Newtown Creek Alliance with Willis Elkins

Newtown Creek Alliance with Willis Elkins

From Climate with Kiana by Kiana Michaan

April 7, 2026 · 29 min · Season 2 · Episode 12

About this episode

Kiana Michaan interviews Willis Elkins about the Newtown Creek Alliance and its efforts to restore and revitalize Newtown Creek.

In this episode, we hear from Willis Elkins, executive director of Newtown Creek Alliance. Newtown Creek Alliance is a community-based local New York City organization dedicated to restoring, revealing, and revitalizing Newtown Creek. Newtown Creek is a 3.8 mile tributary of the East River, an estuary, a border between Brooklyn and Queens, and a federal superfund site. Historically, the creek has had over 50 industrial refineries along its banks. In this conversation with Willis, we discuss the history of industry & legacy pollution on Newtown Creek, the Greenpoint oil spill, environmental remediation efforts, water quality, green roofs, and the vision for a more sustainable future for the creek.

People in this episode

Host: Kiana Michaan

Guest: Willis Elkins

Topics covered

  • environmental remediation
  • pollution
  • sustainability
  • community organization
  • water quality
  • industrial history

Keywords

  • Newtown Creek
  • Willis Elkins
  • Newtown Creek Alliance
  • environmental remediation
  • pollution
  • Greenpoint oil spill
  • sustainability
  • water quality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Newtown Creek Alliance

Places: Newtown Creek, New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, East River

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