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Pier 40 and the Limits of Commercial Development
This article explores the potential limits to public-private partnerships in park development. The writers, from Columbia University's Earth Institute and School of International and Public Affiars, argue that "Pier 40 is a warning about the need to maintain public control over [the] essential public resource [of our waterfront]." They address the question raised by Pier 40 of the degree to which public amenities like parks can and/or should be financed by the profits of private development. Read more...
Source: The New York Observer, Apr. 21, 2008
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Reclaiming New York's Blighted Waters
This extensive article on reclaiming the waterfront in the region features some of MWA's most inspirational allies. Read the excerpt below and follow the link to the entirity of this extraordonary piece on local estuarine ecology and the task we have ahead of us, which in Owen Foote of the Gowanus Dredgers' words, is to "create a new legacy for New York Harbor."
"From his 30-foot wooden skiff, Andy Willner points out a sailboat headed north through the narrow tidal strait. A double-crested cormorant flies above, its sleek black form unmistakable on the powder blue sky. A grassy mountain rises behind the sailboat, stretching for miles. In a few hours, low tide will bring snowy egrets, glossy ibis and great blue herons by the score.
At this moment, it is easy to forget that the mountain is Fresh Kills Landfill, the largest landfill on earth, so massive it is among the few manmade structures that can be seen from space. Just as improbably, the water under the boat is the Arthur Kill, arguably America's busiest industrial waterway, lined on both sides with refineries and factories." Read more...
Source:
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Toll Brothers Gowanus Project Fully Revealed
"A team from developer Toll Brothers brought their big Gowanus project before a community audience a few blocks from the Carroll Gardens site last night for a session remarkably devoid of fireworks, given previously expressed hostility in the neighborhood. The firm is trying to gain special zoning approval from the city apart from the overall Gowanus rezoning. Toll VP for Development David Von Spreckelsen explained that the firm is pushing for city approval because there is only a year-and-a-half left in the Bloomberg administration, and 'we're not sure if that rezoning will happen' before the end of his term." Read More...
Source: Curbed, Mar. 28, 2008
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New York City Water Trail Map and Guide Launched
"On a new map from the Parks Department, the Bronx is up, the Battery’s down, and there’s water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. The official NYC Water Trail Map & Guide was released today, including 28 launch sites for the city’s intrepid canoeists and kayakers." Read more...
Source: The New York Times, Mar. 24, 2008
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New Brooklyn Vistas and A Fight Over Plans for Them
"For the first time in decades, visitors to the north side of Brooklyn’s Pier 1 can see something breathtaking.
New Jersey.
For years, all one saw was a huge L-shaped warehouse whose side was emblazoned with the motto “Brooklyn Works.” It was an odd declaration, since the warehouses and piers south of the Brooklyn Bridge had long been shuttered. But two weeks ago, bulldozers and backhoes began peeling away the metal walls that had sealed off sweeping vistas of Upper New York Bay and Lower Manhattan, too."
Source: The New York Times, Mar. 24, 2008
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Water Transit the Answer to Gas Price, Toll Hike Woes, says Ferry Operator
NY Waterway is launching a half-million dollar ad campaign to tout ferries as the commuter's answer to rising gasoline prices and Port Authority toll hikes on the NY-NJ river crossings. "Commuters are smart consumers and they're price sensitive," said NY Waterway spokesman Richard Schwartz. "And when they see rising costs on tolls and gasoline and parking, taking an enjoyable ferry ride across the river is the superior option." Currently, around 30,000 weekday customers take NY Waterway's ferries from Hoboken, Weehawken, Newport and other Jersey locations to lower Manhattan and Midtown.
Source: New York Post, Mar. 3, 2008
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Red Hook IKEA Opening Will Usher In Brooklyn's Largest Public Waterfront Park
When New York City's first IKEA store opens on the Red Hook waterfront this summer, shoppers will be treated to views of Erie Basin, Gowanus Bay, the Statue of Liberty, some of New York Harbor and the tall buildings of Lower Manhattan -- and a six and a half mile public waterfront park. Although likely to be surpassed by future waterfront developments, the park will be the borough's largest at the time it opens. "People will not come to shop at IKEA because of the waterfront, but people will come to the waterfront because IKEA built its store. An awful lot of residents of Red Hook will see their waterfront for the first time. New York Shipbuilding’s job was to build ships, not to show off Erie Basin." The Red Hook site was home to a working commercial shipbuilding and repair facility before IKEA purchased it.
Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Feb. 29, 2008
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Hess to Pay over $1M for Environmental Violations, Wetlands Restoration
On Feb. 28, New York state officials announced that Hess Corp will pay a massive fine for pollution violations, as well as cleaning up dozens of sites and funding wetlands restoration. Under a consent order signed earlier in the month, Hess is to pay $1.1 million for petroleum storage violations, and clean up 65 gas stations and oil storage facilities in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Hess will pay an additional $300,000 towards a project to restore and manage wetlands in the Hudson River Estuary; The Nature Conservancy is to administer the funds. Hess' agreement with New York "resolves more than 100 violations at Hess' oil storage facility in Brooklyn, which consists of 10 underground and above-ground tanks holding more than 28 million gallons of petroleum."
