Environmental panel. Photo by Dorothy Morehead of HarborLAB, Queens CB2, and Newtown Creek Alliance.
HarborLAB was honored to be invited by the Waterfront Alliance to be part of the environmental panel of the Western Queens Waterfront Symposium. The event was convened by Waterfront Alliance, Green Shores NYC, and host Greater Astoria Historical Society. HarborLAB has made significant contributions to greening our shore with plantings and cleanups, advocacy for plant tissue testing on the Newtown Creek, and gained media notice for its pivotal role in improving water quality in Hallets Cove.
HarborLAB Executive Director Erik Baard (pictured in the orange HarborLAB shirt above) drew attention to the needs for cleanups (perhaps Environmental Protection Agency superfunds) of smaller inlets like Anable Basin, behind the famed Pepsi sign on the LIC waterfront. He also asserted that with cleaner next generation marine engines the Newtown Creek could see concurrent ecological and economic revivals. He emphasized that environmental services (the ways species and features sustain and protect us) must be fully valued in our economic planning.