Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance  8-12-09
 WATERWIRE           
   HIGH TIDE 12:30am  �  LOW TIDE 6:33am  �  HIGH TIDE 12:56pm  �  LOW TIDE 7:39pm                                      
       
 These are the tides for the Battery on August 12, 2009. For the tides in your area, click
here.
IN THIS ISSUE

Sunset Park to be Reactivated

Citywide Ferry Study

Staten Island Ferry is Stimulated


The Big G: Ready for You!

Alliance Partner Spotlight


Do you have waterfront news that everyone should know about? Email WaterWire, your platform for getting the word out, whether it's a public, nonprofit, government or citizen waterfront issue. WaterWire welcomes all comments, points of view, and your letters to the Waterwire editor, Alison Simko. You can also reach Alison at asimko
@waterfrontalliance.org



__________

EVENTS


AUGUST



Wednesday, August 12
6-8pm
Gowanus Canal Canoeing
Equipment provided. First
come, first served. Help clean theshoreline while you wait!

Free. 151 2nd Street, Brooklyn
Gowanus Dredgers Canoe
Club
.
www.gowanuscanal.org



Thursday August 13
1:25PM & 6:05PM
Screening: "Perils of gas drilling to New York City water supply"
www.nyh2o.org
Saturday, August 15

9am
Clean Sanctuary Campaign
Help care for the more than
400 acres of water in Hudson
River Park's estuarine
sanctuary. Skimmers, telescoping hook poles, and trash bags provided.
Free.
Friends of Hudson River Park
.
www.fohrp.org


Saturday, August 15

9:30-11:30am
Seining For Kids
Find out what lives in the
waters under the Manhattan
Bridge! Join experts from
the Coastal Marine Resource
Center and use a 30-foot
seining net to catch fish
and other East River creatures.

Free. Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
RSVP: [email protected]
www.brooklynbridgepark.org


Saturday, August 15

2-6pm
Brooklyn Bridge Park Rowing
This is a demonstration program sponsored by the Brooklyn Bridge
Parks Conservancy, local
volunteers, the Village Community Boathouse, and the Downtown Boathouse.
Free.
www.villagecom-munityboathouse.org


Saturday, August 15

1-5pm
Hoboken Boathouse Kayak Day
Trained kayakers will be on-hand
to provide tips for new paddlers.

Free. Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse, Maxwell Place Park Cove.
www.hobokencoveboathouse.org


Sunday, August 16

1-5pm
Red Hook Boaters Kayaking
Valentino Pier, Coffey St., Brooklyn. Free.
www.redhookboaters.org


Monday, August 17-Friday, August 21
Workshop series to develop innovative environmental design proposals for the Gowanus Canal
www.studiomode.nu


Thurs, August 20
Discussion by author: "My River Chronicles-Rediscovering America on the Hudson"
For time & more info look at website:
www.waterfrontmuseum.org

Saturday, August 22
11am-3pm
Brooklyn Bridge Park Rowing
This is demonstration program sponsored by the Brooklyn Bridge Parks Conservancy,
local volunteers, the Village Community Boathouse, and
the Downtown Boathouse.
Free.
www.villagecom-munityboathouse.org


Saturday, August 22
6-8pm
Gowanus Canal Canoeing
Equipment provided. Frst
come, first served. Help clean
the shoreline while you wait!
Free
151 2nd Street, Brooklyn
www.gowanuscanal.org


Sunday, August 23
1-5pm
Red Hook Boater Kayaking
Free
Valentino Pier Coffey St.
Red Hook Boaters
www.redhookboaters.org


Wednesday, August 26
6-8pm
Gowanus Canal Canoeing
Equipment provided. First
come, first served. Help clean the shoreline while you wait!

Free. Gowanus Dredgers
Canoe Club.

www.gowanuscanal.org

Thursday, August 27
Discussion by author: "Restoration & Refit of the 102year old Tugboat Pegasus
For time & more info look at website:
www.waterfrontmuseum.org


Saturday, August 29

2-5pm
Brooklyn Bridge Park Rowing
Demonstration program sponsored
by the Brooklyn Bridge Parks Conservancy, local volunteers,
the Village Community Boat-
house, and the Downtown Boathouse.
Free.
www.villagecom-munityboathouse.org



Saturday, August 29

4-6pm
Battle Week: History on the
Hudson Sail

Celebrate the Hudson River Quaricentennial and learn
about the river's central role
in the American Revolution.

