NYC’s Hudson River: Clean Enough To Swim In? - Cheddar Explains 

The water currents are considerably strong so swimming without a safety boat(kayaker) is strongly discouraged. Too many people die each year by jumping in for a swim are getting swept away and drowning.

I imagine how beautiful the hudson was before we f**ed it up

Safety isn't just a matter of what's in the water. It's also a fact of the flow of the water. There are parts of the East River, which are quite dangerous to swim in because of the tides and riptides. For instance, swimming at Hell's gate is a wonderful way of ending up in the afterlife

I grew up 3 blocks from the East River (Pike Street) during the 70s and 80s. Back then, it was so polluted that you could smell the river before even getting close to it. I am glad they cleaned up a lot of it. Now when I visit the old hood, I go down to river and walk it. Back then, you didn't even want to spend 5 minutes near it.

Where Battery Park City is now used to be a beach in the 70s. I have swum in the Hudson River, but never in or around NYC and always north of where GE duped the PCB's in the water. The Hudson, East River, Potomac and Anacostia Rivers are all healthier now than at any time in the last 50 years.

I live north up in the Hudson Valley and swim and tube in the river every summer and have been doing so since I was little. Can't say I have ever gotten sick or experienced any side effects, for lack of a better word.

I had a friend who fell in the Hudson in the 80s. He never came out. We held a empty casket funeral and everything. Years later we found out he was taken in by C.H.U.D.S. and he’s doing great! He’s married with two beautiful kids, he got his degree in subterranean law online and he even has his own practice! Miss you Mikey!

NYC also has some of the best tap water I’ve ever tasted. Yet people give it crap all the time

Watching while I’m above the Hudson River in board the Staten Island ferry

I grew up in that city and it wasn't until the early 2000s before people thought it safe(r) to swim in NY harbor. But it is a tidal harbor so if you're swimming when the tide is coming in then you're getting a dose of fresh ocean water.

8.7 out of 8.8 million people live in fear, especially of swimming in the Harbor or East River. Watch out for the cruise ships, folks.

this is great to know! now if you can do something about the occasional smell

Original title: Is It Actually Safe To Swim In New York Harbor? - Cheddar Explains

How does this channel afford that office space?

i Live in a city on the Hunsdon that dumps hundreds of gallons of raw sewage every time it rains. i would never consider swimming downstream

That office view is amazing, makes me want to work for you guys, makes it worth coming into office in today's WFH society. Although I think I might not be too focused at work, instead staring at that view most of the day

Thank you for your interesting and informative videos!

Hudson River Valley person here. If you drink from that damn river, you’ll grow 4 arms.

What about eating the fish from the river? I see ppl fish in the area and question it.

I took a dip in the river when I was around 7… had to get shots the next day. And I was 30 miles upstate from Manhattan!

My grandchildren and I went swimming in the Ohio River downstream from Cincinnati. Everything you said is also true of the river as well.

Welcome to literally all open water swimming. Tell anyone you're going to swim anywhere outdoors and you'll get "EWW GROSS! (Insert some outdated fact about sewage)"

Unless Cheddar’s office relocated to 1 New York Plaza, you were not in the Manhattan’s southern most office building.

this applies to any body of water. Rainstorms will cause runoff/brown water which attracts sharks. If the water isn't clear, it's not a good idea to swim.

Thanks the clean water act

Hey, NYC: Good job. Keep it up.

How can you not even mention Pete Seeger, who led some of the early efforts to clean up the Hudson River?

This is same for Lake Michigan and milwaukee combined sewer

My friend moored (to a floating buoy) his boat in the Hudson, down in Tribeca around 2017. At least where this boat was moored, which is close to Pier 25 (ie: an area where water is not flowing fast, closer to the shore, tucked behind a huge pier), the water was always gross when I was down there. All the lines on the boat were disgusting, you would wring them out and it was just solid green-brown gunk flowing down. Your hands would smell terrible every time we took the boat out, unless you used gloves when handling the lines. I believe the bottom of the river is disgusting, the sediment is like a slick oil that stains anything it touches. It's possible this was due to rainfall and I was just there during rainy periods but I don't think so, and I certainly would not swim there. Once you were in the middle of the channel the water was much nicer, the spray whipping into the boat was pleasant. Fishing is legit too in the Hudson and New York Harbor - the Hudson is one of the major spawning grounds for striped bass and they are big and healthy fish in these waters. You see people fishing off every pier all the way down the west side of Manhattan. Swimming not so much. Views were incredible, and the sunset cruises were unforgettable.

Maybe it's clean, but what about boat accidents? Having those huge boats next to me would be scary.

The sugar factory that was shown in the beginning (located in Yonkers NY) Ppl swim over there allllll the time and are fine however….. One year a child was drowning & my cousin jumped in to save him, they both died! The Hudson can be unforgiving swim at ur own risk!

Thank you so much for making this! Can you make one about the Ohio river? I live in Louisville and I have family and friends who swim in the Ohio (there's not sigma) BUT it's the dirtiest river in the United States. Can you help me understand?

I just recorded the HUDSON RIVER On July 4th 2023. Very interesting sight to see.

