Viewing NYC Articles Categorized Under Environment

[VIDEO] Inside New York City's Forgotten Coast

2026-05-06T12:00:00-04:00

This video explores Edgemere, a working-class community on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, known for its vulnerability to coastal flooding from both Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. A decade after promises were made to fortify the area following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, residents express frustration over the lack of progress in flood mitigation efforts, contrasting it with significant investments in areas like Lower Manhattan's "Big U" project. Historically, urban planner Robert Moses envisioned the Rockaways as a place for the city's poor, leading to public housing projects and numerous empty lots today. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD) acknowledges the delays and challenges in implementing the "Resilient Edgemere" plan, particularly the dropped project to raise the shoreline along the bay. Despite these setbacks and the constant threat of flooding, residents like Jackie Rogers, who cultivates "The Garden by the Bay", and Baba Ndnanani, who survived Sandy by sleeping on his refrigerator, remain determined to stay, highlighting the deep community attachment and the socio-economic factors that prevent many from relocating.

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[WATCH] Can You Swim In NYC's Rivers?

2026-04-19T12:00:00-04:00

The video explores the long-held belief among New Yorkers that swimming in the East River is dangerous and unhealthy. The host, Jack Coyne, investigates the historical context of New York Harbor's pollution, detailing how, after colonization, overharvesting of oysters and the dumping of human waste and industrial refuse rendered the waters lifeless by the mid-1900s. While the Clean Water Act of the 1970s led to improvements, a significant sewage problem persists due to the city's combined sewer system, which overflows untreated sewage and stormwater into the harbor during heavy rain. Coyne joins the Billion Oyster Project, an organization working to restore a billion oysters to New York Harbor to naturally filter its waters, to conduct water quality tests, showing that the water can be clean on clear days but becomes unsafe after rainfall. He also meets with Urban Swim, which organizes safe open-water swimming events, demonstrating that with proper precautions and support, swimming in these waters is possible and is becoming a powerful form of environmental advocacy.

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[VIDEO] An Oyster Revolution is Happening in NYC

2026-03-25T12:00:00-04:00

New York City is undergoing a massive revival of its historic oyster industry, transforming from a culinary powerhouse in the 1800s into a modern hub for sustainable aquaculture and environmental restoration. While pollution and development once decimated the local oyster population, today dozens of farms across Long Island are utilizing innovative techniques—like specialized algae reactors and vertical integration—to bring these bivalves back to local plates. Simultaneously, nonprofits like the Billion Oyster Project are working to install billions of oysters in New York Harbor to filter the water, protect shorelines from erosion, and create vital habitats for marine life. While the oysters in the harbor aren't safe to eat due to water quality, this blue food transformation is booming, supported by significant state investment and a growing seafood market, marking a sustainable comeback for one of the city's original unsung heroes.

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[REPOST] [WATCH] How Oyster Beds Can Rebuild New York Harbor

2026-03-20T12:00:00-04:00

New York Harbor was a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity—until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster.

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[VIDEO] Can New York City Survive Massive Flooding?

2026-01-24T12:00:00-05:00

New York City is a coastal city, surrounded by water on all sides. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy overwhelmed the city with deadly flooding. Since then, the city has designed new ways to defend itself against rising seas and the next major storm.

With 520 miles of shoreline and no coastal protection, engineers and urban planners are tackling the problem with urgency and creativity. Can their visions and innovations make New York City a safe place to live for centuries to come?

As Climate Week NYC begins in September, The WNET Group brings you Forces of Nature, a special collection exploring issues affecting our natural world and sustainability with community leaders, experts, artists and viewers like you.

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[WATCH] Urban Kayaking | Exploring a Polluted Industrial River in NYC

2025-04-01T12:00:00-04:00

Join me as I paddle along a new area of the Hutchinson River that I've never been to before. I started this journey in Mount Vernon, NY, but made my way south into the Bronx and was surrounded by industry and pollution. I knew this river was toxic, but I was surprised to see just how bad it was and to see what appeared to be some active polluting while I was on the water. Despite the river's poor condition, I saw signs of wildlife everywhere and was still able to see the beauty of nature among the urban landscape.

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[REPOST] Discover New York City's Historic Role in Founding Earth Day

2024-12-22T12:00:00-05:00

In 1970, the Earth Day movement found its voice in New York City when Columbia University students organized and volunteered, responding to the environmental awareness of their day.

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[WATCH] How Oyster Beds Can Rebuild New York Harbor

2024-12-13T12:00:00-05:00

New York Harbor was a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity—until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster.

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[WATCH] Can a Billion Oysters Save New York City?

2024-05-02T12:00:00-04:00

When people picture New York City they see skyscrapers, subways, and a concrete jungle. But the Big Apple is really a seaside city built on an archipelago. In the wake of a century of industrial pollution and climate change-fueled superstorms like Hurricane Sandy, New York’s waterways need help. Learn how Billion Oyster Project is working to restore one of the world’s greatest lost ecosystems in order to clean up New York’s water and protect it from an uncertain climate future.

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[VIDEO] NYC’s Proposal to Extend Manhattan Island

2024-02-16T12:00:00-05:00

New York City is considering extending Manhattan island two and a half miles south into the New York Harbor with reclaimed land, forming a new neighborhood called New Mannahatta. Based on the Upper West Side, the new neighborhood would have 178 thousand housing units for 247 thousand people. It would have parks, bike and pedestrian paths and subway line extensions for routes 1 and G, helping integrate it with the rest of the city. It would also be elevated and surrounded with wetlands, helping protect against storm surges. While it would provide more housing supply, protect against climate change and generate massive real estate value, it would cost billions of dollars, take decades to complete and increase traffic in the city.

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