Our Paddling Story

Our Mission

The North Brooklyn Community Boathouse is a community-based, 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to enabling safe, responsible, human-powered boating, and educating residents to be stewards of the history, ecology and sustainability of the waterways of Newtown Creek and the adjacent East River.

Our history begins in Brooklyn.

In the spring of 2010, a handful of would-be urban paddlers met at the Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club (RIP) to share the dream of getting boats on the water. The next year, through the divine intervention of Christine Holowacz, Tony Argento (Broadway Stages) offered the group access to a narrow sliver of land he owned in Greenpoint on the Newtown Creek, next to the Pulaski Bridge.

Quickly, the lot was cleared of dead trucks and debris and shipping containers were installed to store boats and gear. Soon thereafter, with some innovative design, a container was transformed into the “Ed Shed”, a workshop/classroom for Environmental Education. The organization got its 501c3 status and started launching paddling trips on the Newtown Creek and up and down the East River.

Early meeting at Rod & Gun Club

From the beginning, safety and environmental stewardship were the two top priorities for members, and an environmental education center, became the classroom and laboratory for workshops with students – from elementary schools to university graduate programs.

As the organization grew (with legendary fundraising parties in the open-air boatyard), its commitment to enabling access to the waterways took the form of regular free public paddles at which residents, including families, could experience canoeing and kayaking, often for the first time. Over the years, NBCB has put thousands of people on the water and offered hundreds of educational experiences to students and community members.

With funding from a grant from the New York State DEC through the Newtown Creek Environmental Fund and constructed by and on the same land owned by Broadway Stages, NBCB will soon own a multi-level community boathouse on the Newtown Creek and will be able to offer paddling, environmental education and nautical crafts programs year-round in a state-of-the-art facility.

NBCB membership is open to anyone 18 or over and offers paddling skills and safety training – no paddling experience necessary!

By Dewey Thompson, a Founding Member