Tag Archives: urban environmentalism

Newtown Creek Kelp Cruises

An image advertising the Kelp Cruises. Dates are listed: Tue., May 2, Sun. May 7, Sat., May 13, Sat. May 20,
NBCB is proud to join with Seaweed City to bring members of the community out to see the kelp they are farming in Newtown Creek!

We will take out our two big canoes and take a meandering paddle to visit the kelp sites.

Seaweed City has been farming kelp here in New York City for two years and are excited to share it with you! Guided by expert trip leaders from the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse and as part of NBCB’s commitment to enabling community access to the waters of NYC, we will depart in two gorgeous 29′ canoes to explore Newtown Creek and experience the kelp restoration sites.

No paddling experience necessary!

There will be a short ladder to climb down to the canoes. Life jackets will be provided and must be worn by all paddlers. Wear comfortable, old NON-COTTON clothes and shoes/sneakers. No flip-flops. Bring a windbreaker or fleece, depending on the weather. Wear sunscreen. Sunglasses/sun hats are recommended. All attendees must fill out a waiver.

Here’s a link to a recent article about the project in TheCity.nyc: article.

All Kelp Cruises leave from Manhattan Avenue Park. There are four chances to participate:

  • Tue., May 2, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
  • Sun. May 7, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
  • Sat., May 13, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT
  • Sat. May 20, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Free tickets are available on this Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/newtown-creek-kelp-cruise-tickets-624915518137

NBBC on Jimmy Kimmel Live: A Tour of Newtown Creek with Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Murray

We took Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Murray on a canoe tour of Newtown Creek and told them — and audiences all over the world — about the joys and challenges of our home waters.

Check out the video here, and come join us in spring 2020 for another season on the waters of New York City, waters that belong to all of us. We can’t wait to see you for another year of

COMMUNITY • ADVOCACY • ADVENTURE • PADDLING


(Hate Youtube and Google? In the United States you can watch directly on ABC’s site right here.)

Love those boats? So do we! They were purchased with GCEF grant funds and form the keystone of our public and educational programming. Check out the story of the Clipper Langley Canoes here.

And to see more of the Langleys in action on the creek, check out this article about our attendance at the Tideland Institute‘s Lost Islands of New York concert on Newtown Creek, featuring the Wollesonics. It features some great pictures of our fleet.

Give the Gift of Belonging to NBBC

North Brooklyn Cheer Club

Memberships to the North Brooklyn Boat Club are the perfect way to tell the committed, caring, and adventurous people in your life that you get them! NBBC is a community-based, mission-driven organization dedicated to enabling and advocating for access to the waterways of New York City for city residents, especially in North Brooklyn and Long Island City. All of our events; member trips by canoe, kayak, and rowboat; and environmental-education activities are run by our member-volunteers and funded mainly by membership dues. So belonging gives more than access to a new way to see the city — it actively helps the club’s mission of access and stewardship for all New Yorkers.

And moreover, it’s super fun!

Monica & Heather's Holiday Snowy Paddle!! from Robert C. DiMaio on Vimeo.

The benefits of becoming a North Brooklyn Boat Club member are many:

  • More chances to paddle with trained NBBC trip leaders! (See our calendar and sign up for our newsletter)
  • Learning paddling, navigation, and safety skills to assist trip leaders and help get more people involved and on the water
  • The opportunity to complete our Official Paddler process, which permits use of club vessels and equipment outside of organized paddles
  • Access to our cabin at ACA Camp Lake Sebago on a beautiful lake in Harriman State Park. (NOTE: You must also join the ACA to use Camp Lake Sebago)
  • Attending the annual NBBC meeting
  • Involvement and investment in NBBC’s work to advocate and facilitate water access, human-powered boating, and environmental restoration of the waterways of North Brooklyn

The 2018 Membership dues are still just $40. That’s less than two weeks of a Metrocard because we want to include as many people as we can as NBBC members.

But how do you give such a wonderful gift?!

A very holiday URL

Just use our online membership form. Fill out as much information as you can on behalf of your giftees: name, address, DOB, contact number, especially. To heighten the holiday mystery of it all, you can use YOUR e-mail address so that your giftees won’t know a thing until you tell them. NBBC is also making a special holiday e-mail announcement to send to all new members who join between December 16 and January 1. And you can also print out a customized membership card and present that as an indication that you know the people in your life who are most committed to adventure, fun, advocacy, stewardship, and all the good things in life!

Life preservers


After all, the life we save may be our own!

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!