in the magazine

You Can Find Brooklyn’s Toxic Sludge

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Photo: Jeff Riedel


A little freaked out about the 10 million gallons of toxic sludge lurking under Brooklyn and seeping toward the surface? Afraid it might be oozing toward you? You’ll be thankful, then, for the efforts of Michael Heimbinder, a Fort Greene resident and member of the Newtown Creek Alliance. He’s created an interactive map of Greenpoint, the most affected neighborhood, on which you can learn all about the occasionally escaping sewage and pinpoint known polluted spots. “I wanted to take the opportunity that the Internet offers to create the connection between what’s happening in the city — air pollution, water pollution — and what’s happening in New Yorkers’ apartments,” Heimbinder explained. Now you can know all too well. —Rebecca Ruiz

Explore Newtown Creek [HabitatMap.org]
The Ooze [NYM]

You Can Find Brooklyn’s Toxic Sludge