Band-aids are for cuts, not scars: Are Parks Along Newtown Creek a Pollution Solution, or Another Problem?
Newtown Creek is a high level polluted body of water that runs through Brooklyn and Queens New York. The communities that live along this creek are surrounded by industrial areas and pollution. Urban communities have a lot of expressive artwork throughout these boroughs that promote their thoughts and feelings towards their surrounding environment. This video is a collaboration of images over a period of time (19th century – present day) and is layered with a poem I have written which was inspired by these images and a Brooklyn spoken word artist by the name of Fenna Thomas.
Newtown creek
Once upon a time
You were as simple as black and white
Framers thrived off your land
Your waters were open for freight
Until a revolution happened
That put factories on top
These lands started to perish
And
the water went dark…
From oil spills to sewage and chemicals we cannot see
Your air became thick
Causing your trees to not breath…
People started to notice
Friends and family getting sick
An illness like asthma had also became a thing…
All the fish started to go missing and oysters blended with rocks
Items around the house
You started to find floating outside…
But…
it wasn’t until Exxon leaked all of its oil
That the creek became funded
And enough was enough
Forcing
Communities to form groups
Discovering centuries of pollution
That till this day can’t be helped…
But…
They tried cleaning up areas
Having to use mask and gloves
Because if they breathed in the air
they lungs could choke
And water was like acid
Something that shouldn’t be touched…
Developers made plans for green spaces
And
Some were nature walks…
But
nothing could get rid of the smell
Or the sewage
and trash the creek carried on to the streets…
We deserve better
As well as our planet
Don’t we?
But are these spaces solutions for our future
Or
Temporary fixes
Will we continue to use the super fund to fund materials that we are using?
Or will it actually go into the water and the people it abuses?
To helping all communities
And
Not just the ones developers funded…
And though schools are building curriculums focused around this pollution
What about business owners who became affected by zoning
And
What about housing for homeless
Or
Maybe even just affordable?
Because is what we fighting pollution
Or
A way for us to get noticed ?
KEYWORDS: Pollution, New York, Poetry, Art, Effects
