 News and stories about the waterways of
New York and New Jersey, from the Metropolitan Waterfront AllianceMARCH 2, 2013 |
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MARITIME HERITAGE IN JEOPARDY
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New Yorkers can sometimes forget that theirs is an island city, an urban archipelago that rose to international prominence over hundreds of years because of its harbor and port.
Around 1900, Peck Slip was a lively scene, with New Haven Line
steamboats docking daily, filled with people and goods.
Remnants of NYC's original port can still be seen in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood designated the South Street Seaport Historic District -- 12 blocks of old buildings, cobblestone streets and historic vessels at the waterfront.
The City owns much of this area -- the streets and piers, of course, but also whole blocks of 19th-century buildings; notably, the landmarked Schermerhorn Row, the home of the South Street Seaport Museum. Hundreds of millions of dollars in public money has been spent to preserve and revitalize these sites, in keeping with the district's special designation.
A new association -- the Save Our Seaport Coalition -- warns, however, that this fragile historic district is in jeopardy, vulnerable to inappropriate development. Determined to protect the future of the district and maintain its public purpose, the Coalition is collecting signatures on a petition to Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council, and Coalition members are preparing to testify at a City Council hearing on March 14 that will discuss the district.
The petition asks that disposition of public space in the district to private developers be halted; that a... Read more.
"You cannot underestimate the role of the Port of New York, whose birthplace was South Street, in western civilization and world history. It is the touchstone of our experience as an international trading center, with huge ramifications and meaning not just to New Yorkers, but to the people of the world. Miraculously, South Street has survived as an historic place, but at the moment its urban and maritime character is very fragile."
- Mark Peckham, NYS Historic Preservation Office, 2006
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DELAYED OPENING OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLANDS CAUSES HARDSHIP
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The delayed reopening of Liberty and Ellis Islands and the inability of the National Park Service to provide even a general timeline for reopening is causing hardship -- and Ken Salazar knows it.
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, above in the yellow cap, toured the two islands on February 26 and afterward held a news conference at Battery Park. "We have met with people who are directly impacted," he said. "I know that with just one of our concessionaires there are about 170 employees that had to be laid off. We're talking about real jobs, real people."
Hornblower Cruises, which provides ferry transportation to and from the islands, is just one of the employers at Liberty and Ellis Island forced to curtail operations. "This is hurting the downtown merchants in so many ways," Terry McCrae, founder of Hornblower, told WaterWire. "It's disappointing that the federal government hasn't been able to come up with a plan to move forward yet."
Dock replacement and walkway repair aside, the main issue that will determine when the two islands will reopen is... Read more.
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NEW POLLUTION CONTROL FOR THE BRONX RIVER
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In a pilot program, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection has installed hydraulic bar screens and nylon netting at four sewer outfalls in the south Bronx -- West Farms Road, Bronx Park Avenue, Bronx Zoo, Sound View Park -- to catch debris before it is swept into the Bronx River.
Later this year DEP will complete construction on similar pollution control devices at the head of the Gowanus Canal.
The first four pollution control devices cost $26 million. The nylon netting is less expensive but requires manual cleaning after each storm. The hydraulic bar screens are more costly but are self-cleaning and direct the trapped debris to a wastewater treatment plant where it is removed. The devices have been installed in phases over the last 18 months and so far have caught more than 10 tons of... Read more.
Photo: NYC Department of Environmental Protection
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WELCOMING THE OSPREY
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Osprey are magnificent, fish-eating birds of prey with wingspans as wide as six feet. After coming perilously close to extinction, these impressive raptors are once again visiting New York Harbor. Click on this video to get a sense of the osprey; watch as the birds hunt from 50 to 300 feet in the air and then dive into the water to catch fish with their talons.
 In the next few weeks, watch for osprey to start migrating through New York City on their way south. To welcome them and help this resurgence, the New York Harbor Osprey Initiative is putting up two nesting platforms, both with webcams, one near Bush Terminal Piers Park in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and the other at the end of Yankee Pier on Governors Island.
Until now, the closest manmade osprey platforms were in Jamaica Bay and the Meadowlands.
Bart Chezar launched the osprey platform initiative about two years ago. "After long delays we were able to successfully install..." Read more.
Drawing courtesy of Bart Chezar
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IN MEMORIAM: JOHN NEU
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 John L. Neu, a distinguished businessman, philanthropist, environmentalist and Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance board member passed away suddenly on February 27.
Chairman of Hugo Neu Corporation, Mr. Neu guided the metal recycling company founded by his father to a prominent position on the international scene. He joined the MWA board in 2009 and immediately made a difference, informing the direction and programming of the MWA through his professional experience in the shipping and scrap metal industry and also through his extensive civic work as a dedicated environmentalist. "His early generosity in terms of time and resources were critical to getting the MWA off the ground," said Roland Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer of the MWA. "He was an active board member with a passion for the MWA mission of creating a healthy and vibrant harbor."
"John Neu was already a hero in the environmental community before MWA came into existence," said Kent Barwick, Vice Chair of the MWA Board. "His efforts with Baykeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council created dramatic improvements in the way policy makers dealt with the estuary. What I think attracted John to MWA was..." Read more.
Photo courtesy of Hugo Neu Corp.
