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

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.