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PART-TIME MARINE EDUCATOR
Develop curricula; design, adapt and deliver interdisciplinary lessons; supervise interns; conduct outreach; and more. 24 hours/week, 5-month position, April-August. Coastal Classroom (City Parks Foundation). For more information email education@cityparksfoundation.org
EXPERIENCED SAILORS
Successful Manhattan sailing company is now hiring experienced sailors for all positions for our 2011 Summer Season. Charter captains, sailing instructors, camp counselors, crew, fleet manager. To apply, visit: www.atlanticyachting.com/jobs |
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 Events on the Waterfront
Click on the links for details about these events. A calendar of events
may be found at www.waterfrontalliance.org/calendar
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February 3
Meeting: DEP Nature Walk Safety Signage
6:30p, Visitor Center, Newtown Creek, 329 Greenpoint Ave., Greenpoint, Brooklyn
February 5
Festival: Winter Fest with Birds of Prey
9a-5p, Harlem River Ecology Center
Walk: Winter Seal and Waterfowl Walk
10a, Sandy Hook, Building 18
February 6
Lessons:Pool Kayak Instructions
2p, Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center
February 7
Meeting: Rockaway Planning
7p, Peninsula Hospital, 5115 Beach Channel Drive, Arverne
February 8
February 9
Symposium: Environmental History of New York City and the Hudson River9a-4:30p, Pace University, Lower Manhattan February 11 Symposium: Building a Sustainable Future for New Jersey's Costal and Ocean Economy8:30a-1:30p, Wilson Hall Auditorium, Monmouth University February 12Workshop: Free Boating Workshop for Human-Powered and Small Boats10am, Halloween Yacht Club, 10 Seaview Ave., Stamford, CT February 15Talk: Planning for New York City's Waterfront6:30p, Metropolitan Exchange, 33 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn
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DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
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To the editor,
I was excited to see that Four Sparrow Marsh was the lead article in today's WaterWire ["A Precious Place Threatened," January 21, 2011], but I was disappointed to see that A Movable Bridge was not credited with bringing it to your (MWA's) attention. The City Birder got a shout-out, though.
It was a good article, and I'm now curious to know more about the development plans. Sea Travelers Marina, behind the Toys "R" Us on the site, is where we keep Puffin. We love that it's a quiet, out-of-the-way marina. The place will sure be different with an additional 750 parking spaces and an auto retail center. Yikes! It was not clear from the map included with the article if the marina will remain untouched.
Brian Luster A Movable Bridge
Editor's note: Apologies for not crediting the Movable Bridge blog with alerting MWA to the news of proposed development near Four Sparrow Marsh. We don't have an answer yet about the future of Sea Travelers Marina.
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WHAT'S YOUR STORY?WaterWire wants to know about your organization. Pitch us a story idea! Write to Alison at asimko@waterfrontalliance.orgMWA ADDRESS
241 Water Street, 3rd FloorNew York, NY 10038. MWA EMAIL ADDRESSESOur waterwire.net addresses are no longer in service. All MWA emails end in waterfrontalliance.org.
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| CONTENTS: February 3, 2011 | Slashing Elsewhere, the New Governor Spares the Environment
Cuomo maintains the Environmental Protection Fund
Hoboken Gets Bad News
Divers say infrastructure deterioration is worse than expected.
Help is on the Way for Barnegat Bay
Gov. Christie signs three bills into law that will help reduce pollution
NYC DEP Introduces Projects Under the New Green Infrastructure Plan
Like Barnegat Bay (story above), Jamaica Bay will benefit
City Council Bill Urges Steps Toward Electrical Shore Power
Red Hook rallies: "Turn off those idling ships!"
SS United States is Saved from the Scrap Heap
Conservancy purchases historic ship
Environmental History of New York City and the Hudson River
Hudson River Environmental Society sponsors a symposium
Contemplating the Superfund Designation in NYC
Toxic solution or toxic label?
Don't Miss this Boat
Tug Eagle Service
Meet Some MWA Partners!