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BY & LARGE
Short items on
waterfront events and issues
Speaking of Resiliency
Two Conferences, One Forum and an Assembly in the Next Six Weeks
Metropolitan Waterfront Conference 2013
Join Alliance Partners, civic leaders, activists, and decision makers at the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance's 2013 Waterfront Conference, taking place on April 9, 2013, 9am to 5pm aboard Entertainment Cruises' Spirit of New Jersey. Click here for more information on the day's events and tickets.
Crain's Rebuilding
New York Conference
Use your association with the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance for a $40 discount on admission to Crain's Rebuilding New York conference on April 4, 8am to 12pm, at the Sheraton New York Times Square. Click here for details. Use the code word "Rebuild" for the MWA discount.
College of Staten Island Superstorm Sandy Forum
Day-long forum on March 8 at the College of Staten Island campus (2800 Victory Boulevard) focused on Staten Island's recovery after Sandy, resilience strategies and what the future holds. Click here for more information.
Regional Plan Association 23rd Annual Assembly
The Regional Plan Association's 23rd Annual Assembly, themed A Resilient Region, takes place Friday, April 19, 2013 at the Waldorf-Astoria. Join more than 1,000 civic and business leaders to discuss issues affecting the prosperity and quality of life in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region. Click here for more details.
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Maserati Breaks the NYC to San Francisco Record
Maserati, the sleek 70-foot monohull yacht skippered by Giovanni Soldini that left Lower Manhattan's North Cove on December 31, 2012, arrived in San Francisco 47 days, 2 hours and 33 minutes later on February 16, 2013, breaking the New York to San Francisco (around Cape Horn) record by more than 10 days. She traveled 13,225 miles. Click here for a video about the voyage.
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MWA Welcomes Event Director Stephanie HillSince 2009, Stephanie Hill has helped to coordinate City of Water Day and assisted with other Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance events. She has more than 10 years of accounting experience and has a BS in Organizational Management. MWA is pleased to announce Ms. Hill is now the organization's new Event Director. Anyone needing more information about volunteering at City of Water Day on July 20, 2013 may contact Ms. Hill at shill@waterfrontalliance.org _________________________ In Memoriam: Ethel Pesin Ethel Pesin, the widow of Morris Pesin (the "father" of Liberty State Park) and the mother of Sam Pesin (president of the Friends of Liberty State Park), passed away on February 15. She was 98. She was remembered as an enthusiastic champion of Liberty State Park, opposing plans for a golf course and a water park, among other highlights of her advocacy. She received the Liberty State Park Lifetime Advocacy Award in 2006 for a half century of dedication to the park. ___________________________
SOS: Sign the Petition
The Save Our Seaport Coalition is collecting signatures on a petition directed to Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council. See story at left. Click here to sign the petition.
Comment on the Gowanus Canal Clean-Up Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency's half-billion dollar clean-up plan for the Gowanus Canal includes removal of contaminated sediment, capping dredged areas and new controls to prevent raw sewage overflows. Download the plan here. The EPA has extended the deadline for public comment to April 27, 2013. Click here to email comments to the EPA. Contact Natalie Loney, the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, with any questions.
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EVENTS
Sunday, March 3Fourth community workshop on environmental resiliency. 1pm to 3pm, Ocean Village Community Room, 57-07, Shore Front Parkway, Rockaway
Wednesday, March 6 Panel discussion. 6:30pm, Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue At 103rd Street Thursday, March 7
NY Harbor School Benefit
6:30pm-9pm, New York Yacht Club, 37 W. 44th Street
Tuesday, March 12 Film screening. 6pm, South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St.
Thursday, March 21
__________ CLASSIFIED ADSPlace your water-related
classified ad free in
WaterWire! Contact asimko@waterfrontalliance.org
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WATERFRONT NEWSLINKS
Cheers in Brooklyn as Storm-Struck Grocery Store Returns
"...When the history of the hurricane is written, the reopening of a grocery store, even a reopening as elaborately planned as Fairway Red Hook's, may not merit much more than a footnote. But to many residents of this peninsular community, which was punished by the storm, the return of Fairway has in some sense symbolized the return of the neighborhood itself..."
The New York Times, March 2, 2013
Dolphin dies at Coney
"A baby dolphin was found washed up on the beach off the Coney Island Boardwalk on Saturday, and despite the best efforts of a good Samaritan, the poor creature passed away on the beach, according to witnesses..."
Brooklyn Daily, February 28, 2013
New Documentary Focuses On Ignored Warning Of Sandy In The Rockaways
"...With the Rockaways in ruins, scrawled on the wall of a handball court by the beach were the words: 'John Cori Warned You'..."
CBS New York, February 27, 2013
Billionaire launches plans for Titanic replica
"What could possibly go wrong?"
The Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2013
HMS Bounty Hearings
"...Tangled in rigging, he was dragged under the water again..."
gCaptain.com, February 12-25, 2013
Terminal operator sues longshoremen's union, says it was punished for resisting racketeering schemes
"A former shipping terminal operator in Newark and Brooklyn is suing the International Logshoremen's Association for $160 million, charging that leaders of the 65,000-member dockworkers' union are organized crime associates who forced the company out of business after it refused to go along with their racketeering schemes..."
The Star-Ledger, February 22, 2013
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