sheepshead Bay, has been dredged and, for the most part, enclosed in bulkheads. The path of the landfill of what used to be the creek follows Shore Parkway, Guider Avenue, and the triangular block between Neptune Avenue and Cass Place to a bulkhead at Sheepshead Bay.

Current status

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Burnt, sunken barges in Gravesend Bay mouth of the creek

A northwestern part of the creek is known as a "ship graveyard" for the dead and abandoned ships found there.[15][16] At the southern shore of the creek, the remains of a 45 feet (14 m) yellow submarine, the Quester I, protrudes from the water. Built from salvaged metal in the late 1960s, it was never able to maintain an even keel and was abandoned.[17] The creek is also used for performing baptisms.[12][18]

In 2016, the New York City government found that a nearby apartment complex, Beach Haven Apartments, was dumping 200,000 U.S. gallons (760,000 L; 170,000 imp gal) of sewage each day into Coney Island Creek.[18][19] The complex was fined $400,000 two years later.[20] By late 2016, local residents were advocating the designation of the creek as a Superfund site, which would provide funding to clean the hazardous materials from the creek. Community members testified that auto shops on nearby Neptune Avenue were still dumping cars into the creek.[21][22] The creek was expected to undergo some minor cleanup between 2018 and 2020.[23] By late 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was considering designating the creek as a Superfund site. [24] In a site inspection, the EPA found toxic levels of cyanide, iron, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the sediment and surface water samples of the Coney Island Creek.[25] However, the EPA has not yet called for an official cleanup of the creek or designated it as a Superfund site despite the community still using the creek for recreational purposes.[25]

In 2018, the Coney Island History Project opened an exhibition about the history of the Coney Island creek titled: "Coney Island Creek and the Natural World."[26]

In 2020, the city planned to build a NYC Ferry dock along the creek off Kaiser Park.[27] The ferry dock would be the terminal of a new route to Pier 11/Wall Street; the route, announced in 2019, was to have begun operations in 2021.[28][29] Local activists rallied against the dock plan, arguing it would disrupt the ecosystems of the creek.[30] There were also concerns that the addition of ferry service would worsen pollution in the creek.[31][32] The implementation of the Coney Island ferry route was delayed and, in mid-2022, the EDC announced that the ferry route had been postponed indefinitely. One problem was that the sand in the Coney Island Creek shifted frequently, hampering efforts to construct a ferry pier there.[33][34] Another issue was that the creek itself was heavily polluted, and a Superfund cleanup project was being planned for the creek.[33][35] Independent news site Hell Gate subsequently reported that test boats had repeatedly run aground in Coney Island Creek and that sand had returned to the creek after it was partially dredged in 2021.[36][37]

Biodiversity and conservation

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Urban wildlife

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The Coney Island Creek, though within the highly developed area of Brooklyn, provides a very important habitat for various species, mainly birds, fish, and invertebrates. These tidal estuaries offer a peculiar combination of salt and fresh water that enables the tidal estuary to support various species.[38] Similar urban watercourses are usually crucial places during the migration of birds, feeding and breeding grounds for various fish species, and shelter for small mammals and invertebrates.

Bird species

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As many as 244 bird species have been recorded at Coney Island Creek.[38] Some of the species found at the creek are Horned larks, Snow buntings, and American oystercatchers. All of which make up a fraction of the diverse bird species found in the area. The sights of these varying species of birds rely on migratory patterns that are influenced by changing environments, altered magnetic fields and necessity for breeding and food resources.[39]