Newslinks
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SLASHING ELSEWHERE, CUOMO SHIELDS ENVIRONMENT
| | Environmental Protection Fund is Safe for Now
While describing New York State as "functionally bankrupt," and slashing spending on health care and education, Governor Andrew Cuomo managed to preserve the budget of the State's Environmental Protection Fund at $134 million, an amount that Scenic Hudson described as "a sufficient level of funding to keep the EPF operational in the coming year." "Especially in light of New York's budget problems, the funding of the Environmental Protection Fund demonstrates Governor Cuomo's commitment to our Harbor, the Hudson and the environment," commented Roland Lewis, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.Environmental groups were heartened also at the news that while the Governor proposed to cut the overall budget of the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, the agency would not be forced to fire more staff. Governor Cuomo's proposed budget must now be negotiated with the state legislature. |
HOBOKEN WATERFRONT DEALT A SETBACK
| | Divers Find More Damage than Expected
After she received the surprisingly negative engineers' report on the Hoboken waterfront on Friday, January 14, Mayor Dawn Zimmer took the weekend to compose a letter to her constituents. "This is not the news you were hoping to hear," she wrote, "but we must face our problems now, rather than letting them grow exponentially larger if left unchecked."
 The problem? After evaluating the mile-long Hoboken shoreline, divers from Boswell Engineering were reporting unexpectedly serious damage and deterioration. The price tag for rehabilitation of Hoboken's waterfront ballooned from $12 million to almost $20 million.
Boswell has assessed much of the city's seawall infrastructure and piers over the past few months. "The most surprising part of Boswell's findings is that we have an estimated $3.6 million in damages that need to be addressed with Pier A that was built approximately 10 years ago," the Mayor wrote. "The damage resulted not from shipworms, but from the fact that the mud line of the Hudson River under Pier A has receded by as much as 8 ½ feet in some areas, leaving the steel I-beam piles exposed to deterioration from the tides." The Mayor said that the pier is safe now, but to prevent costs from rising, she recommended moving quickly to repair it.
Up to this point, work on Hoboken's waterfront parks and walkways has been funded through agreements with a variety of agencies -- city, state, county, federal, etc. Going forward, "a significant portion of the costs for repairing our waterfront will have to come from our bonding capacity and/or from our surplus," Mayor Zimmer wrote.
Carter Craft, a Hoboken resident and waterfront planner who was the founding program director at the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, appreciates the Mayor's efforts. ""Mayor Zimmer is one of the first people to realize funding has to come from a variety of sources," he said. "She's also the first mayor to feel the pressing urge to do something about the waterfront. For 20 years there's been an imaginative activist community."
Those activists have driven the resurgence of public access to the Hoboken waterfront. Foremost is Fund for a Better Waterfront, which produced a plan for a waterfront path along the edge of Hoboken in 1990, as well as the map and model above. In recent years, the volunteers with the Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse (HCCB, right) have been active in organizing and promoting community involvement in waterfront plans. "It's nice to see the community connected with the river once again," said Sandy Sobanksi, HCCB founder and president, who noted, "We have a brand new boathouse coming to Hoboken!"
Despite the bad news about rising costs, Hoboken residents are feeling positive. The Zimmer Administration's waterfront plans include creation or repair and enhancement of public space at Pier A, Pier C, Sinatra Park, Castle Point Park, Maxwell Place, Hoboken Cove and 1600 Park. Boswell engineers are also reviewing privately owned waterfront areas with public access including parcels owned by Stevens Institute, Shipyard Associates, PT Maxwell, NY Waterway and Toll Brothers.
Hoboken Waterfront History
One hundred years ago, the Hoboken piers were the docks of choice for several steamship lines, including the North German Lloyd, the Hamburg-American, the Netherland-American and Scandinavian. Below, an image from a 1906 postcard shows the North German Lloyd piers of Hoboken.