$65. Classic Harbor Line
Chelsea Piers, Pier 59, near
19th Street and the Hudson River
. 212-627-1825
www.sail-nyc.com


Sunday, August 30
1-5pm
Red Hook Boaters Kayaking
Free. Valentino Pier, Coffey
St., Brooklyn
www.redhookboaters.org



Sunday, August 30

3-5pm
Kayak Staten Island
Tryouts at Clove Lake Park for the Senior Olympics of Staten Island
. Free.
www.kayakstatenisland.org

Sunday, August 30
7pm
2 Presentations  aboard historic Lehigh Valley #79 Waterfront Museum Barge

(a). Holland on Hudson NY/Netherlands
(b). SS Columbia: Restoration of a landmark
www.waterfrontmuseum.org





SEPTEMBER

September 8
Fleet Visit of Dutch Ships
New York visit of two Dutch Naval frigates (HMS Tromp & Van Speijk), as well as replicas of the historic vessels Halve Maen and Onrust, and flat-bottomed boats and super yachts from the Netherlands. The arrival of the Dutch ships and the firing of a salute will launch NY 400 Week. This special week of maritime activities commemorating Henry Hudson's discovery of the river that bears his name leads up to Harbor Day on September 13, 2009. www.ny400.org

September 9-10
H209 Forum - Water Challenges for Coastal Cities
Two-day international forum commemorating the pioneering spirit of Henry Hudson by bringing today's water experts together with future engineers and managers to explore sustainable solutions to the real challenges facing the Netherlands and the NYC/New Jersey metropolitan region. Cities worldwide stand to benefit from what happens here. It is aimed at exploring innovative and sustainable solutions for the water challengers for the 21st century. Above all, it will focus on cooperation and shared expertise, which together continue to make cities like New York, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam prosperous and dynamic. $995 ($250 for nonprofits).
Liberty Science Center, Jersey City. www.ny400.org


September 10
New Island Festival
Ten days of the best of Holland: thrilling concerts, exhilarating DJ sets, provocative theatre, stunning site-specific performance and dazzling visual arts, performed by world-class Dutch artists. Part of NY400. All of Governors Island will be the stage for the Dutch, who will utilize the waterfront promenade, historic homes, barracks and open green spaces to re-imagine this Island in the middle of New York Harbor. Highlights of the festival include the return of Director's Ivo van Hove's Toneelgroep Amsterdam (last season's opening night at BAM) and his acclaimed productions of Hedda Gabler and Streetcar Named Desire at New York Theatre Workshop; TUIG's Salto Vitale, an enormous site specific outdoor spectacle that has toured summer festivals all over Europe; and the US premiere of Silent Disco - a joyous dance party where all the participants wear headphones. Portions of the festival are free. Some performances require paid tickets. A festival pass is $35.
www..newislandfestival.com/
for the complete program.


September 12
New Amsterdam: the Island at the Center of the World
Opening day of a new Quadricentennial exhibition. Objects on view include Henry Hudson's contract with the Dutch East India Company, Peter Schagen's letter documenting the sale of Manhattan and a document of the first laws of lower Manhattan. This exhibition is organized by the Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands) and the South Street Seaport Museum. Tuesdays through Sundays. Through January 7, 2009. Admission $10, $8, $5. www.southstreet- seaportmuseum.org


September 12
6:30pm
Governors Island: The Jewel of the New York Harbor
Book reading by Ann Buttenwieser. Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place. www.skyscraper.org


September 12
9:45am
Brooklyn Bridge Swim
Swim your way from Manhattan across the East River to Brooklyn, in the shadow of the most famous bridge in the world. To add to the allure, teams from Brooklyn and Manhattan will compete in the Battle of the Bridge. www.nycswim.org

