"A tributary of the Hudson River is poised, after years of delay, to see work on a pivotal tunnel that will reduce wastewater in the New York City waterway."
"Water has memory. I was told that once by Eymund Diegel, a co-founder of the Gowanus Community Advisory Group. The water that flows into New York City’s East River remembers that cigarette butt you flicked over the railing, the beer can you tossed after a bad first date and the Ultimate Frisbee that fell into its depths and sailed away.
This article, the last in a series that examines Brooklyn’s Superfund sites, will navigate the trials of Newtown Creek, but first I want to explain why I write about the environment and climate change and, particularly, pursued this “Hazardous” series.
I was born in San Marcos, Texas, during my mom’s final semester at Texas State University. She told me that her doctor turned off the air conditioning during my birth—in 100-and-something-degree weather—because he thought the cold would harm me. So, I entered this world nearly 35 years ago in extreme heat. It was a sign, I think. But now I’m getting ahead of myself.
When I was 17, I was a freshman at Texas State University. I already knew the campus like the back of my hand. I had attended a children’s writers’ camp there for years and in high school, with help from Kym Fox, a mentor at the university, I had joined meetings of the school newspaper."
Jordan Gass-Pooré reports for Inside Climate News August 21, 2025.
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