"The German liner piers, shared by what were then two of the world's biggest and busiest shippers, the Hamburg-American Line and the North German Lloyd, were built just after the turn of the century. Slender "finger" piers, which extended more than 900 feet out into the Hudson, they were built on the site of the ruins of the previous docks, which were destroyed in the devastating Hoboken Pier Fire of 1900... After a string of ruinous fires over the years (including 1944), the last of these docks served the American Export Lines until 1970, then collapsed in 1993 and was finally demolished in 1997." Hoboken History, the magazine of the Hoboken Historical Museum, issue no. 23, 1999 
Above, a liner approaches the Hoboken docks in a postcard image dated 1907. The block-long opening along the water is between 4th and 5th Streets, with the North German Lloyd Piers on the right and the Netherland-American Pier on the left. Both postcard images are from the collection of Maggie Land Blanck.
The Future of the Hoboken Waterfront
Beyond immediate repairs to Pier A, a remnant of Hoboken's grand role in the region's shipping history, Mayor Zimmer plans to "establish a clear preventative maintenance schedule and standards that will be a written blueprint and guide for the long-term sustainability of our waterfront." She is calling on the community to get even more involved by joining "Friends of Parks" groups that offer ways for residents to help create and program new park space: Friends of 1600 Park & Hoboken Cove, Friends of Southwest Park, Friends of Sinatra Park, and Friends of Pier A & Pier C. Residents may email friendsofparks@hobokennj.org to join a group and waterfront@hobokennj.org to sign up for emailed notices.
Once Boswell concludes its assessment work, the City of Hoboken will host a public meeting to solicit community input on the challenges facing the city's waterfront. Date and location will be announced soon at www.hobokennj.org. To see the Boswell waterfront inspection report and a detailed waterfront properties map, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.
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HELP IS ON THE WAY FOR BARNEGAT BAY
| |  New Laws will Reduce Excess Nitrogen and Other Pollutants in Bay
Barnegat Bay is a 660-square mile watershed south of Sandy Hook along the New Jersey shore. In 1995 it was designated an Estuary of National Significance.
In the way that New York City's Jamaica Bay has suffered ecological degradation, Barnegat Bay has been seriously impacted by development and population growth. For at least 40 years, environmentalists, including Save Barnegat Bay, the Barnegat Bay Partnership and the Trust for Public Land (TPL), have worked to protect the watershed. Click here to download TPL's Barnegat Bay 2020: A Vision for the Future of Conservation.
Despite growing public awareness of its precious ecosystem, Barnegat Bay remains vulnerable. The loss of natural habitat that filters contaminants and the increase in impermeable surfaces have both contributed to serious pollution. Just as excessive nitrogen -- traced in great part to an overloaded sewage system -- were found to be a major culprit of Jamaica Bay's environmental problems, so were excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphorus found to be polluting Barnegat Bay. Nitrogen and phosphorus come from stormwater runoff, which picks up fertilizer, pet waste, septic system discharges and boat waste discharges along its path into the Bay.
In early January, Governor Christie signed three bills that address key issues of the Barnegat Bay Comprehensive Plan of Action that he announced in December 2010.
- Bill A-2290 establishes the strictest-in-the-nation standards to control the amount and content of fertilizer applied to lawns. This will reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous that end up in waters like Barnegat Bay.
- Bill A-2501 updates statewide soil erosion and sediment control standards so that soils can properly absorb stormwater runoff. This will help address problems at construction sites, where soils get compacted to such a degree that contaminated water simply flows into the waterways.
- Bill A-3606 requires the State Dept. of Transportation to inventory and assess stormwater basins it owns in the Barnegat Bay watershed, and to include repairs or replacements in its capital project plans. Faulty basins result in pollution washing directly into the Bay.
The Plan also includes the closing of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant by the end of 2019. For the State's complete Barnegat Bay Plan, go to the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection web site.
