American Airlines Flight 1, bound for Los Angeles, crashed shortly after take-off on March 1, 1962. Eighty-seven passengers and eight crew members were lost. Fifteen paintings by artist Arshile Gorky, en route to a California exhibition, also went down with the plane.
The water recycles our old beer bottles into something enduringly lovely.
This fort, built by Robert E. Lee, was once a Civil War Confederate Prison. Rebuilt after a catastrophic fire in 1868, the fort was ultimately destroyed in 1960 with the construction of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
Artist George Boorujy launched engraved bottles stuffed with his drawings of pelagic birds and a survey into the waterways of NYC, hoping to hear back from the folks that found them.
The beach bungalows on Cedar Grove Beach were beloved summer homes to Staten Island families for more than a century, until the Parks Department evicted the residents. Read more about them here.
Contributor Said Sayrafiezadeh and his wife, Karen, celebrated their marriage by tossing a bottle of mementos, including his therapist’s business card, into the river.
Since we can’t seem to shut off our inner writer, we see a metaphor here—new life blooming from the rot of something lost. Tell us what you see. Or rather (our inner workshop-writers correct) show us. Don’t tell.
In May 2009, a man drove his Volvo into the Gowanus. A firefighter dove into the canal after him and saved the driver. After swallowing water during the rescue, the firefighter received two Hepatitis B shots.
“I am a cage,” wrote Kafka, “in search of a bird.”
Near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the river reaches its deepest point (96 feet) as it flows toward the Atlantic Ocean.
These critters are like underwater termites, chomping at the wood that holds up those little ol’ structures we call bridges. We knew the Tappan Zee was a total hazard, but FDR Drive? One more reason to take the subway.
Was it swept off of an ill-fated bed?
We found this radio propped upright along the edge of the creek, wrapped in seaweed, just waiting for someone to hit Play.
On beaches near the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges lie the rusting remains of many cars, mostly from the '70s and '80s. We’re guessing this is what people did before Cash for Clunkers.
These fresh flowers couldn’t have been in the water for more than a day. Is it possible to tell their story without sentimentality or cliché? Try it—we dare you. See a photo here.
One day, our editors found a tangerine, a plantain, a sun-bleached jalapeño pepper, and a bunch of grapes on the beach. We haven’t had any recipe submissions yet, but maybe you have some ideas. See a photo here.
This boat once ferried millions of immigrants to Manhattan where the untold future unfolded. After decades underwater, the ferry was surfaced in December 2009. Imagine why the boat was abandoned to the water—and why was it recovered?
So red and cheerful–imagine the music this instrument could make!
For three days in April 2010, this baby fought for its life before being euthanized (three rounds of sedatives and three gunshots). Marine biologists didn’t know how it arrived there, but knew it wouldn’t survive on its own, even if freed.
A fireboat captain spotted dolphins near the Navy Yard just a day after a NY Harbor School educator saw a 7-footer in toxic Newtown Creek. The mammals are also regularly seen off the Rockaways.
