July-Aug 2012 News & Events
DNAinfo: Kayak Tours Put New Yorkers on the East River
“With the United Nations on one side, Long Island City high-rises on the other and Lower Manhattan’s bridges directly ahead, there is no vista quite like the one of the skyline from the East River at sunset. But this view of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges isn’t from the deck of a Circle Line cruise. Instead, it can be seen from a kayak gliding down the waterway.
Throughout summer and until the middle of October, kayakers, from the experienced to novices, can enjoy those views during free paddling trips organized by the Long Island City Community Boathouse. The boathouse is among more than a dozen similar groups in the city, including the North Brooklyn Boathouse in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, the Sebago Canoe Club which takes participants to Jamaica Bay, the Gowanus Dredgers which runs programs on the shorelines of Gowanus Canal, Red Hook and DUMBO, and the Downtown Boathouse with three locations in Manhattan.”
DNAinfo – Kayak Tours Put New Yorkers on the East River (July 6, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged DNAinfo, Press on July 6, 2012 by admin.
Monthly Meeting: July 3rd
Reminder: Our monthly public meeting is scheduled for:
Tuesday, July 3rd at 6:30 pm
Broadway Stages Boatyard (49 Ash St)
Following the success of our solstice party we will be getting down to business to discuss plans for the rest of summer, including City of Water day, updates on training/certification, planning for public events, and much more. Great chance to see the boatyard and chat with fellow club members and interested neighbors.
This entry was posted in News on July 1, 2012 by admin.
Brooklyn Based: Greenpoint’s Boathouse on Troubled Waters
“Community advocates want to reclaim Newtown Creek by constructing a boathouse in the ground floor of the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC). The project would also include a repaired bulkhead and an esplanade along the waterfront. For boaters and the kayak-curious, it will mean storage space for non-motorized watercrafts and a training center for recreational boating. For all other visitors, it will provide a place to enjoy the waterfront, as the development would create a public gathering spot that is more of a park than a club.
If all goes according to plan, Greenpoint will have this new waterfront park by 2014.
The larger goal, according to the North Brooklyn Boat Club’s proposal, is to expand public open space, assist in the GMDC’s mission to retain and create new local jobs and create an educational facility for studying the creek and the surrounding area. It would also develop the northernmost piece of a waterfront public esplanade, which would eventually go from Manhattan Avenue Street End Park all the way down to South Williamsburg.”
Brooklyn Based – Greenpoint’s Boathouse on Troubled Waters (June 26, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged Brooklyn Based, Press on June 26, 2012 by admin.
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn: Summer Solstice with the North Brooklyn Boat Club
Celebrate the Summer Solstice at the North Brooklyn Boat Club, a group which advocates human-powered boating on/and environmental restoration of the waterways around Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They are a volunteer-run community organization. Anyone with an interest in boating, open space, environmental education, and nautical recreation is invited to join. … Sometimes North Brooklyn seems so far away from Park Slope. But damn, they do cool stuff over there.”
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn: Summer Solstice with the North Brooklyn Boat Club (June 16, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Press on June 16, 2012 by admin.
DNAinfo: North Brooklyn Boat Club Adds Floating Dock for Easier Water Access
“The paddles are poised for boaters to glide more easily onto Newtown Creek with the North Brooklyn Boat Club.
The club launched a floating dock this weekend in its interim space on Ash Street by the Pulaski Bridge, so the group’s 20 kayaks, canoes and rowboats can more swiftly slide onto the waves. … Anyone can join the group — which typically has three weekly rides on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — by signing up online and paying $30 to the club and $30 to the American Canoe Association, he said. The 70-person club, which is working to expand membership, began its rides from the Ash Street slice of land earlier this summer. The group keeps updated ride times on its website (from two-hour trips to 14-mile journeys) and will likely continue boating into October, Rasmussen said.”
DNAinfo – North Brooklyn Boat Club Adds Floating Dock for Easier Water Access (July 24, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged DNAinfo, Press on July 24, 2012 by admin.
Open Canoe Paddles!
UPDATE (8.12):
Many thanks to everyone that came out to paddle and assist with the first open canoe trips for the club. They were largely successful, blessed with calm weather and received great review (greenpoint gazette, greenpointers, grantheppes.com). See more photos from the trips to Bushwick Inlet and down Newtown Creek and stay posted for forthcoming open trips!
August 4th (Saturday) Canoe Trip to Bushwick Inlet
A chance to practice some basic canoeing skills and strokes and explore this beautiful yet waterlocked habitat. This is a short paddle with time to eat a small meal and catch the sunset.
5:30 pm to 8:45 pm – Registration Now Closed
August 11th (Saturday) – Canoe trip into Newtown Creek
A trip through the infamous Newtown Creek. A longer paddle for people that are comfortable in boats and risk of exposure to foul air and water. An absolutely unique geography and history to explore.
4:30 pm to 7:30 pm Registration Now Closed
Further info:
Applicants must be 18+ years of age and able to swim. There is a $5 insurance fee for each paddler and event. Unless otherwise noted, all paddles leave depart from and return to our boatyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (49 Ash Street). All boating equipment is provided by the North Brooklyn Boat Club, please bring appropriate clothing as paddlers may get wet. We will finalize the list of participants 36 hours before the paddle using a lottery system. Thank you for applying – we will be in touch soon!
