Indian Paths in the Great Metropolis
On the east side the overflowing water had found an outlet to East river, along the line of the present Roosevelt street, passing through a marshy tract which was later the "vly" or meadow of Wolphert Gerritsen, and even in our modern times is known as "the Swamp." The waters of East river, as well as the tide of the Hudson, seem to have penetrated to the Kolch ponds, according to the assertions of Anthony Rutgers and others in 1730.
These citizens stated that the swamp and pond called the Fresh Water were "so much on a level with Hudson's River, and the South River [East river]... that on the spring or other high tide, when the said rivers overflow they run into and cover the said swamp so as to meet one another." Armbruster considers that in ancient times the watercourses through the swamps may have been sufficient to float canoes between the Hudson and East rivers.