New York City’s Lost Canals | Episode 264

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

While New York City sat at the nexus of many important canals built in the 19th century — the Erie, Morris, and Delaware & Raritan among them — the city had its own internal network of lesser-known canals, some filled in, some never built, and some still with us today. As part of our ongoing virtual program series on canals, we will examine the ambitious schemes from the 17th century onward to connect the city’s bays and streams, from the Heere Graft of New Amsterdam to the Wallabout Canal of Brooklyn.

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Calvert Vaux: Architect for the People | Episode 257

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Though often overlooked due to his association with Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux is an important figure in American architecture in his own right. A classically-trained architect, talented artist, and collaborator with landscape designer Andrew Jackson Downing, he had already done major projects before working with Olmsted on Central Park, and would continue to design parks and public buildings after their partnership dissolved. To mark Vaux’ 197th birthday, we will examine his 40-year career in New York City, his distinctive architectural style, and his legacy of designing buildings and landscapes for the public good, including museums, parks both large and small, and housing for the poor.

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Rockaway Ferry Virtual Tour | Episode 235

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

The fastest way to the beach is on the NYC Ferry, so join us for another virtual boat tour as we cruise the Lower New York Bay. We will pick up the ferry in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, then make our way under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, past Coney Island, and down to the Rockaways. Along the way, we will discuss the forts and islands that used to protect the harbor, the history of recreation along the city’s Atlantic seaboard, and the rich aquatic life of Jamaica Bay and the New York Bight. At the end of the tour, we’ll take a walk across the Rockaway Peninsula and virtually stroll along the beach.

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Coney Island Cats with Rev. Jen Miller | Episode 120

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

We are excited to welcome back artist, author and local legend Rev. Jen Miller. We last joined her for a behind-the-scenes look at her extensive collection of Troll Dolls, once the main feature of the now-shuttered Lower East Side Troll Museum. Jen will return for a discussion of her most recent project, a series of Coney Island cat paintings. Her new work evokes images of a bygone New York, as seen through the eyes of the city’s often most overlooked residents. She will show some of her pieces, discuss her process, and enlighten us all on the secret life of cats in one of Brooklyn’s most iconic neighborhoods.

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The Carousels of Brooklyn | Episode 69

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A close-up of a carved black stallion with lolling tongue and wind-blown mane at the Prospect Park Carousel

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

From Coney Island to DUMBO, this virtual program will look at Brooklyn’s surviving historic carousels. We will delve into the history of the art form of carousel design, discuss Brooklyn’s own unique style of carousels, and we will have a special focus on the 1912 carousel in Prospect Park, created by master carver Charles Carmel, and the restoration work done to this masterpiece of carousel design over the years.

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Noah Chesnin of NY Aquarium Joins Brooklyn Waterfront Tour August 22

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We are now three weeks in to our Brooklyn Waterfront Past & Present Tour series, and our guest speakers so far have been spectacular. Nate Kensinger was able to recall how almost every inch of the Brooklyn, Greenpoint, and Newtown Creek waterfronts have changed over the 10 years that he has been photographing, filming, and researching New York City’s industrial edges. Emily Manley helped us understand why the Gowanus Canal is so troubled, and how the state, federal, and local regulatory agencies work together to clean up the site, and hopefully there are now a few more readers of the New York Environment Report.

For week three, we are again heading north up the East River and the Newtown Creek with Noah Chesnin, Policy Program Manager for the New York Seascape Program at Coney Island’s New York Aquarium, who will share with us his work in conservation, education, and policy connected to the marine wildlife and habitats of the greater New York region.>> Continue reading