The sewage plant's main function is to clean water which came in from Lower Manhattan. The visitor’s center and nature walk is apparently so the plant has enough green space to comply with the U.S Clean Water Act. In the sewage plant, there are these giant metallic cones, called the “digester eggs” and visible from a mile away, which anaerobically process the sewage into clean water.
While the site struggles with wastewater treatment whenever it rains, progress is being made. The sludge from the treatment is turned into natural gas, which supports a part of the energy need. Always in progress, the site is still cared for, and is a priority from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Early on in the research of the project, shell-shocked by the emptiness of the site, we forgot that there is actually a community of people working there. Besides the plant, there were people working in scrap yards, warehouses, and even film studios. They represent the logistic of the city, and process the physical needs of the city. The grayness of the water also hides the bustling ecology waiting to recover. In what is left, there were multiple species of birds and marine life spotted at Newtown Creek, from American Eel to horseshoe crabs. Similar to how community gardens around the city revitalize an abandoned piece of land, we found Newtown Creek Alliance to be making conscious efforts in the act of restoring the site. We have focused the last two weeks on looking at the site from an antagonistic perspective, and to be focusing on the positivity of the site now allows strong hope for a better future for Newtown Creek.