Bottom photo of Barnegat Bay by Jim David, from the Trust for Public Land. |
DEP GREENS AND CLEANS QUEENS
| | Rainwater Absorption System will Lesson CSO Episodes
As Governor Christie was signing bills into law that will reduce excessive nitrogen in Barnegat Bay (see story above), an important pilot project of New York City's new Green Infrastructure Plan broke ground near the Belt Parkway in Queens. Like the new NJ laws, the NYC project is expected to reduce the presence of nitrogen and other pollutants in an important marine ecosystem.
Aiming to capture and treat stormwater runoff before it overloads the sewer system and is discharged in combined sewer overflow (CSO) episodes into Jamaica Bay, the NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection began building a nine-acre water retention system along North and South Conduit Streets. DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway expects the project, when finished, to have the capacity to divert at least 200,000 gallons of stormwater, thus improving water quality in Jamaica Bay.
The "bioretention and treatment zone" is being built under a roadway median. After 900 cubic yards of material is removed, the resulting shallow basin will be filled with special sand and stone to filter the stormwater, and then covered with a layer of soil and greenery. To divert stormwater into this drainage area, new curb cuts and catch basins have been installed.
More than 30 demonstration projects are being monitored by the City as the Bloomberg Administration tests the performance and costs of green infrastructure -- enhanced tree pits, which absorb stormwater; blue roofs, which slow roof water from draining too quickly and overwhelming storm sewers; and permeable pavement, which allows water to seep through it. Click here to find out more about NYC's green infrastructure projects.
Photos courtesy of the NYC Green Infrastructure Plan In another new pilot program launched on January 28, the DEP is now requiring parking lot owners to pay for stormwater runoff they produce, or demonstrate that they are addressing stormwater issues with green infrastructure. According to the DEP, parking lots make up 6% of NYC's impermeable surfaces. During a storm that produces one inch of water, one acre of impermeable surface generates roughly 27,000 gallons of stormwater runoff. Options for parking lots owners who wish to utilize green infrastructure include porous asphalt, catch basins, absorbent planted areas or subsurface detention systems. |
CITY COUNCIL ADDS TO CLAMOR CALLING FOR ELECTRICAL SHORE POWER IN BROOKLYN
| | Waterfronts Committee Sponsors Bill Urging a Competitive Electrical Rate
Cargo and cruise ships are powered by cheap bunker fuel, a dense, dirty oil literally found at the bottom of the barrel. When burned, bunker fuel releases carbon, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, contributing to serious air pollution in and around ports.
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In this nighttime photo of Cunard's Queen Mary 2 docked at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, exhaust can be seen rising from the stack. Photo by Adam Armstrong.
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Even when docked, ships run fuel-burning engines in order to keep electrical systems operating. Environmentalists say that a ship idling for one day emits as much exhaust as 10,000 cars in the same time period.
Ports on the West Coast and in Europe have begun to offer electrical power for docked ships. The practice has not yet reached the Port of New York and New Jersey, to the dismay of Red Hook residents affected by air pollution at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. "The deal to bring shore power to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal has to be finalized ASAP," said Adam Armstrong, a local resident who focuses on this issue at his blog A View From the Hook. "All the entities involved in bringing this plan to fruition are in agreement. This is a no-brainer. So why is it taking so long? The residents of Red Hook and surrounding neighborhoods should no longer have to breathe in the dangerous and avoidable pollution that these ships emit while idling in port."
One of the main problems holding up a resolution is the expense of electrical power compared to bunker fuel. Who will pay? NY City Council resolution No. 463, being introduced on February 17 at a Waterfronts Committee hearing (250 Broadway, 16th floor, 1pm; open to the public), urges the NY State Public Service Commission to set an electrical rate at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal that is competitive with the cost of fuel. The resolution notes that the Port Authority estimates that reducing emissions by switching to shore power would create $9 million per year in health benefits.
Last year, the Port Authority set aside $15 million to build an electrical power to grid, in part supported by funds from the Environmental Protection Agency. But the Port Authority and the NYC Economic Development Corp. cannot agree on which agency will pay to maintain the grid. Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise Lines promised to invest $1 million to $2 million per ship to upgrade power connections.
