The New Creek is an

urban stream An urban stream is a formerly natural waterway that flows through a heavily populated area. Urban streams are often polluted by urban runoff and combined sewer outflows. Water scarcity makes flow management in the rehabilitation of urban stream ...

on the East Shore of Staten Island,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The creek is fed by many natural springs in the area, which were used by the Lenape Indians before the arrival of European colonists in the 17th century. Many of the springs have been channeled underground by urban development as the population expanded throughout New York City and Staten Island. The New Creek watershed encompasses and consists of

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

which supports a variety of flora and fauna. Spartina grass flourished in a tidal wetland before the restoration of the shore and beach area and the development of a shoreline urban park by the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

in the 1960s, blocking tidal flow to the area. Some of the indigenous flora include Rose Mallow,

Soft Rush ''Juncus effusus'', with the common names common rush or soft rush, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae. In North America, the common name soft rush also refers to '' Juncus interior''. Distribution '' ...

, and Bladder Sedge. The main channel originates at the Last Chance Pond Park and dominates the neighborhood of Midland Beach, with the surrounding watershed covering the neighborhoods of Dongan Hills, Grant City and

Todt Hill Todt Hill ( ) is a hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the highest natural point in the five boroughs of New York City and the highest elevation on the entire Atlantic coastal plain from Florida to Cape Cod. The summi ...

. The west branch originates at the Boundary Avenue wetlands (Midland Field), and the east branch originates from southern end of Dongan Hills Avenue (and Patterson Avenue). The upper parts of the watershed are fed by Moravian Brook and Mersereau Valley, which feed the West and Main channels. Previous to the name New Creek, the branches had their own titles "including Perine’s Creek, Old Town Creek (aka Pole Creek), Barton’s Creek (aka Seaver’s Creek), and Barne’s Creek, which flowed out past Poppy Joe’s Island." The

New York City Department of Environmental Protection The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's water supply and works to reduce air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. Under a 1.3 billion do ...

(NYCDEP) has embarked on a vast

Bluebelt The Bluebelt is a large scale system of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) in New York City. The program originated on Staten Island in the early 1990s, but has also been implemented in Queens and the Bronx. The Bluebelt includes struct ...

project, which began in the 1990s and incorporates most of the east and south shores of Staten Island. In 2019 the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Depart ...

and DEP began constriction on a $121 million enhancement. The project would award $33 million to put towards the "Gateway to the Bluebelt," creating a public viewing area and rehabilitate wetlands; $42 million towards expansion of the New Creek Bluebelt and would "create the largest wetland area in the entire Bluebelt system," and incorporates an upgraded storm sewer system, outfalls, stilling basins, micro pools, and weirs on and along the creek.

References

The Staten Island Bluebelt
Rivers of Staten Island Rivers of New York (state) {{NewYork-river-stub