As seen at left, eight planning regions were evaluated in the Comprehensive Restoration Plan (CRP). Measurable objectives for restoration, called Target Ecosystem Characteristics (TECs), were identified, each with short-term (for 2015) and long-term (for 2050) goals. For example, the short-term objective for the Coastal Wetlands TEC is to create or restore 1,200 acres of wetlands by 2015 and the long-term objective is to create or restore 32,000 acres by 2050.

The NY-NJ Habor was designated as an estuary of national significance in 1988 and a comprehensive regional strategy was a recommendation of the HEP's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan in 1996. In order to achieve the objective of a comprehensive strategy, the USACE intiated the Hudson-Raritan Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study in 1999. Many federal, state, municipal, non-governmental organizations and other regional stakeholders have contributed to the development of the CRP, spanning state borders and political boundaries to focus on estuary-wide issues.

Volume 1 of the Comprehensive Restoration Plan, which can be found here, is an overview, outlining opportunities for implementing short term and long term goals. Volume 2 (click here) provides technical guidance for planning, evaluating and conducting individual restoration projects. Among the Plan's appendices is an Atlas of Restoration Opportunities, offering activities for each of 296 restoration sites in the area. Numerous maps provide excellent graphic detail, such as where one can find sediment contamination, or public access, or opportunities for restoration of islands for waterbirds or oyster reefs.

Chris Zeppie, Director of the Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance at The Port Authority of NY & NJ, said "It's extremely important that we develop short- and long-term strategies to preserve critical habitats in the estuary, and this document outlines a workable restoration vision and a blueprint for how our objectives can be accomplished."

The entire region will work toward common restoration goals that will create habitat, improve water and sediment quality, and provide access and recreational benefits to the region. Please contact Ms. Baron for more information about the project and future public meetings at lisa.a.baron@usace.army.mil or 917-790-8306.

Everybody wants to clean up the Gowanus Canal -- a seriously contaminated waterway running through Brooklyn -- but NY State and City can't agree on who should take responsibility. In December, the State Dept. of Conservation nominated the Canal for inclusion in the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfundprogram, which would put the clean-up in the hands of federal officials and be paid for, eventually, by the companies that caused the pollution. But on April 14, at a hearing on the issue in Brooklyn, city officials opposed a Superfund listing. Read about it in The Brooklyn Paper here.

Why designate the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site? Here's the reasoning from state and federal officials:

• Only the federal government has the resources to conduct the clean-up
• Decontamination should take place before redevelopment
  
• A Superfund clean-up will spur development
  

Why would a Superfund designation not have a positive outcome? Here's the City's reasoning:

• A Superfund designation would delay city remediation already in progress
  
• A Superfund designation could jeopardize rezoning plans and discourage private investment in the area
  
• Superfund clean-ups typically take more than a decade to complete, and some take much longer
• Local residents, along with Toll Brothers, a large national developer of residential properties, worry that a Superfund designation will stigmatize the neighborhood

Brooklyn's Community Board 6 (click here) is part of the advisory process on this issue.

Every year, more kayakers, sailors, surfers, canoeists (and seals, whales, oysters and other creatures) turn up along New York's nearly 600 miles of shoreline, as better access and cleaner waters return the natural beauty of the coast to the city. On April 19, the Canarsie-based Sebago Canoe Club marked a milestone in this historic return to the water: The club dedicated its new dock and ramp for human-powered boats near Jamaica Bay.  

The facility will be the newest addition to New York City's Water Trail -- a list of more than two dozen small-boat launch sites in all five boroughs.

The new dock is the first part of Sebago's multi-stage plan to improve access to the city's coastline for its Brooklyn neighbors and all New Yorkers. The 75-year-old club has raised more than $125,000 to construct the dock and make other improvements to Paerdegat Basin Park. With those funds and plenty of volunteer effort, Sebago cleared away 25,000 pounds of industrial debris, reclaimed almost a half acre of parkland, created a communal garden and built a new path from the street to the dock, which is accessible to both able-bodied and disabled New Yorkers.

