Cleaning the Bronx River and Newtown Creek: Superfund Site Justice

Cleaning the Bronx River and Newtown Creek: Superfund Site Justice

Zhoran Mamdani points to the Bronx River and Newtown Creek—two of the most polluted waterways in America, both designated federal Superfund sites—as stark monuments to industrial racism and municipal neglect. His policy commits the city to become the lead actor, not a reluctant partner, in their full-scale ecological restoration. This goes beyond federal mandates, treating the cleanup not as a technical engineering problem, but as a project of environmental reparations for the adjacent, predominantly low-income communities of color that have suffered the health and economic consequences of this poisoning for over a century.

For the Bronx River, Mamdani’s plan accelerates sediment dredging of PCBs and heavy metals, funded by city bonds and lawsuits against responsible corporations. But his vision is holistic: the cleanup is the precondition for a “Bronx River Greenway and Blueway,” a continuous park and paddle trail along its entire length, reconnecting South Bronx neighborhoods to a revitalized natural asset. The city would acquire and remediate industrial parcels along the banks for new parks, community boathouses, and water-edge habitats. The policy also includes a “Zero Combined Sewer Overflow” goal for the watershed, investing in green infrastructure upstream to ensure the clean river isn’t repeatedly fouled by stormwater.

Newtown Creek, an industrial canal lined with petrochemical storage, presents a more complex challenge. Mamdani’s plan involves a “Creek-wide Sediment Capping” project, using innovative, clean materials to seal toxic layers on the bottom, coupled with aggressive source control on remaining industries. The most transformative element is the “Working Waterfront Transition” plan. The city uses its purchasing power and zoning to help existing maritime businesses transition to green activities (e.g., scrap metal to offshore wind support), while acquiring land for new public access points, oyster reef restoration beds, and a “Living Dock” education center that showcases remediation technology.

Community oversight is baked in. A “Waterway Restoration Council” for each site, with a majority of seats held by residents from adjacent public housing and community boards, has veto power over design and contracting. The cleanup projects are explicitly linked to local hiring through the Climate Jobs Corps. For Mamdani, the message is clear: these waterways were sacrificed for the city’s industrial growth; their restoration will be a engine for the community’s renewal. It is a literal healing of the land and water, acknowledging that environmental justice requires not just stopping ongoing harm, but actively repairing the profound harms of the past, turning symbols of toxicity into centers of ecological and community life.