Sunday, September 13
NY Harbor Day
Harbor Day, a grand public event, will be the culmination and  high  point  of  the  NY400  week.  Water  will  be  the overarching  theme  of  the  day,  with  a  wide  range  of activities up and down the Hudson and in New York's waterfront parks. Spectators will be able to watch the events on the water on a giant video screen in the Battery, from stands seating between 7,000 and 10,000 viewers. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the parks and use free NY400 bikes and water taxis. The Harbor Day fleet will include a colorful assortment of historic Dutch and American yachts and sailboats, with 20 Dutch flat-bottomed boats, the replicas of the Halve Maen (the Dutch ship that moored on Manhattan in 1609) and Onrust (the first ship to be built in North America, in 1614), Dutch super yachts and naval vessels. All these ships will sail from New York Harbor up the Hudson, with a spectacular flyover by Dutch F16 fighter jets. There will also be finals of the sailing championships for Flying Dutchman sailboats (see Flying Dutchman sailing race). www.ny400.org


September 13
12pm
Super Boat Grand Prix
Annual powerboat lap race on the Hudson River between the Battery and 14th Street. www.superboat.com


Saturday, September 26
11am-3pm

National Estuaries Day at
Alley Pond Environmental Center

Little Neck Bay Festival
Free to public. Tabling for environmental groups available.
www.alleypond.com




__________


sunsetBrooklyn's Industrial Waterfront Reactivated with $270 Million Investment from City and State
     

11,000 new jobs to be created in Sunset Park Waterfront Vision Plan
    
Construction begins immediately

Sunset Park in context
 
Located on the Brooklyn waterfront across New York Harbor from Bayonne, NJ and the Kill van Kull, the Sunset Park maritime and industrial hub, developed a century ago, is in a strategic location for commerce and transportation, as seen in the map above prepared by the City. A rail line along 1st Avenue, rail floats at 51st and 65th Streets that connect to the Cross Harbor barge service, and the Bay Ridge Rail line add to the value of the district.

Playing a critical role in the region's economy, Sunset Park businesses employ nearly 20,000 workers. As the Sunset Park Waterfront Vision Plan, issued by the city last month, notes, "An industrial waterfront on this scale in an urban environment is a valuable, scarce resource."

Cross Harbor rail trip 2003
Summer 2003: Railroad cars filled with cocoa beans are pushed on a car float by the Cross Harbor Rail Road from Jersey City to Brooklyn. Photo by Robert Simko/The Broadsheet

On July 20, Mayor Bloomberg and other elected officials unveiled an ambitious series of short-tem and long-term projects to reactivate the industrial waterfront of Sunset Park.

The Sunset Park Waterfront Vision Plan is funded by more than $165 million from the City and  $105 million in State, Federal and private funds. The money will be invested in rail and maritime service, freight transportation, infrastructure upgrades and diversifying job opportunities. The plan also incorporates public access and green initiatives.

Specific plans include:
  • $80 million to upgrade the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal
  • $37 million to build the planned 22-acre Bush Terminal Piers Park
  • $8.6 million to upgrade buildings and infrastructure at Bush Terminal
  • $9 million to upgrade 1st Avenue infrastructure to allow modern railcars to connect to South Brooklyn Marine Terminal
  • 2,000 jobs created in the next two years; 11,000 created in total
  • A reduction in regional truck traffic by 70,000 trips
Elected officials took turns applauding the plan. Rep. Jerrold Nadler led by saying that the plan is "an excellent framework for the discussion and advancement of NYC's maritime and rail infrastructure... The efficient movement of goods, while not a topic that captures the imagination of most New Yorkers, is an issue of phenomenal and immediate importance to our city and our region. It means more and better jobs, and a much healthier environment."

Sunset Park Waterfront Vision Plan map
     
ferryComprehensive Ferry Study Yields
Plenty of Positive Feedback from New Yorkers

    
With three of four town hall meetings having taken place around the city,
planners are deep into financial, market and site analysis
   
Last town hall meeting to take place in Manhattan in late September;
Results of the study to be presented at the end of October

 
Flyers went up all over the city last month asking John Q. Public for input about the future of commuter ferry service and locations for new ferry landings. The flyers invited people to town hall meetings sponsored by the City Council, NYC Economic Development Corporation and the NYC Dept. of Transportation.

