New York City came alive on Saturday, July 12, 2025, as all five boroughs—and even parts of New Jersey and Westchester—turned waterfronts into vibrant hubs of free, water-based fun for the 18th annual City of Water Day, hosted by the Waterfront Alliance and the NY–NJ Harbor & Estuary Program. The event featured a wide array of activities—including kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing lessons, bird-watching, coastal cleanups, art workshops, and more—aimed at celebrating and reconnecting New Yorkers with their shared waterways and promoting a climate-resilient relationship with the harbor.
The standout attraction was clearly the 8th Annual Jamaica Bay Festival in Queens and Brooklyn, which ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offered families over 30 free experiences—from kayaking, saltwater fishing, surfing demonstrations, and birding tours to live music, art installations, yoga, and shoreline stewardship projects. Terri Carta, executive director of the Jamaica Bay‑Rockaway Parks Conservancy, described the bay as “one of the most ecologically productive and culturally rich parts of New York City,” and noted that the festival “provides a powerful platform to celebrate our shoreline, highlight community partnerships, and engage New Yorkers in the care and stewardship of their local environment”.
Events weren’t limited to Jamaica Bay. In Brooklyn’s Transmitter Park, families learned saltwater fishing basics with urban park rangers; Prospect Park offered walking tours to explore hidden waterfalls; Randall’s Island Park hosted kayaking and salt-marsh exploration lessons; guided flood-protection tours took place in Lower Manhattan; and Governors Island featured oyster-science booths run by the Billion Oyster Project. Local groups like the Ecology Center orchestrated coastal cleanups at East River Park, combining stewardship, education, and art creation with water-quality testing and painting projects.
While all activities were free, many required advance registration due to limited capacity—itself a key factor in ensuring participant safety and program quality. The event’s digital scavenger hunt, hosted on Goosechase, allowed participants to engage with waterfront sites interactively by completing challenges via an app. Organizers encouraged attendees to share their experiences on social media using #CityofWaterDay for a chance to be highlighted by the Waterfront Alliance and NY-NJ HEP.
City of Water Day is far more than a summertime fest: its core mission is to foster climate resilience, equitable access to waterfronts, and community unity in the face of rising environmental threats. This year’s theme—“Stronger Together: Join Your Neighbors in Creating Climate‑Ready Communities”—underlined the importance of collective responsibility as storms, heatwaves, and flooding become more frequent.
Many participants reported that a single day of unstructured outdoor enjoyment revealed unexpected layers of meaning. Tears of joy bubbled up during sunset kayak rides; kids got hooked on birdwatching and wanted weekly lessons; families pledged to continue coastal cleanups; and some discovered for the first time that oysters play a vital role in improving water quality. These personal moments serve as seeds for change, both at an individual level and in shaping public attitudes—and policies—toward waterfront management.
City of Water Day is part of a larger momentum in New York toward reconnecting with—and restoring—urban waterways. A notable example is the upcoming + POOL at Pier 35, a floating public pool in the East River that filters river water for safe swimming. Final testing of its innovative filtration system is expected later this summer, with full public access anticipated in 2026. Projects like + POOL echo the same ethos of reclaiming shared waters for community use.
In a city once defined by industrial waterfronts and polluted rivers, today’s events show how New Yorkers are transforming their shoreline into environmental assets. Through events like City of Water Day, communities confront ecological challenges head-on, learn about estuary science, and rediscover the natural beauty that surrounds them. The shared experiences of paddling under city bridges, learning about oysters, and cleaning beaches help create a sense of stewardship and belonging that lasts well beyond one day.
As Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, and local leaders continue investing in waterfront infrastructure—like coastal resilience zones, oyster restoration programs, and public swim initiatives—the message of City of Water Day will keep echoing: water is not a distant resource, but an integral part of urban life, health, and future climate resilience.
