Arthur Tress is one of the hundreds of freelance photographers hired by the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970s to document mounting environmental problems in America.
The following set of images shows the deterioration of the New York Harbor area in 1973.
Scenes from Staten Island and Brooklyn depict refuse-laden streams, beaches covered with garbage and abandoned cars.
A sign warns of polluted water at a Staten Island beach. The recently completed Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is seen in the background.
A sewer pipe is prepared for installation on new housing in Grant City, Staten Island — part of the building boom touched off by the completion of the bridge.
This sign encourages Manhattan and Brooklyn residents to cross the bridge to find good living in Staten Island.
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