 On January 3, Red Hook neighbors were joined by Councilmember Brad Lander, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Councilmember Stephen Levin at a rally to call attention to the issue. "We can smell that diesel wafting over the neighborhood," Sen. Squadron said. "It's time for the cruise ship terminal to stop choking Brooklyn."
"I don't really care about the quibbling, who wants to pay, who doesn't," Mr. Armstrong wrote later on his blog. "At the moment it's our residents who are paying, many who are the most vulnerable in our community."
Daytime photo of the Queen Mary 2, above, by Robert Simko. Photo of rally banner by Adam Armstrong. |
SS UNITED STATES IS PURCHASED BY CONSERVANCY
| | Saved from the Scrap Heap, the Nation's Flagship Now Needs a Permanent Home
 Thanks to a $5.8 million pledge by Philadelphia philanthropist H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest, the SS United States Conservancy able to purchase the SS United States. The owners of the ship -- Norwegian Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong -- have agreed to sell her to the Conservancy, declining a bid twice as high from a vessel scrapper in order to support the Conservancy's preservation efforts.
The Conservancy is entertaining proposals for a permanent home for the ship. Launched in 1952 and retired only 17 years later, the glamorous SS United States was the largest and most technologically advanced ocean liner built in this country. On her maiden voyage, she broke the transatlantic speed record held by the Queen Mary for the previous 14 years by more than 10 hours, making the crossing in 3 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes at an average speed of 35.59 knots. She remains the fastest ship in the world. For the last few decades, the SS United States has gathered rust in a Philadelphia shipyard.
"We are one big step closer to ensuring that this great symbol of American innovation is permanently preserved," said Susan Gibbs, the Conservancy's board president, whose grandfather, William Francis Gibbs, designed the legendary liner. Ms. Gibbs said the Conservancy would accelerate plans to turn the nation's flagship in a "multi-purpose waterfront destination with dynamic hotel, retail, educational and museum offerings."
Dan McSweeney, the Conservancy's executive director, said organizations in New York, Philadelphia and Miami have expressed interest hosting in the vessel. "The total cost could be a couple of hundred million dollars but that's comparable to land-based development on a similar scale," he said.
Mr. Lenfest's gift will help maintain the ship for 20 months. To donate to the SS United States Conservancy, click here.
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ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY AND THE HUDSON RIVER
| | Hudson River Environmental Society Sponsors a Symposium
 A special symposium examining the impact of human development on the ecology of New York Harbor and the Hudson River over the past 400 years -- and vice versa -- is taking place Wednesday, February 9 at Pace University in Lower Manhattan. Experts will describe how the marine ecosystem has been affected by human presence, and how the great metropolis grew as a result of maritime industry. Don't miss a special presentation by Dr. Eric Sanderson on "Welikia: The ecology and wildlife of New York City beyond Mannahatta 1609."
The symposium, 9am to 4:30pm, is sponsored by the Hudson River Environmental Society and co-sponsored by the Hudson River Foundation and Pace University. Admission is $65 for the general public, $50 for faculty and $20 for students.
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CONTEMPLATING THE SUPERFUND DESIGNATION IN NYC
| |  Toxic Solution or Toxic Label?
What will the recent Superfund designations of Newtown Creek in Queens and the Gowanus Canal (right) in Brooklyn mean for community residents and the rest of the city? How will they affect the plans of real estate developers interested in revitalizing these post-industrial zones? What is the fate of the natural environments themselves?
The Museum of the City of New York will try to answer these and other questions at a public progam on February 8 at 6:30pm. The event is co-sponsored by the Newtown Creek Alliance and presented as part of the Museum's Urban Forum series, New York Neighborhoods-Preservation and Development.