Kramer did smell during that episode I recall

I have swum in the Hudson River, right under the George Washington Bridge. During a jet-ski ride around Manhattan, the guide had the group stop the jet-skis, and told us that we could jump off and swim around for a while. It was wonderful. The water was calm, so calm that we just let the jet-skis sit in the water as we swim near them. The Hudson River is much calmer than the East River. I am going to look into this group Urban Swim to see about swimming in the Hudson at other points along the river.

I can’t tell if it hurt Kramer but sure funked up Elaine’s bed

Back in the early 2000’s I used to go to raves under the George Washington Bridge, wild wild stuff that could never happen today. Anyway, to make a long story short, I remember a bunch of Russian girls going for a dip in the Hudson during one of these raves. I thought it was the craziest thing. I also remember South American immigrants fishing the river and cooking their catch right there on the banks for years. Me? I wouldn’t dip a finger in that river.

Yes it would be nice to do so.

The wonton don did this lol 😭😭😭

That Seinfield episode about this was hilarious

Is this the stuff I see at the gas station? "Cheddar news, looking forward to what's next"

Imagine how many dead bodies and discarded weapons are at the bottom of the Hudson

I was happy to learn the Great Whites are returning to their former breeding grounds as well! Not surprised you guys didn’t mention this due to the misconception people have of them… 🦈

It's totally better than most places on the planet

Amazing :)

Please do one on the Thames. 😂😂 I still wonder if I'll grow any extra toes from ignorantly dipping my feet in my first time abroad.

It's that East River, I think it might be polluted.

I believe the reason why the water is that dense foggy brownish-green color is that the sewerage system is too high, and the water is surrounded by the city, the bathrooms/restrooms from the buildings.

I drank water from the east river to see if I would die back in 2016 during a manic episode

Or just go to rockaway and swim. People forget Brooklyn and queens are on the ocean

ha, that's crazy, I used to work in the building right next to yours.

You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to swim in the Hudson!

But just because you can doesn't mean you should and it's probably still very gross water.

yeah but what if you get hit by a boat

It’s about to rain heavy tonight! Better get those laps in now in the next couple of hours, Because you won’t be able to swim for at least the next couple weeks!

Better than all of India’s rivers.

What about the rip tides?

I remember a episode WWE raw when John Cena threw edge into the Long Island sound

You need to be a good swimmer to swim on the east river the current will drag if you can’t swim

Reminds me of George Carlin jumping in the river

There's Monster Sharks in there.

What about the SF Bay Area?? Nobody mentions the SF Bay Area, what’s the difference between the NY Harbor and the SF Bay Area? Both have somewhat similar ocean waterways that convert into rivers. In the Bay Area there’s large bodies of water within the entire Bay Area. However there’s lots of swimming throughout the SF Bay Area. People will swim from SF to Alcatraz Island which is about 2 miles. Overall there’s quite a lot of swimming and beach spots throughout the area. The only problem is that the SF Bay Area waters are colder and swimmers are advised to be aware of fog, which can roll in at any moment and completely disorient a swimmer. Regardless, you’ll still see many people swimming in the waters. However I’ve never heard of the Bay Area waters being dirty or polluted.

Along with the fish, dolphins, and whales, large bull shark's love the Hudson River. They go 50 miles+upstream. Tidal estuary.

Safer than the subways are.

I heard they move NYC sewage to other states.

Music was too loud to finish. Thanks though. 1:25

Idk

My grandpa’s brother drowned in the Hudson River.

Didn't the East River catch fire in the 80's??

You think PCBs are bad? How about the radioactivity dumped into the river by GE. They had a heck of a dredging operation for years to get the worst of it

I lived and worked in coney island, I would not swim in that water. Aside from pollution, the tides and currents are very strong. We pulled people out of water all the time. If you are a strong swimmer swimming past the jetties is ok, but tides are strong! Rip tides will pull most folks out to sea.

Watch out for the cruise ships guys

Bucket list item added.

How bad is the water near the shore? Clearly it’s bad because of all the visible waste

The oily fish are “MEN-hay-den”

I'd be afraid to encounter sharks

is this river polluted with raw sewage?

I would never. That's disgusting

Isn't sewage and trash entering the Hudson river?

Yeah after you.

It’s dirty y’all trust me you don’t want that type of water on your skin 🤣

Why I always see you guys at gas stations

Don't go in that water, just don't!

47 years Um, NO 😂

Spokesperson from Urban Swim - You can't see the angle of the Statue of Liberty unless you are swimming Video footage - kayakers 2 feet away from swimmers

I don't think it's just true about New York Hudson River it's true about most of New York States lakes and waterways we have a history of polluting all our lakes and waterways all around New York State it's a sad sad sad true history of our state

Swimming is dangerous because f the currents, that is it.

Alright who paid them to pump out this video, like The ocean has a smell from time to time

Ask NYC about their combined effluent overruns that happen on an annual basis. You know - when stormwater and raw sewage combine into one system that overflows directly into the river.

that office view thoo

companies polluted it for decades and now the taxpayer has to pay to clean it up..

yea no that water is disgusting

Be careful of the Rat Reefs. 👍🏽

Is no one gonna talk about all the dead bodies in there

💪🏊‍♂️🏊‍♀️

No

Yes it’s safe

Eww, I would never swim there 🤮🤮🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮

The Hudson would never pass European Standards! What about E-Coli? Just for starters...

It's sad that small, poor cities like New York don't have the money to upgrade from combined sewer over flow to modern sanitation. The financial priorities of this City are absurd.