Source: Newsday/Associated Press, Feb. 28, 2008
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Javits Expansion Might Cross East River
With expansion of the Javits Center on Manhattan's far West Side embroiled in debate and delay, Willets Point in Queens is starting to look like an attractive alternative to Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association. The city's mixed-use plan for the site, which sits next to Shea Stadium, mentions that "a convention center of up to 400,000 square feet would be developed." Such a site would augment rather than replace the Javits. "If you look at cities around the world," says Yaro, "there is a trend toward having a satellite convention center."
Source: The New York Sun, Feb. 25, 2008
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$100M Tab Possible for Citywide Ferry Service
According to City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), chair of the Transportation Committee, operating costs for a five-borough, commuter ferry service could run to $100 million annually. But "this is a very manageable investment for the long term," says the Queens councilman. "We need to rediscover and utilize this tremendous natural transportation resource to overcome many of the challenges faced by a growing city."
Source: Queens Chronicle, Feb. 21, 2008
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Changes Likely for Staten Island's Homeport Redev Plan
Developers have not jumped to offer redevelopment proposals for Staten Island's Stapleton waterfront. According to "City Hall sources," while a number of good proposals for building mixed-use residential areas have come in, few builders have showed interest in creating a sports arena and hotel. The blueprint for the "Homeport" redevelopment -- which aims to convert a former Navy home port into a lively urban waterfront -- includes 350 housing units; the arena and hotel, as well as a restaurant, stores and other commercial uses; road construction; open space; and a 1.25 mile esplenade. The City has pledged $66 million to Homeport, but with developer interest lagging, the entire project is likely to go back to the drawing board.
Source: Staten Island Advance, Feb. 25, 2008
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Test Will Put Oysters to Work Cleaning Up City Waterway
It can filter 5 to 50 gallons of water a day, absorbing nitrogen, algae and bacteria as it goes. A miraculous new engineering technology for cleaning a creek, bay or harbor? Nope, just the once-abundant oyster, absent for 80-odd years from the waters of New York City thanks to overharvesting and pollution. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is preparing to experimentally seed Brooklyn's Hendrix Creek with shellfish -- a sustainability policy outlined in PlaNYC 2030. Once fed by a natural stream, the creek now begins at the output of a wastewater treatment plant, and flows into Jamaica Bay. DEP will plant oysters near the creek's mouth to absorb nitrogen, and establish beds of ribbed mussels a bit further upstream to filter out smaller bacteria. Hendrix Creek was selected for the test seeding because it's protected from the larger currents of the bay, and small enough that a "relatively modest number of shellfish" can produce a measurable effect.
Source: The New York Times, Feb. 24, 2008
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Murray Hill Wants East Side Waterfront Park
Murray Hill residents don't want the creation of an East Side waterfront park to be forgotten in the scrum of area redevelopment. A plan for a six-block park between 34th and 41st streets, devised by six architects, was presented to the City Council last spring by the Municipal Art Society, Community Board 6 and Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Midtown East, Murray Hill, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village). But little has happened since; the city has yet to commit to funding the project, or to get a needed easement from the property's owner.
Source: The New York Observer, Feb. 20, 2008
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East River Turbines on the Clean Energy Tech Cutting Edge
Verdant Power's hydroelectric turbine pilot project in the East River takes advantage of sharply improved underwater turbine technology -- technology that, coupled with growing enthusiasm for clean energy generation, has caught the interest of investors worldwide. Investments in firms that make or deploy free-standing turbines has grown dramatically: from around $13 million in 2004 to $156 million in 2007. Not only do underwater turbines produce energy with little to no greenhouse gas generation, but they may prove to be the best way to generate juice from flowing water while avoiding the big pitfalls of dams: environmental damage, population displacement, and huge capital costs.
Source: The Economist, Feb. 19, 2008
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Cargo Traffic Slowing at New York-New Jersey Port
Maher Terminal in Elizabeth has just eliminated its overnight shift, established in 2006 to handle the ample cargo coming in to the port. After a few years of 5 to 10 percent annual growth, the volume of cargo coming in to the ports of New York Harbor has been declining for several months -- reflecting the overall economic situation in the U.S. "The cargo that comes through the ports is a hard and fast representation of what retailers expect to sell," says a retail industry rep. But the metro area's ample supply of consumers will probably insulate the port's business somewhat, says Richard M. Larrabee, the agency's port commerce director, and there are more upbeat signs as well: the volume of export cargo has increased by around 20 percent compared to 2006, and a new port-rail system hauled about 20 percent more cargo last month compared to January 2007.
