oysters

I see a lot of old NYC oyster photos online, they pop up every once in a while. This image from 1900 is an oyster seller on the streets of New York.

Back in the day, NYC was called “The Big Oyster,” rather than “The Big Apple.” It was known for the oyster beds all over the bay and rivers.

Over the years, the rivers have been become, lets call it dirtier, but back then, the water was crystal clear. Oysters filter water, and that is a new project happening now.

The last commercial oyster bed in NYC closed in 1927.

In 2014, the non-profit Billion Oyster Project started. The goal is to restore 1 billion oysters to NY Bay by 2035. People in all five boroughs of NYC are volunteers working on the project.

1905 – oysters being sold on at the oyster barge.

Funny story – a friend and I went to Governors Island one day and as we left, a bunch of school kids barged (speaking of barges) out of the school, which is on the docks. The only way off the island is by ferry, so all those kids, about 200 of them ran onto the barge. The school on the island is the New York Harbor School.

From their website: “Our students learn to build and operate boats; spawn and harvest millions of oysters; design submersible, remotely operated vehicles; conduct real-life research; and dive underwater.”

I think my friend and I were the only two who weren’t related to the school, heading back across the bay to the city with the 200 kids.

Well, the kids were like little animals – fighting, pushing each other – throwing each other around. It was crazy. So loud and noisy. This was their “school bus” and it was just like a school bus on the water.

The kids were polite to us, allowing us on and off the ferry first. New Yorkers have a way about them, they are culturized and polite but they were being kids and going crazy on the ferry with each other. We were just watching and enjoying it all.

Recently I saw a tv show about the bay and the oyster project and those kids at the school were mentioned. Oddly enough, those wild kids are scientists in training and they are an integral part of the Billion Oyster Project! Those little monsters were growing oysters and cleaning up the bay!

Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.

You can get more info on the Billion Oyster Project here, where you can learn more, volunteer and donate to the cause.

I wrote a post about Governors Island in 2017, you can read about the island itself, on what is going on there.

Till next time . . .

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