The Bronx flyer, part of which is reproduced below, identified 8 possible commuter ferry landing locations. "Are there others we have overlooked?" it asked readers. "Come tell us where the Blue Highway should connect your borough!"
DOT ferry landing map better

"We were very pleased with the turn-out," said Jamin Sewell, counsel to City Council member Oliver Koppell. About 60 people from all over the Bronx came to the town hall meeting on July 30 hosted by Council member Koppell. Some had suggestions for ferry landings other than the eight proposed by the City, "particularly on the Harlem River just south of Spuyten Duyvil, so that more people from the Kingsbridge area could access the water," Mr. Sewell said.

Constructive criticism was heard, to be sure. "People raised questions about access to the ferry terminals," Mr. Sewell said, emphasizing the need for better landside connections --  bus and rail links, parking lots, bicycle paths, sidewalks, etc. -- to complement the new landings.

"And, unless it's affordable," he added, "I don't see people taking advantage of this. We have to seriously look at subsidies to make ferry service viable."

Town hall meetings also took place last month in Brooklyn and Queens. Manhattanites will get their opportunity at the end of September (date and location to be determined). Why no town hall meeting in Staten Island, WaterWire asked City Council staffer Andrew Doba. "The SI delegation has a good idea already where they'd like to see a new ferry site," he answered. "For some time, they have wanted to get service at Camp St. Edward on the South Shore, and they are working to get that spot sited as we look to expand service."

Feedback from the first three meetings was "overwhelmingly positive," Mr. Doba said. "The crowds have been a great mix of community board members, ferry and waterfront advocates and the general public. Most people have been very informed, passionate and eager for expanded service. EDC has identified many potential sites for increased service and folks from the community have generally agreed with the selections."

The study will conclude at the end of October, after the most promising sites have been evaluated according to infrastructure conditions, market demand and financial feasibility. "At that time," Mr. Doba said, "EDC, DOT and the Speaker's Office will receive recommendations. Depending on a number of factors (the top concern being the economic climate), we will begin negotiations for implementing new service in the coming months."

NY Waterway
     
statenAdding to $180 Million in Stimulus Funds
Already Awarded, the Staten Island
Ferry Gets $46.7 Million More


aerial of St. George ferry terminal
Photo by Robert Simko/The Broadsheet

Washington loves the Staten Island Ferry. The $226 million in stimulus funds awarded to the fleet of ferries and the infrastructure that supports them is the largest amount directed toward a single project in New York State. The latest chunk of federal stimulus money for the Staten Island Ferry  -- $46.7 million on top of the $180 million already awarded -- is to be used for ferry and dry dock maintenance.

Because the dry dock work already had been funded by the City, this City money can now be applied to other ferry infrastructure projects. "The city's ferry system is a vital link in our mass transit system, and the stimulus dollars will allow us to move four ferry projects forward that would have otherwise suffered due to funding shortfalls," Mayor Michael Bloomberg was quoted as saying in the Staten Island Advance.

The money will be used to refurbish the bus ramps at the St. George terminal and upgrade retail space, and will also fund the continuation of 21 ferry maintenance jobs.

Redirected City money will be used to increase ferry landing access for people with disabilities at E. 90th Street, E. 34th Street, Pier 11 (Wall Street), Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4, St. George Slip 7, Battery Maritime Building Slip 5, Yankee Stadium, and Pier 79.

     

BigGMWA Boat Available for Your Use

Attention Alliance Partners! The Big G, a retired police boat, is available, no charge, for your use. Take funders on a tour! Throw a party! All we ask is a suggested contribution to cover the fuel usage. The Big G can hold a dozen people.

Click here to contact Captain Carter Craft for more information.

Big G
Photo by Bernard Ente
     
spotlightMWA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
From the paddlers of the Sebago Canoe Club on Jamaica Bay to the International Shippers of the New York Shipping Association, nearly 400 organizations dedicated to a healthy, shared and vibrant harbor make up the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. Together these hundreds of organizations and hundreds of thousands of people create a diverse and powerful voice for a better waterfront.

