ABOUT US

Guardians of Flushing Bay (GoFB) is a critical steward of Flushing Waterways' (Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek) challenged, yet recovering ecosystems. Formed in 2015 as a coalition of dragon boaters, GoFB has a shared vision of healthy and equitably accessible Flushing Waterways cared for by a network of local stewards. To achieve our goals, we:

organize for land use equity,
connect residents with local ecologies,
care for and restore green and blue spaces,
foster a network of volunteers.

In all our work, we strive to connect and engage local watershed communities with the greatest barriers to accessing a healthy environment.

ABOUT SATURBAY

SaturBAY is GoFB’s annual end-of-season celebration of a Saturday at Flushing Bay! Join us on Saturday, October 19th from 12pm to 4pm at the Flushing Bay public boat launch for music, food, art workshops, and more. Entrance and activities are FREE with registration. Use this map for help getting to the FMCP public boat launch and/or these directions if walking or biking from Mets-Willets Point and Flushing Main Street.

ABOUT THE ONLINE FUNDRAISER

The SaturBAY online fundraiser offers a virtual way of supporting our work. GoFB has always been sustained by our local communities, park users, and paddlers. Whether donating to our work, sampling the water quality, organizing for land use equity, installing oyster cages, or cleaning up the shoreline—we could not take care of Flushing Waterways without you.

This year, we have a lot to celebrate. We successfully advocated against a casino in our public parkland. We developed Phoenix Meadows, a community vision for public parkland. We cleared (literal) tons of trash from the Flushing Bay shoreline. We partnered with students from Corona Arts and Sciences Academy to care for their local rain gardens and manage local flooding. We developed a living shoreline design for Flushing Creek. And we walked and paddled with hundreds of Queens residents in, on, and around Flushing Waterways.

A donation to GoFB plays a HUGE part in sustaining grassroots coalitions, managing community science projects, hosting free programs to bring people to the park and water, and organizing public education campaigns so that community members can weigh in on an ecologically just future that our communities and ecologies deserve. Consider donating today!

THE "$3 IF YOU POOP" CHALLENGE

This year we’re launching the “$3 if you poop” challenge. GoFB is calling on residents to donate $3/month if their sewer pipes dump their poop into Flushing Waterways.

What are we talking about?? NYC’s sewer system is outdated. Over 1/10th of an inch of rain an hour overwhelms our sewer pipes, flooding neighborhoods and dumping over 2 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater into our waterways every year.

If you live in any of the following locations, your sewage flows to Flushing Waterways:

East Elmhurst
Corona
Elmhurst
Rego Park
Forest Hills
LeFrak City
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens Hills
Hillcrest
Queensboro Hill
Pomonok
Fresh Meadows
Auburndale
Murray Hill
Flushing, or
College Point

Not sure? Check out this map to find out if you fall in our sewershed!

The problem is massive and systemic, so GoFB fights for equitable and transformative solutions. We organize for an updated sewer system and future vision of Renewable Rikers. We advocate for more green spaces to absorb excess rainwater. We steward existing green spaces so they are better at absorbing rainwater. And we test the water at 18 different locations across the watershed to understand how much sewage is in the water and what it means for our ecosystems. A monthly $3 donation sustains our organizing for clean water and reduced flooding.

Poop in Flushing Waterways? Got $3 a month to give? Make a donation today!

SaturBAY 2024

Hooray for the Bay!

Team Members