Panelists will include Alan Bell, principal and co-founder of Hudson Companies; Walter Mugdan, Superfund Division Director at the Environmental Protection Agency; Kathleen Schmid, Director of the Newtown Creek Alliance, and Carter H. Strickland, Jr., Deputy Commissioner for Sustainability, NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection. NYU Prof. Roderick M. Hills, Jr. will moderate.
Tickets are $6 if you mention the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance or if you are a member of the Museum. Otherwise, tickets are $12 for non-members and $8 for students and seniors. Reservations required. Call 917-492-3395 or email programs@mcny.org.
Photo courtesy of the NYC Dept. of City Planning. |
| DON'T MISS THIS BOAT | |  Vessel: Eagle Service
Owned by: Hornbeck Offshore Services, based in Louisiana.
Seen: heading south on the Hudson River
Date: January 7, 2011
Job: Eagle Service had just escorted the barge Energy 13502, carrying over 100,000 barrels of oil, to New York Harbor from the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Photographer: Robert Simko
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| MWA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT |
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Expanding every week, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is more than a coalition; it's a force. We are ferry captains, shipping executives, park directors, scientists, sailors, paddlers, swimmers, teachers, urban planners, architects and more. Together, we advocate for the best possible waterfront in the best possible city, a waterfront that is clean and accessible to all, with a robust maritime workforce and efficient, affordable waterborne transportation. Join us! Contact Louis Kleinman at lkleinman@waterfrontalliance.org. Meet some Partners of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance:
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BlueShore Engineering LLC
http://www.blueshorellc.com
In planning coastal projects, a design must first avoid impacts to the environment and natural resources. If avoidance is not possible, and a compelling purpose and need for the structure can be demonstrated, then the design must minimize the potential impacts, and mitigate for any impacts that are unavoidable. Hundreds of years of engineering successes and failures demonstrate that the most natural solutions provide the greatest benefits for ours and future generations. BlueShore Engineering considers low-impact sustainable design and construction to be the first design criteria of every project. - Gateway Bike & Boathouse
http://www.gatewayboathouse.org The Gateway Bike & Boathouse is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity based in Rockaway. We are an advocacy group for bike friendly roads and water access on the peninsula. We are currently speaking with the National Park Service and NYC Parks and Recreation towards establishing bike and boating facilities in Rockaway. -
Miller's Launch
http://www.millerslaunch.com
Miller's Launch's marine professionals and top-notch equipment will assure the success of your task. Our personnel are federally licensed operators, certified welders, custom fabricators and fully trained and certified pollution and environmental specialists. - Valsen Marine
http://www.judlau.com/companies_valsen.htm
Valsen Marine, LLC is a waterfront company providing specialty construction services in the New York City area. The company's initial focus is on dock building, diving services and dredging services, with a concentration on large-scale commercial work in NYC. Valsen is also pursuing dock building and diving opportunities in the Northeast Region, and environmental dredging / waterfront remediation nationwide. (back to top)
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| WATERFRONT NEWSLINKS |
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City taps Billybey Ferry for East River serviceCrain's New York Business, February 2, 2011 THIS JUST IN: Feds finally state what we all know - the Gowanus is a cancer-causing toiletThe Brooklyn Paper, February 2, 2011 New Ferry Service Floated for East RiverThe Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2011 Whales return to New York City: Massive mammals appearing again in seas near city; draws sightseersDaily News, January 30, 2011 Officials plan to raise roadbed of Bayonne Bridge without stopping trafficThe Star-Ledger, January 26, 2011 Army Corps plans to clean, restore Kill Van Kull in BayonneThe Jersey Journal, January 25, 2011 NYC museum to display Navy Yard's 200-year historyThe Washington Post, January 22, 2011 Walk this way! City to expand Newtown Creek nature pathThe Brooklyn Paper, January 20, 2011 Odd Jobs: Keeping the Sewage FlowingThe Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2011 Queens Clobbers Brooklyn in Newtown Money VoteThe L Magazine, January 11, 2011 On the Waterfront Plan: Real Estate Dreams and Future ConflictsGotham Gazette, January 2011 (back to top) |
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