References

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  1. ^ Coney Island Creek Resiliency Study, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) – 2016.07.08, pages 14–15
  2. ^ Kadinsky, Sergey (2016). Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs. New York, NY: Countryman Press. pp. 200–203. ISBN 978-1-58157-566-8.
  3. ^ Kensinger, Nathan (November 20, 2014). "Coney Island's Untamed Creek, Caught Between Past & Future". Curbed NY. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "Coney Island Creek Combined Sewer Overflow, Long Term Control Plan – NYC Environmental Protection, November 4, 2015, Page 15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  5. ^ 1884 history calls this other creek "Brown's Creek" and period maps show a mill pond in this area and call it "Mill Creek"
  6. ^ City in Environment – Evolution Coney Island
  7. ^ William H. Stillwell, A History of the Town of Gravesend, N.Y., 1884, page 34
  8. ^ Coney Island History Project, Collection – Jamaica Ditch
  9. ^ New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Coney Island Creek Park
  10. ^ Cover G. Tremlett, In the Matter of the Application of the City of Brooklyn to Acquire the Property and Franchises of the Long Island Water Supply Company: Before ... Commissioners of Appraisal. Proceedings and Report of the Commissioners, 1893, page 273
  11. ^ a b Sergey Kadinsky, Hidden Waters blog Companion blog for the book "Hidden Waters of NYC" Canal Avenue, Brooklyn
  12. ^ a b Spivack, Caroline (January 4, 2021). "A Coney Island Baptism Spot Might Be Declared a Superfund Site". Curbed. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  13. ^ NYC Parks Dept Coney Island Creek Park
  14. ^ Hidden Waters blog, Companion blog for the book "Hidden Waters of NYC" – Photo of the Week March 4, 2016
  15. ^ a b Lamb, Jonah Owen (August 6, 2006). "The Ghost Ships of Coney Island Creek". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  16. ^ Viguet, Meridith (September 16, 2013). "The Abandoned Boats of Coney Island Creek". Untapped New York. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Moynihan, Colin (November 9, 2007). "In Coney Island Creek, Hulk of a Yellow Submarine Sticks Out". The New York Times. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  18. ^ a b Whitford, Emma (October 4, 2016). "Brooklyn Apartment Complex Allegedly Dumped 200K Gallons Of Sewage Daily In Coney Island Creek". Gothamist. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  19. ^ Spivack, Caroline (October 4, 2016). "Apartments Dumped 200,000 Gallons of Sewage per Day into Coney Island Creek • Brooklyn Paper". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Zagare, Liena (January 23, 2018). "Beach Haven Apartments Fined $400,000 For Dumping Raw Sewage Into Coney Island Creek". Bklyner. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  21. ^ Walker, Ameena (December 13, 2016). "Coney Island Creek Should Be a Superfund Site, Locals Say". Curbed NY. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  22. ^ Spivack, Caroline (December 9, 2016). "Locals Want Albany to Deem Coney Creek a 'State Superfund' • Brooklyn Paper". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  23. ^ McShane, Julianne (December 7, 2018). "Liquid gold: State hands out thousands to four groups for projects to clean up Coney Island Creek". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  24. ^ Adams, Rose (December 10, 2020). "Coney Island Creek Inches Closer to Superfund Designation". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "CONEY ISLAND CREEK Site Profile". cumulis.epa.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  26. ^ McShane, Julianne (June 26, 2018). "Troubled Waters: Exhibit Looks at History of the Coney Island Creek • Brooklyn Paper". www.brooklynpaper.com. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  27. ^ McShane, Julianne (February 8, 2019). "Ferry uneasy: City named Coney Creek as site for nabe's new ferry before solving critical logistical, environmental issues, locals say". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  28. ^ Barone, Vincent (January 10, 2019). "NYC Ferry Is Adding 2 New Routes". am New York. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  29. ^ Plitt, Amy (January 10, 2019). "NYC Ferry Will Launch Service to Staten Island, Coney Island". Curbed NY. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  30. ^ Katinas, Paula (July 30, 2019). "Fishing, Not Ferries: Coney Islanders Outraged by Kaiser Park Ferry Plan". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  31. ^ Adams, Rose (August 3, 2020). "Coney Island Ferry Slated for Polluted Creek Raises Alarms". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  32. ^ Michel, Clifford (February 11, 2020). "Coney Island NYC Ferry Site Could Dredge Up Toxins". THE CITY. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  33. ^ a b Honan, Katie (May 27, 2022). "City Pauses Planned Coney Island NYC Ferry Stop for Deeper Analysis". The City. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  34. ^ Spivack, Caroline (June 1, 2022). "City halts plans for Coney Island Creek ferry". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  35. ^ Parks, Jessica (June 2, 2022). "Coney Island Creek Ferry Project on Pause While EDC Conducts Further Study on Viability". Brownstoner. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  36. ^ Ramsay, James (November 14, 2022). "Early Addition: NYC kept running boats aground in a futile attempt to put a ferry terminal in Coney Island Creek". Gothamist. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  37. ^ McPherson, Coco (November 12, 2022). "Nature Has Its Way: Sand and Money Halt the Coney Island Ferry". Hell Gate. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  38. ^ a b "Protecting NYC's Coastal Wetlands and Beaches". NYC Bird Alliance. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  39. ^ "Spring and Fall Migration in New York City : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
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40°34′45″N 73°59′20″W / 40.57917°N 73.98889°W / 40.57917; -73.98889

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