National Ice Cream Day is this Sunday, so it’s a good time to tell the story of the time New York state upcycled some ice cream trucks into artificial reefs.
New York has been building artificial reefs since the late 1940s, all around Long Island.
The US has had an artificial reef initiative since the 1980s.
Backers think the idea is win-win: you take old material that would otherwise just be thrown out, clean it up, and put it in designated spots in the water.
The marine life turn the stuff into new habitats, which improves biodiversity and helps keep the waters healthy.
Critics think artificial reefs can crowd out natural ones.
They can also mean less space for fishing boats, which can be a concern for that industry.
New York has 16 artificial reef sites managed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Artificial Reef Program.
The one that’s about three miles south of Atlantic Beach, near the Rockaways, came together in the mid-1960s.
It covers 413 acres and it’s around 60 feet deep, so making an artificial reef that size requires a lot of material.
The official list includes ten barges, eight pontoons, hundreds of old auto bodies, old bridge parts and concrete barriers and ten old Good Humor trucks.
Other reef projects have used old subway cars as raw material, or old parts of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The state revived the artificial reef building in 2018 after a lull for several decades.
Again, the primary focus here is on ecology, but the state has also said these artificial reefs are good for tourism.
They encourage scuba divers to check out the sites, because how often do you get to see different species going in and around old ice cream trucks and tanks?
This Saturday in Pennsylvania, it’s the Made In Bradford Celebration.
Bradford is the home of Zippo lighters, so collectors and fans will be on hand to show off their lighters, or maybe buy, sell or swap them.
Plus, there will be live music, so you can fire your lighters when the right song starts up.
Sunken Ice Cream Trucks Were Used Create Artificial Reefs in NYC (Untapped New York)