I need to find a good excuse to tell my students about all of the secret hidden rivers of NYC. You see, before the city was developed there were streams and brooks all over the place. Why do they call it BROOKlyn? Ever think about that? Anyways, when people drained the intertidal swamps and […] - ThreadSky

futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy • 49 days ago

I need to find a good excuse to tell my students about all of the secret hidden rivers of NYC.

You see, before the city was developed there were streams and brooks all over the place. Why do they call it BROOKlyn? Ever think about that?

Anyways, when people drained the intertidal swamps and […]

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llewelly.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird
the city I live in is tiny compared to NYC (especially in terms of population), and in a "semi-arid" climate, and yet, there are several places I can walk to where streams have been completely built over. (Occasionally this becomes a problem.)

milt.dev•49 days ago

Here in Bmore we have this wonderful project https://ghostrivers.com one is right near my house! Sometimes cars fall into them bust mostly we use them as reservoirs or arcane power

milt.dev•49 days ago

OF arcane power. Don’t drink from the ghost rivers unless you want the 2nd sight

pattykimura.beige.party.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird

From my own home landscaping experience, I learned Living water is incredibly powerful, and its urge to live can split boulders, eat through iron, and cleave the earth in two. You can nudge it to go where you'd like it, but unmanaged it will outlast all your puny efforts.

Though […]

yoasif.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy•48 days ago

@futurebird I found one a while ago in Queens: https://pixelfed.social/i/web/post/736277440300527921

christineburns.mastodon.green.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird This is why, when the seas rise, you can't just build dykes or levies around your cities. The water will flow through the culverts and rise up in the streets.

megantaylor.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird OMG, I just saw this week that Open House New York is doing a whole series on New York's Water Systems: https://ohny.org/category/urban-systems/water-works/ Looks really exciting!

venite.mastodon.nl.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird it’s called Brooklyn after the Dutch town Breukelen, like Harlem was named for Haarlem and Flushing for Vlissingen, but the secret rivers are still marvellous

InkySchwartz.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird 1st: You can come to my geography class and explain it to them.

2nd: There is an old stream I have tracked back through the USDA aerial survey in the late 1920's-30's. It starts as a spring that is/was used by several houses on the ridge above as part of their water supply, one […]

InkySchwartz.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird But it used to flow another 1/4 mile into a local big stream. I want to see if I can chart the old stream path down the hillside at least.

But also see if it would be possible to make it flow again. It will not be easy since it would cut through about 5-6 properties and across 2 […]

futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

All those rivers are still flowing, only underground in tunnels.

They still feed the trees, though not as well.

It would be possible to daylight portions of the brooks again in parks, they could surface for a bit then go back under. I happen to like this idea very much.

If you look for the […]

pbloem.sigmoid.social.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird London has these too. One of them flows through a metro station, above the trains.

https://metro.co.uk/2024/01/28/london-underground-station-secret-river-running-right-20185034/

rayhindle.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird
Underground Rivers Of New York City: Secrets Beneath The Streets

Have you seen this?

https://www.touristsecrets.com/travel-guide/weird-amazing/underground-rivers-of-new-york-city-secrets-beneath-the-streets/

rlmcneary2.universeodon.com.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird The book Mannahatta has all sorts of information about what the island was like before Europeans arrived. If you're into geography and history I highly recommend it - it includes photo-quality reproductions of the landscape as it appeared about 1600 […]

malmorrow.mastodon.africa.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird They did exactly that in Seoul. I have never been there but it looks wonderful! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheonggyecheon

malmorrow.mastodon.africa.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird
From Putney Bridge to Nine Elms Reach
We cheek to cheek were dancing
Her necklace made of London Bridge
Her beauty was enhancing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgJwJa7Wk14

futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

The abundance of rivers is the very thing that drew so many people to this location. It's what makes this a special place. It seems a shame to bury them and ignore them.

futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

Also, as we discover from time to time, NYC will simply fill up with water if it rains too quickly. This summer there were flash floods as all the hidden rivers spilled over their walls and tunnels making themselves known to a city determined to ignore them.

The ability to manage and work with […]

futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

Thinking about all the buried rivers and brooks and how they cannot be contained forever, how they can be covered but never erased or deleted is a great comfort to me lately.

The water will flow.

futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

Based on the book I'm reading about plants, it turns out that many of the trees and plants can probably still *hear* these hidden rivers flowing, and the roots seek the sound of the water. Sometimes they pry open the pipes causing all sorts of trouble.

leighms.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird
Fascinating about what can be found below the streets and pavements.

Exactly how plants detect water and direct root growth towards the water (hydrotropism) is still surprisingly elusive. Why not 'hearing'!

If you are interested this paper gives a nice history and overview of how […]

drakenblackknight.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird
Canal St had an actual canal, and the Hutchinson River is still flowing.

tshirtman.mas.to.ap.brid.gy•49 days ago

@futurebird Sullyville did a video on that subject for LA recently he managed to follow the flow underground and find properties for which the river was still flowing (and very nice too), it’s funny because he also started from a name containing BROOK and wonder the same, "wait, which brook are […]

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