Viewing NYC Articles Categorized Under Environment

[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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[WATCH] Dead Horse Bay, Short Film Reveals the History of New York City's Buried Trash

2024-01-10T12:00:00-05:00

Local photographer, artist and musician Adel Souto recently created this great mini-documentary revealing the history of one of the most polluted areas in the City, Brooklyn's Dead Horse Bay and its eroding layers of buried vintage trash.

Using photographs, I have been documenting Brooklyn's Dead Horse Bay since 2011, but only recently decided to film the area, and put the footage together into a short documentary. I hope this video can help many understand what we are (often unwittingly) doing to our oceans, and even our own neighborhoods.

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[WATCH] The Billion Dollar Plan to Save New York City From Climate Change

2023-09-28T12:00:00-04:00

The race is on to save Manhattan from climate change.

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