*All trips are subject to change depending on weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances.
This entry was posted in News on July 27, 2012 by admin.
Greenpointers: Canoeing: The Creek to Bushwick Inlet
“Gliding down the Newtown Creek gives one a much different perspective of that waterway. While it certainly didn’t feel clean – the water itself has a murky, oily quality to it that I find unsettling, particularly at night – the calming effect of being on it changed my experience of the day dramatically. The stiff breeze on the river itself made for slow going, but this died off the moment we turned into Bushwick Inlet. Gliding in, crumbling industrial infrastructure provided the backdrop for a calm embayment that fostered schools of small silver fish jumping from the water and wading shorebirds. We hopped out for a snack and to skip stones as the sun went down behind Manhattan. After turning on the boat lights, we paddled back out into the river to find that the wind was now at our backs, leaving us to simply steer back into the creek, where a cheery fire and a drink awaited us at the boathouse.”
Greenpointers – Canoeing: The Creek to Bushwick Inlet
This entry was posted in Press and tagged Greenpointers, Press on August 8, 2012 by admin.
Best Places to Go Boating on New York’s Waterways
“Getting people on the water is not just about recreation — it is about connecting our own lives to this historically active, and often mistreated, estuary that surrounds us,” said Will Elkins, a volunteer for the city’s newest group, the North Brooklyn Boat Club, which will be leading canoe trips in August even though its boathouse has yet to be built.”
DNAinfo: Best Places to Go Boating on New York’s Waterways (August 3, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged DNAinfo, Press on August 3, 2012 by admin.
NY1: Brooklyn Boat Club Has High Hopes For Creek’s Future
“”The North Brooklyn Boat Club got started with the sole purpose really of getting us on the water and figuring out how to take care of these waterways,” said Dewey Thompson of the North Brooklyn Boat Club.
The creek is one of the country’s most polluted industrial sites after decades of dumping, oil spills, and sewage overflows. It is a federal Superfund site targeted for cleanup by the Environmental Protection Agency. So while club members spend a lot of time paddling, they are also trying to raise awareness about the conditions in the creek.
“Advocacy is a big part of the club in terms of our educational mission, but also in terms of advocating for water access and water cleanup,” said Jens Rasmussen of the North Brooklyn Boat Club.
The club constantly tests the water and while it is much cleaner closer to the East River, you would still want to hose yourself off if you fell in and try and avoid getting any water in your mouth or eyes. Despite the years of pollution, club members still relish the chance to be on the water.
“To be able to take a sunset paddle out to the river and see New York in a special way is really important to me,” said Dustin Brugmann, a North Brooklyn Boat Club member.
“It’s no different than someone taking a walk or riding their bicycle. Just another way of getting around the city and enjoy being in the environment,” said Justin La Mort, a North Brooklyn Boat Club member.
The hope is that more people getting out on the water means more folks taking an interest in its future.
“If we don’t use the water for recreation, we won’t care about the water, so we have to be a presence so that we can say, this is not good, you can’t dump stuff in the water,” said Fung Lim of the North Brooklyn Boat Club.”
NY1: Brooklyn Boat Club Has High Hopes For Creek’s Future (August 17, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged NY1, Press on August 17, 2012 by admin.
Greenpoint Gazette: Canoeists Explore North Brooklyn’s Waters
Photo by Megan Soyars/Greenpoint Gazette
“On Saturday, August 4th, a group of canoeists could be seen paddling peacefully down the East River at sunset. It was the North Brooklyn Boat Club (NBBC) on their first open canoe paddle of the season, offering local residents a rare chance to reconnect to their waterways.
“It should be an awesome trip to a very unique—and otherwise inaccessible—location on the North Brooklyn coast,” said NBBC committee member Will Elkins, who helped navigate the trip, along with fellow member Bleecker Wheeler.
The canoeists took off from the NBBC’s interim boathouse on 49 Ash Street for the three-hour excursion. After being skilled in safety basics, they paddled down North Brooklyn’s coastline to the Bushwick Inlet.”
“Participants of all experience levels enjoyed the paddle. For several, this was their first time in a canoe. “I’ve been kayaking before, but never canoeing, so I wanted to try this out,” said Wynne of Sunnyside, Queens. Wynne and others enjoyed learning several new paddle maneuvers thanks to Elkin’s adept instruction.
Many canoeists were glad to leave the hustle and bustle of city life far behind them on shore. “It’s wonderful out on the water, away from cars honking—all that noise,” explained Fung Lim, an NBBC member.
Once at the Inlet, the crew stopped for a brief dinner and watched the sun set along the city skyline, a magnificent view that can only be experienced from the water. They also listened as Elkins described the waterway’s storied history.”
Canoeists Explore North Brooklyn’s Waters – Greenpoint Gazette (August 9, 2012)
This entry was posted in Press and tagged Greenpoint Gazette, Press on August 9, 2012 by admin.