The Sebago Canoe Club is a volunteer run, 501C3 nonprofit, membership organization in Canarsie, Brooklyn that has served as a cultural, educational and recreational resource for New York City small boat enthusiasts since 1933. Over the years, Sebago has provided instruction and coaching for thousands of adults and young people, from its clubhouse on Paerdegat Basin. Club members include kayakers, canoeists, sailors, rowers, and flatwater racers from a diverse range of communities and all walks of life.

  See Manhattan at 3mph
on the Great Saunter of 2009

On the Great Saunter, New York's annual 32-mile, shoreline walking tour sponsored by Shorewalkers, walkers see ships, fishermen, cherry trees in blossom, spring flowers, Lady Liberty, New Jersey's Palisades, the High Bridge along the Harlem River and all five boroughs. On May 2, rain or shine, participants will gather at 7:30am at the corner of Fulton and South Streets (South Street Seaport). Anyone may join in or drop out along the way. At the end of the day, walkers rendezvous back at the Seaport. The walk is free to Shorewalkers members and $15 for non-members.

Rockaway Waterfront Alliance to develop Institute for Sustainable Environment in former firehouse

The significant work of the four-year-old Rockaway Waterfront Alliance was rewarded last month when the City's Economic Development Corporation bequeathed a decommissioned firehouse to the group for its new headquarters.

The Alliance will establish an Institute for Sustainable Environment in this 78-year-old building, creating a "great hall" for projects and events, classrooms, a roof garden, and a basement aquaculture center. The Alliance will expand its staff, programming and public outreach.
RWA's staff of four currently operates from local schools and other community spaces serving about 3,000 Rockaway residents and youths annually. This new permanent home will enable RWA to increase its client list to more than 10,000 a year and add additional staff

The Rockaway Waterfront Alliance works to revitalize the Rockaway peninsula, which is the longest stretch of public waterfront in New York State, with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Jamaica Bay on the other. Through stewardship efforts to educate urban youth and the community about environmental justice, the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance has brought a resurgence of public park development, and youth programming to the Rockaway Peninsula.

East River Community Recreation & Education on the Water (C.R.E.W.) seeks to impart a love for, and an understanding of, the waters of New York's East River through educational and recreational activities.

The goal is to restore ready and safe access to the city's largest open space and wildlife preserve: its rivers. Such access should be environmentally friendly, sustainable and open to all. Learning about and using the river will promote future generations' protection of it.

Our access point to the East River is on the esplanade at East 96th Street, where we have a hand-cranked davit (boat hoist) with removable ladder. We host shore-side activities as well. Our shipping container/boathouse is adjacent to Stanley Isaacs Park and the southbound access road to the FDR Drive near E. 95th Street. There, a block away from the davit, we keep equipment and two 25-foot Whitehall gig rowing boats!

Join us for free community rowing, Go-Fish days, environmental science, arts, river ecology and harbor history.

The three parts of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliances Waterfront Action Agenda that interest our group most are

• Solutions for a Well Designed Edge: Barge and boat Infrastructure, particularly relating to small and human-powered boat access to designated safe spots around the estuary via beach, and via davit & ladder.
• Solutions for a Waterfront Town: Expansion of harbor education programs by the Parks Dept.
  
• Solutions for a Waterfront Town: Nature-friendly waterfront edges designed to encourage ecological understanding, fishing, and the growth of oysters and other aquatic life.

East River C.R.E.W. Inc., c/o Tori Gilbert, 22 East 89th St, NYC 10128
www.eastrivercrew.org or (212) 427-3956

Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus
MISSION: Preservation of an urban industrial district; advocates for clean water, clean land, restoration of the waterfront wetlands, and clean-up of brownfields.

New York City Water Trail Association
MISSION: Stewardship group for the NYC Water Trail; part of the Hudson River Watertrail Association, a coalition of small boaters who are actively interested in the Hudson River as a treasure of natural and human history.

NY River Sports/Pier 66 NYC
MISSION: Consortium of four boating organizations -- Manhattan Kayak Company, NY Outrigger, NY Kayak Polo, and Hudson River Community Sailing --whose mission is to foster development, education, and safe practices in a variety of water sports for the boating community and the general public.

New York Kayak Polo
MISSION: Dedicated to the promotion of the sport of kayak polo as a way of using the Hudson River to foster a sense of stewardship.
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