Source: The Star-Ledger, Feb. 19, 2008
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Longing for the Islands? Try the Five Borough Antilles
For less than $20 in transportation, you can spend a weekend on the islands...the islands of New York City, that is. Start with City Island, the Bronx, which boasts a "quaint main street, salty air and views of Long Island Sound." Proceed the following day to Randalls and Governors islands, and then polish off the weekend with a jaunt to Roosevelt Island, via the Roosevelt Island Tram: "The little red tram, the closest thing New York City has to a ski lift, takes off from the brightly colored station at 60th Street and Second Avenue and whisks you across the river for the price of a subway trip. Bring binoculars and take advantage of a great aerial views of the city..."
Source: The New York Times, Feb. 17, 2008
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Quinn Advocates Comprehensive Ferry Service to All Boroughs
In her third State of the City address on Feb. 12, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn spoke out in support of year-round citywide ferry service. With the existing transit system already moving well over one billion a year, and the population expected to grow by one million by 2030, Quinn said, "[I]t's only natural to look at our natural highways -- our water ways -- to move New Yorkers efficiently and sustainably." Quinn announced that the City Council is proposing, "and the Mayor has agreed to begin developing a comprehensive five-borough, year-round New York City Ferry System." A detailed plan will be released later in the month.
Source: Newsday, Feb. 12, 2008
Source: Marine Log, Feb. 12, 2008
See also: "Quinn's Call for a Citywide Ferry System Answered by a Loud AMEN! by The Waterfront Alliance," MWA press release
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Hudson-Harlem River Bike Paths Connector for Inwood?
Northern Manhattan community advocates have proposed a two-way separated bike lane on the north sides of Riverside Drive and Dyckman Street, buffered by a narrow green median, connecting the Henry Hudson and Harlem River Bike Paths at 200th/Dyckman Street in Inwood. Local activist and environmental scientist Maggie Clark and other Inwood residents presented the idea at Community Board 12's Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting in early February. "OT Deputy Borough Commissioner Maurice Bruet, who attended the CB 12 Traffic and Transpo meeting, was reportedly impressed to see such a citizen-driven proposal -- and the three-lane plan in particular, as it would allow for wider lane widths -- but said that any work resulting in a net parking loss would require community board approval. Committee Chair Mark Levine described board members as 'interested but cautious.'"
Source: Streetsblog, Feb. 15, 2008
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Lease Deal Will Keep Working Containerport at Red Hook
American Stevedoring Inc., which operates the container port on the Red Hook waterfront, is expected to ink a ten-year lease renewal with the Port Authority by the end of March. The renewal would keep 623 longshoreman jobs on the waterfront, and kibosh for at least a decade a city-backed plan to turn the area -- including American Stevedoring's four piers -- into luxury housing and amenities including a marina, beer garden, hotel and second cruise ship terminal. "This is one of the last remaining sources for good, well-paying, blue-collar jobs in Brooklyn," said Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights). "I give Gov. Spitzer tremendous credit," Yassky said. "The picture here changed completely when Gov. Spitzer took office, and he made a commitment to seeing the port not just stay here, but grow."
Source: Daily News, Feb. 14, 2008
Source: Curbed, Feb. 15, 2008
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City Council Passes Stormwater Management Bill
Queens community leaders and city eco-advocates have lauded the unanimous passage of stormwater management legislation by the City Council. If signed by the mayor, the law -- credited to City Councilmember James Gennaro (D), chair of the Environmental Protection Committee -- will require the city to draft a sustainable stormwater management plan by October 1, 2008. As outlined in the legislation, there would be a heavy emphasis on source control measures -- capturing, storing and diverting stormwater before it reaches streets and sewers in the first place -- to help reduce sewer overflows into city waterways. "Some of the progressive techniques of collecting the water include water barrels on "blue roofs" and underground cisterns to capture and store rainwater, encouraging green roofs, green streets and green walls, all of which use soil and vegetation to absorb rainwater, and installing high-level storm sewers that separate stormwater from sanitary waste."
Source: The Queens Gazette, Feb. 13, 2008
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Critics Dissect Domino Sugar Factory Site Design
Design and community advocates have taken a look at the recently unveiled proposal for redeveloping the Domino Sugar Factory on the Willamsburg waterfront, and they don't like it. In a Feb. 5 meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Lisa Kersavage of the Municipal Art Society said the glass box structure proposed to sit atop the iconic factory "is simply too large," and that its design is not in tune with the landmarked building. "...the project does not come together as a cohesive whole," said the Williamsburg Greenpoint Preservation Alliance, adding that the newly landmarked building "deserves a more comprehensive preservation approach." Others testified at the meeting as well. The commission did not vote on the plan, and WGPA sources suggest none of the commissioners are backing it in its current form.
Source: Curbed.com, Feb. 6, 2008
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Waterwire's Guide to PlaNYC 2030
A Four Point Platform to Support and Revitalize the East River
Ferrying NYC to a Cleaner, Blue-Greener 2030
The East River Agenda: Joining Together to Reclaim a Resource
Neighborhoods and Tributaries of the East River: Series Recap
Can Sustainable Infrastructure Help Address Combined Sewer Overflows?
The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
457 Madison Avenue
New York, NY, 10022
212-935-9831
info [AT] waterfrontalliance [DOT] org