Dead Horse Bay facts for kids

Dead Horse Bay is a small area of water located near Barren Island in Brooklyn, New York City. It sits between the Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet.

A Look Back: How Dead Horse Bay Got Its Name

For a long time, from the 1800s into the 1900s, this area was used in many different ways. People made fertilizer from the remains of dead animals here. They also produced fish oil from small fish called menhaden caught in the bay. Later, the area became a place where New York City's garbage was dumped.

The bay got its unusual name because dead animals from a nearby glue factory would often clog it up. You can still find a large stone, called a millstone, that was used to grind horse bones along a path known as the Millstone trail.

Building New Land: From Marsh to Airport

In 1926, a lot of the marshy land around Dead Horse Bay and the rest of Barren Island was filled with sand. This sand came from Jamaica Bay. This process raised the land about 16 feet higher than the high tide. It also connected the islands to each other and to the main part of Brooklyn. This was done to create Floyd Bennett Field, which was New York City's very first airport.

Today, this entire area, including the historic airport, is looked after by the National Park Service. It is part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Garbage on the Coast: A Plan Gone Wrong

In the 1950s, a city planner named Robert Moses tried to make the land bigger by adding more garbage and covering it with soil. However, the layer of soil washed away. Because of this, you can still see garbage on the coast when the tide is low. This shoreline has many broken glass bottles and other materials that do not break down easily.

What Happens at Dead Horse Bay Today?

Today, school groups often visit Dead Horse Bay. They walk the Millstone trail, use nets to catch different kinds of fish, and learn about the area's natural and cultural past. The shores are also a popular spot for sport fishing. A marina (a place for boats) also operates in Deep Creek as part of the National Park Service.

If you visit today, you can find many old glass bottles and pieces of broken glass on the beach. You might also see old shoes and building materials. Much of this comes from the old landfill, which is now slowly leaking. It's a popular spot for artists and crafters to find interesting items for their projects.

Temporary Closure for Safety

On August 6, 2020, the National Park Service announced that Dead Horse Bay would be closed. This was because some unsafe materials were found there. The cleanup of these materials might take many years.

Images for kids

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  Gerritsen Inlet and marina on the left; Dead Horse Bay in the center; Rockaway Inlet, Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, and Rockaway, Queens on the right.

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  Bottle Beach, which is the western shore of the bay.

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  A view of Dead Horse Bay's Glass Bottle Beach from May 2020.