One of the best reasons to visit Pier 15 (rendering at right), according to some fans of the newly opened two-level public space on the East River near South Street Seaport, is that from the second level one may look down through towering masts to the decks of magnificent tall ships -- Wavertree and Peking -- docked a few feet away.

Pier 15 is part of the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project funded with $150 million from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). The two-mile redevelopment of the East River waterfront on the Manhattan side stretches from the Battery Maritime Building to Pier 35 at Rutgers Street on the Lower East Side.

At least that was the original extent of the redevelopment. Last month, at the urging of Sen. Charles Schumer and State Sen. Daniel Squadron, the LMDC approved $14 million to redevelop Pier 42, which lies a couple blocks north of Rutgers Street between Gouverneur and Jackson Streets.

The transformation of Pier 42 (left), currently used for parking and little else, will start with the demolition of the abandoned shed. The LMDC estimates that the entire Pier 42 project could cost $40 million; the initial $14 million investment will allow the creation of simple open space and a master plan for a more detailed design. Ten years ago, a study of the East River waterfront proposed a beach at Pier 42.

"One of the hallmarks of this administration has been the citywide effort to provide New Yorkers with increased access to the waterfront," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe in a press release. "Thanks to this essential funding from the LMDC, this abandoned pier -- once an active maritime commercial site -- will once again spring to life. East River Park has long needed a more beautiful and expansive southern entry."

In other East River waterfront construction, Pier 35 renovation and pile driving began recently, and esplanade reconstruction from the Battery Maritime Building to Old Slip, which began last summer and includes South Street utility reconstruction, is ongoing.

"We decided these could not be boring educational videos," said Ray Fusco, a maritime event producer. "They had to be something different. They had to have some panache."

With compelling first-person narration, lively music in the background and quick-cut editing, the videos about safe boating produced by Mr. Fusco and his colleagues -- executive producer John Rako, Emmy and Peabody Award winning director Jeff Folmsbee and consulting producer Pat La Morte -- are anything but boring. You'll find the videos at The Safe Harbor, a free online educational resource for boaters in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The Port's busy, multi-user environment requires mariners of all vessels to be informed about each other. To help, the Safe Harbor site offers information such as nautical charts, tide and current information, links to the U.S. Coast Guard and ferry companies, and more. At the heart of the site are the videos. The longest, a 28-minute documentary titled "The Mariner's Guide to the Port of New York and New Jersey," has been shown at boat shows and outdoor activity shows. Viewers will also find several shorter videos, each a four-to-five-minute guide to using the harbor safely from the perspectives of pilots, paddlers, sailors and motor boaters. Finally, here's a 62-second look at Operation Clear Channel, about the importance of steering clear of vessels in the shipping channel.

Mr. Fusco and his production team knew the first-person format would grab viewers. "You've got the ferry captain talking about beginning sailing courses on Fridays at rush hour," he said. "Or the captain that can't see kayakers. Or the pilot that has a 500-yard blind spot that no one knows about."

In one segment, the captain of an enormous cargo ship trains his binoculars across the expanse of the containers stretching before him and spots a tiny motorboat. "There's one cutting across right in front of us," the captain says, startled. "What the heck is he thinking?" The ship is moving fast, cannot stop, and cannot leave the channel.

The Safe Harbor project, three years in the making, is funded by the I BOAT NJ  program through the NJy Department of Transportation and in partnership with the USCG Sector NY. It began as an idea at a meeting of the Harbor Education subcommittee of the Harbor Safety, Navigation and Operations Committee.

"We've been on a lot of boats in the harbor trying to get all the right shots. We've done lots of interviews," said Mr. Fusco, who said the Safe Harbor team may modify the videos for other ports around the country. "We have had a tremendous amount of support from everyone around the Port, recreational and commercial alike -- Department of Transportation, Metro Pilots, Sandy Hook Pilots, Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary -- everyone."

If you have questions or comments about the Safe Harbor site and videos, Mr. Fusco may be reached at 410 299 1917. Photos and artwork courtesy of The Safe Harbor.

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:

Where will the Gowanus Canals toxic sludge go?
"...After scraping up tons of toxic sludge from the bottom of the canal, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering seven ways to dispose of the contaminated mess..."
The Brooklyn Paper, January 11, 2012

How Will Climate Change Affect Gowanus Canal Area?
"...As the group of about 15 people toured the canal's three northern bridges in the sunny, 58-degree weather - in January - it wasn't hard to imagine global warming coming to Brooklyn...."
Brooklyn Eagle, January 10, 2012

U.S. Announces Proposals to Clean Gowanus Canal
"The toxic cocktail that is the Gowanus Canal took a century to mix. Now plans for the federal government to transform it in 10 years from an environmental blight into a healthy urban waterway are taking shape amid optimism from neighbors and frustration from City Hall. This week, the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced seven proposals to dredge, cap and dispose of the hazardous waste in Brooklyn's most infamous body of water..."
The New York Times, January 4, 2012

Blasting, part of Kill van Kull dredging project, raises Staten Islanders' fears, damage complaints
"Residents of Mariners Harbor say they are feeling the impact of a project to deepen the Kill Van Kull -- several residents say that cracks in the foundations of their homes are the result of a dredging project that involves blasting..."
Staten Island Advance, January 1, 2012

 Reinventing the East Side Waterfront
"One by one, the announcements have come. Of a deal to convert Pier 42, located between the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges, from a storage facility into open space. Of design guidelines for Waterside Pier, a former Consolidated Edison site along the East River in Midtown, released in December by the Municipal Art Society. Of the opening of Pier 15, a block below South Street Seaport, which offers double-decker views of the East River..."
The New York Times, December 30, 2011

A tide of concern is rising over risk of storm surges
"A horror movie could not have been more frightening or more graphic. Hurricane-force winds. Sea levels rising 13 feet over the course of an hour. Thirty-foot storm surges destroying every manmade object in their path. Transportation systems flooded. No potable drinking water. Destroyed ecosystems. Beaches and barrier islands washed away. Two to three million people having to be evacuated..."
The Villager, December 29, 2011

Ship's Espresso-Fueled Mission: Laying Cables Beneath the Hudson
"...The cables, coiled in huge steel baskets on the deck of the ship, were custom-made in a factory near Naples to survive for decades in the muck and clay beneath the Hudson. The ship, the Giulio Verne, is one of only two in the world capable of laying so much heavy cable across ocean floors and deep riverbeds..."
The New York Times,
December 26, 2011



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