Dead Horse Bay Analysis

It is essential that we recognize the value and significance of Dead Horse Bay and all that it stands for and represents. Gerard Barbot a local artist argues that the bay is a, “a half buried monument to the lives of hundreds of displaced New Yorkers, and a portal to a time when New York and the United States were undergoing a remarkable transformation.” We must realize that not only does the garbage strewn along the shore have an extensive cultural and historical importance but also, stands as a testament to those who suffered. Dead Horse Bay serves as a make shift memorial remembering the displaced population while simultaneously reminding us of the harm excessive eminent domain can cause. All along the beach you can see toys children used to play with, furniture families used to invite guests to sit on, even kitchenware that was used at birthday and holiday dinners.

Robin Nagle, the anthropologist in residence for the New York City Sanitation Department told ABC News that, “People need to care about Dead Horse Bay because we are there, ourselves, our own very recent past is strewn across the beach…The truth of our lives is not always in the stories we tell but in the stories we leave behind with our stuff.” It is important that we as a society can see the connection as Nagle describes between us and those who lost their homes and belongings in Dead Horse Bay. Acting as somewhat of a time capsule and a monument to forgotten stories, the bay reminds us of the consequences of unchecked urban