The Kosciuszko Bridge is one of New York City's most essential pieces of infrastructure, the hyphen in the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that connects the two boroughs over Newtown Creek, the 3.5 mile creek which empties into the East River.
The bridge is interestingly named for the Polish national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko who fought during the American Revolution, then attempted to bring a similar revolutionary spirit to his home country, leading to the doomed Kościuszko Uprising of 1794.
Kościuszko, the man, is a revered historical figure. The bridge, however, has not always been loved. And many non-Polish people even struggle to pronounce its name, inventing a half-dozen acceptable variants.
The original Kościuszko Bridge was not exactly beloved by drivers, vexed by its inadequate handling of traffic and its poor roadways. Its glorious replacement, installed in two phases in 2017 and 2019, lights up the night sky -- and the filmy waters below.
In this episode, Greg tells the entire story -- of both the man and the bridge. But it's also a story of Newtown Creek, the heavily polluted body of water which runs beneath it. How did this once placid creek become so notoriously filthy? And how did the most prominent bridge over that waterway become associated with an 18th century hero?
PLUS The return of Robert Moses!
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The Algonquin Round Table
#222 Who Killed Helen Jewett? A Mystery By Gaslight
#221 New York: Capital City of the United States
#220 George Washington's New York Inauguration
#219 Newsies on Strike!
#218 Lincoln Center and West Side Story
#217: Truman Capote's Black And White Ball
#216: Edwin Booth and the Players Club
01 The Wheel: Ferris' Big Idea ('The First' Podcast Special Preview)
#215 Ghosts of the Gilded Age
#214 Bronx Trilogy (Part Three) The Bronx Was Burning
#213 Bronx Trilogy (Part Two) The Bronx is Building
#212 Bronx Trilogy (Part One) The Bronx Is Born
#211 The Notorious Madame Restell: The Abortionist of Fifth Avenue
#210 Digital City: New York and the World of Video Games
#209 The Waldorf-Astoria's Complicated History
#208 Great Hoaxes of Old New York
#207 The First Subway: Beach's Pneumatic Marvel
#206 The Lenape: The Real Native New Yorkers
#205 The Disappearance of Dorothy Arnold
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