Witte Yard: Ship Graves On The Arthur Kill

At the southernmost point of New York City, a fleet of rusty tugboats, rotting wooden barges and skeletons of steam-powered ferries rests in the marshy waters of a place known locally as the Witte Yard. It’s a boneyard, a ship graveyard. It’s also a glimpse into the city’s maritime history that you won’t find on any tourist map.

The 2014 documentary Graves of Arthur Kill has now been uploaded to YouTube for the first time. It offers a rare look inside a private scrapyard on the Arthur Kill in Staten Island that has fascinated historians, artists and sightseers for decades.

The 32-minute film was an Official Selection of the 2014 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival.

You can watch the film here.

Thanks to tugster: a waterblog for letting us know the film is now available.

Photo: Part of the ship graveyard at Witte Yard on the Arthur Kill (Will Van Dorp photo).