What a Bridge It Was: Farewell to the Kosciuszko

After seventy-eight years of service, the Kosciuszko Bridge was dismantled and carried away by barge on July 26, 2017. A few NBBC members gathered to watch it go and bid farewell to Newtown Creek’s highest landmark.

Visit the NBBC Paddle Gallery to see some sights from the day as the Koscisuzko takes one last voyage.

*To the Bitter End, Newtown Creek, July 21, 2016*

This entry was posted on July 29, 2017 by M. H..

Bridges Made of Boats / Puentes hecho de barcos: Public Paddle with Make the Road New York

North Brooklyn Boat Club’s public paddles are free and open to everyone and are one of the most important things the club does. NBBC is a community organization dedicated to enabling and advocating for access to and preservation of the waters of New York City for the community of North Brooklyn. And it is on these days of public access that we are best able to share what we do with our neighbors.

This summer, we have been inviting other nonprofit North Brooklyn community organizations to join us and relax from the hard work of making the world a little bit better.

On June 10, it was our pride and pleasure to share the public paddle with Make the Road New York. Make the Road New York “builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services.” This is a mission that NBBC can fully support.

We think that seeing the world from the water renews our connection to it, renews the impetus to struggle to make the world better. We think that being on the waters of New York, in a boat powered only by the people in it, immerses us in the city’s history, in the ecology of our estuary, in the long struggle for dignity and peace around these waters, and in the power of our local community — immerses us even as we float upon it!

So we welcome our neighbors and our fellow community organizations to the boatyard to see the city the way we love to see it — from the water.

For a collection of images from the June 10 public paddle, please see our Paddle Gallery. And please consider supporting Make the Road New York with your time or money as they continue the struggle to set all New Yorkers free from injustice and discrimination, from poverty and want.

It was our great pleasure to invite Make the Road New York to paddle with us — you should join us, too, as we break tradition by building bridges on the water!

*NBBC’s new friends from Make the Road New York, June 10, 2017*

This entry was posted on June 13, 2017 by M. H..

Opening Day 2017! Sunday May 21!

This Sunday, May 21, 2 PM – 8 PM, we’re ditching the dry suits for a sunny and beautiful 2017 opening day!

So come down to the the Broadway Stages Boatyard and party like only NBBC can!

Join us to celebrate the opening of the 2017 paddling season with live music, grilled goodies, cheap drinks, and fire — and maybe even boating!

This entry was posted on May 16, 2017 by M. H..

Saving the Bay, Cleaning the Creek: Two Events at NBBC

Restoring Our Home Waters

The North Brooklyn Boat Club is dedicated to enabling and advocating for human-powered boating on the waterways bordering Greenpoint/Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Our mission is to enable local citizens to be effective stewards of the ecology and so preserve the recreation and freedom that the waterways engender.

And next week brings two opportunities to NBBC members to learn about — and help with — remediation efforts on the waterways of NYC.

Screening: Saving Jamaica Bay

Thursday, May 4
8:00 PM

NBBC is excited to present a screening of *Saving Jamaica Bay* in our boatyard on the shores of Newtown Creek.

Come and watch what we call the movie about nature in NYC. Critics we didn’t ask rave, “It’s a masterpiece,” ‘It’s a celebration of communities fighting for their waterways,” and “Hey, was that a heron and a Boeing 747 in the same scene?”

$5 suggested donation, soft drinks and beer available for purchase.

Following the screening we’ll have a Q&A with Dan Hendricks, producer of Saving Jamaica Bay.

No registration required. More details on the NBBC calendar.

Riversweep Volunteer Creek Clean-Up

Saturday, May 6
11:00 AM – 4 PM
NBBC Members Only
NBBC members are invited to join Riverkeeper for its sixth annual day of service for the Hudson River Estuary. We’ll be doing our part on Newtown Creek on Saturday, May 6, 2017.

At the 2016 Riverkeeper Sweep, more than 2,200 volunteers, and dozens of community partners worked along hundreds of miles of shoreline from Brooklyn to Troy to remove over 48 tons of debris and plant or maintain 836 trees and native grasses.

Register on the NBBC Calendar to come help out. This is an on-water event, so dress appropriately:

No cotton!
Wear layers!
Bring water! (Nondisposable bottle, of course)

Hope to see you at one or both of these events!

This entry was posted on April 25, 2017 by M. H..

NBBC Is Hiring: Environmental Education Coordinator

Job Description

The North Brooklyn Boat Club (NBBC) is seeking a part-time Environmental Education Coordinator to oversee educational programming throughout the summer and fall season of 2017. NBBC offers marine-based education to visiting school groups, community organizations and the general public through land-based activities at our headquarters in Greenpoint and on-water canoe tours. We are seeking a motivated self-starter to conduct outreach, handle administrative duties, maintain our educational space and run on-land programming. The Coordinator will report to the Board of Directors and also help coordinate our dedicated volunteers in running educational programming.

Responsibilities

Outreach to existing and new educational, community and corporate partners in scheduling and offering environmental education programming at the North Brooklyn Boat Club’s boatyard. Tasks include outreach and scheduling, coordination with volunteers and running marine based education programming using established NBBC lessons plans and activities.

Work Schedule & Compensation

15 hours per week, May 1 through October 31
Availability to work on weekends is a high priority; scheduling is flexible
Possibility of additional hours depending on funding availability
$20 per hour

Qualifications

Highly motivated and self-driven with ability to work well with others
A natural communicator with experience in community outreach and engagement
Experience working with groups of all ages in educational setting
Background in marine or earth sciences is a plus
Must be comfortable in small boats, willing to learn basic paddle skills. Canoe experience is a plus
Familiarity with Greenpoint/Williamsburg neighborhoods is a plus

Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to info@northbrooklynboatclub.org. Resume should include 2 or 3 references. Position will remain open until filled.

About NBBC

The North Brooklyn Boat Club is a 501c(3) non-profit organization located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. NBBC is dedicated to enabling and advocating for human-powered boating on the waterways bordering Greenpoint/Williamsburg Brooklyn. The organization enables local citizens to be effective stewards of the ecology and so preserve the recreation and freedom that the waterways engender. Since 2012, NBBC has safely taken thousands of people out onto local waterways and run environmental educational programming for dozens of schools and educational groups. More info on NBBC Environmental Education here.

This entry was posted on April 14, 2017 by M. H..

Tony Pignatello

NBBC mourns the passing of one of the legends of NYC paddling, Tony Pignatello, former Commodore of the Sebago Canoe Club.

“For all the river took away from us, it returned the greatest of gifts — a clean and unassailable purpose to existence. We lived to go another mile, to try to encounter it fully so memory would register it deeply, and to stay around long enough for the next mile and a reward of repose at the end of the day.”
–William Least Heat-Moon, River Horse

This entry was posted on April 12, 2017 by M. H..

April-July 2017 News & Events