A tributary of New York’s East River that forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens, Newtown Creek has long been at the heart of the city’s “industrial backyard,” serving as home to numerous industries and as a dumping ground for unwanted byproducts and toxic waste. Photographer Anthony Hamboussi followed the creek through the neighborhoods of Hunter’s Point, Greenpoint, and Bushwick, shooting over fences and gates where he could not gain access, to record the bare industrial landscape. From the ruins of Morgan Oil and the Newtown Metal Corporation, to the construction of the new water treatment facility, to the footprints of the former Maspeth gas holders, Hamboussi captures these sites in the process of change, providing a glimpse into the history of industrial New York.

Newtown Creek: A Photographic Survey of New York’s Industrial Waterfront is an extensive documentation of this forgotten landscape that shows the evolution of the built environment over five years in more than 230 images. An essay by Paul Parkhill puts Hamboussi’s work into context.