Below, read about the North River Historic Ship Society. If you'd like to see your waterfront group in the WaterWire Spotlight, email [email protected]/.



North River Historic Ship Society logo

By Betsy Frawley Haggerty

You can ride a tugboat, get wet aboard a New York City fireboat and explore a once-sunken lightship, thanks in part to the work of the North River Historic Ship Society (NRHSS).  Since 1994, this small New York City not-for-profit organization has been working to help historic ships find homes on the New York City waterfront.  The effort has involved education, advocacy, negotiation, and in the case of John Krevey, owner of the Frying Pan lightship and one of NRHSS's founders, stubborn determination.

Frying Pan and John J. Harvey

The fireboat John J. Harvey and the Frying Pan Lightship docked at Pier 66 Maritime.
Photos by Betsy Frawley Haggerty.


"I got involved in this because I wanted to find a home for the Frying Pan," Krevey recalled recently.  At the time, Hudson River Park was still being planned, and Krevey and a small group of preservationists and historic ship enthusiasts started the organization to make the case that the park's final design should include piers where historic ships can dock.  The effort succeeded, and three Hudson River Park piers -- Piers 25, 54 and 97 -- have been designated as historic ship piers. None has opened yet, however, but Krevey did manage to create a home for the Frying Pan and other historic ships.

It's a long, long story, but Krevey, with some negotiation assistance by NRHSS board members, has created a ship-friendly venue in Hudson Rive Park at Pier 66 Maritime (26th Street).  The pier, a historic railroad barge with a restaurant and bar, provides dock space for Frying Pan, the fireboat John J. Harvey and visiting historic ships.  This summer three tall ships visited on July 4 weekend, including the H.M.S. Bounty. "I used to hate to bring my ship to New York. Now its one of my favorite places to come," said Captain Robin Walbridge, as he gestured to the pier and surrounding park. "You people are doing things right here."

The popularity of Pier 66 Maritime as a home for historic ships emphasizes the need for more historic ship docking facilities throughout the harbor. NRHSS expects to work closely with the Hudson River Park Trust in setting guidelines for dockage at the future historic ship piers, and it has been working with other government entities to secure both permanent and temporary dock space in other locations. "Historic ships are much more than fascinating old boats," said Huntley Gill, one of the owners of the fireboat John J. Harvey. "They draw people to the water to learn a little history, see the harbor firsthand and have fun going for boat rides. It's all about public access."

On September 5 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. , NRHSS will host the Great North River Historic Ship Rally on Pier 84 in Hudson River Park (44th Street and 12th Avenue) . Three historic vessels: the 102-year-old tug Pegasus (below), the fireboat John J. Harvey and tug Cornell will offer free public trips. In addition the Lehigh Valley #79, a 95-year-old wooden railroad barge, will be open for tours, as will the tugboat Urger, the flagship of the New York State Canal System, and the Day Peckinpaugh, a 259-foot cargo carrier now owned by the New York State Museum.  For more information about the Rally, and to make reservations for free boat trips (highly recommended) visit www.nrhss.org.


Tug Pegasus

     
Recent Waterfront News 

State caught in 'Superflop'
The Brooklyn Papers, August 13, 2009

Islander rusts away in New York; bills pile up
Martha's Vineyard Times, August 13, 2009

Corruption Found at Waterfront Watchdog
The New York Times, August 12, 2009

GE dredging of Hudson resumes as PCB levels drop
Lower Hudson Journal News, August 12, 2009

Life, Art and Chickens, Afloat in the Harbor
The New York Times, August 12, 2009

NY waterfronts get money for makeover
CBS, August 11, 2009

Cleaner water off the Rockaways brings back fish, and some unwanted followers
The Columbia Journalist, August 11, 2009

City beaches earn mixed report card
Crain's New York Business, August 10, 2009

Waiting to Wade
Gotham Gazette, August 10, 2009

Wave of support for new ferries
August 6, 2009

National Parkland Not on Radar
Gotham Gazette, August 2009

Communities Drowned Out
Gotham Gazette, August 2009