Today, St. Patrick's Day, I took a trip out to Greenpoint, Brooklyn to work on a project I'm working on for my documentary class. My job today was to take still photos while other crew took b-roll footage of the Newtown Creek for our eventual documentary. Why did we go to Newtown Creek? Well, it's the site of the worst underground oil spill in history. Between 17-30 million gallons of petroleum seeped into the riverbed over the course of 100 years and only in 1979 did clean up begin.
There are scores of differing reports as to whether or not residents of Greenpoint are subject to vapors coming from the spill. Results differ from department to department at the state and federal level. Residents have filed suit against major oil companies while some residents refuse to have their homes tested for vapors in fear that their property value would tank and Greenpoint would become gentrified.
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