On March 3, 2024, I met a friend in Greenpoint, the northernmost neighborhood of Brooklyn. While I am a life-long resident of Brooklyn, I had only been to Greenpoint on a couple of occasions. The reason is evinced by the fact that I walked 14.3 miles on March 3 (public transportation would not build character) to get there and back (possibly longer than my 2021 cow parade walk). While walking around Greenpoint, we visited the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, which was completed in 2021 after being in the works for 23 years. I took a few photos in the quarter-mile park. One object in Newton or Whale Creek (I am not sure which) caught my attention. See the Ocean Guard Donut Fender from Marine Fenders International below.

Photograph of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. There is a large orange fender with OCEAN GUARD DONUT FENDER written on it. To the right, there is a NYC environmental protection ship named H.S.V. Piping Plover.

In this first shot, you see a New York City ship in the background named the H.S.V. Piping Plover. Now see the other side:

Photograph of Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. There is a large orange fender with OCEAN GUARD DONUT FENDER written on it. To the left is a NYC work barge.

Here we have a government barge.

To be sure, I could smell why the work boats were needed. Newtown and Whale Creeks are not quite the Gowanus Canal on a bad day, but they had a slightly off-putting pollution odor that, if noticeable at about 60-65 degrees, will probably be more noticeable in the summer or after a heavy rain. As for the park as a whole, it had a nice walkway and some places to sit but the foliage was a bit lacking in early March. I have seen some pictures that show it greener – likely from the warmer months.

I was curious about the Donut Fender that I photographed. Fortunately, the fender was easy to look up since it features the name of the manufacturer on its orange body. I quote from a December 3, 2023 archived copy of Marine Fenders International’s page for the OceanGuard Donut Fender (see live):

The Ocean Guard ™ Donut Monopile floating fender design is an innovative foam filled fender. This unique fendering system provides a floating, energy-absorbing foam filled fender. It is designed to simply slip over a stationary monopile and float at the fluctuating water line. Upon contact with a ship or vessel, this design allows the fender to freely rotate and self-adjust with the changing water level.

In addition to these practical features (I am not a marine fender expert so I will assume that they are practical), the bright orange coloring leaves an impression.

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