 News and stories about the waterways of
New York and New Jersey, from the
Metropolitan Waterfront AllianceMAY 13, 2013 |
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RIVER TO THE PEOPLE
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On May 2, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh, Claire Weisz of WXY Architecture and Urban Design and special guests presented the final report of the East River Blueway Plan. An ambitious re-envisioning of the East River waterfront between the Brooklyn Bridge and 38th Street that will, if put into place, connect people to the water in many ways -- with safe highway crossings to a tree-lined promenade and a new beach, with fun and healthy recreational activities like kayaking and fishing -- it is also a sound plan for resilience. Extensive wetlands planted at Manhattan's edge will not only absorb stormwater runoff from the land but attenuate storm surge from the water. Green infrastructure -- such as stormwater storage under the ball fields -- will help soften the hard bulkhead.
Some say the most important part of the East River Blueway Plan was the method in which it was created. A model of community engagement, the plan was developed in partnership with Community Boards 3 and 6 and the Lower East Side Ecology Center, as well as 40 other community organizations and hundreds of enthusiastic residents. WXY partner Adam Lubinsky told the crowd that concepts evolved over time, as feedback was received.
The plan offers six priority projects, addresses operations and maintenance, and in some cases proposes funding sources. Acknowledging the multiple permits and approvals required, speakers at the presentation, including MWA's Roland Lewis, advocated for public/private funding strategies where possible. "The plan is designed so that each component can be solved or produced separately," said Assembly Member Kavanagh. "The entire plan does not have to be funded totally. The technical staff of many agencies have already spent time on the elements of this plan."
The priority projects of the East River Blueway Plan are
1. The Blueway Crossing and Flood Barrier - addressing the pinch point along the East River esplanade across the the Con Edison plant by creating a raised greenway.
2. Brooklyn Bridge Beach - Public access will be established to a natural beach under the bridge.
3. Corlears Hook Park Landscape Bridge - This landscaped bridge will connect Corlears Hook Park and East River Park.
4. Esplanade Freshwater Wetlands - In-water greenery along the section of highway where the FDR viaduct overhangs the river;.
5. Stuyvesant Cove Boat Launch - a floating dock adjacent to Solar One. In the coming months, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance will be working with the community on this project.
6. Skyport Garage Rooftop Activation - A garden with space for food vendors atop the Skyport Garage.
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PLUGGED IN
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 After months of seed harvesting, dredging, sand build-up, fence construction and seed germination, environmentalists and their community cohorts are preparing to plant two marsh islands in Jamaica Bay known as Ruler's Bar and Blackwall. In the first marsh restoration by volunteers in a national park, 18,000 spartina plugs will rejuvenate Ruler's Bar in community-led plantings beginning May 18. Anyone wishing to participate should contact Don Riepe, the Jamaica Bay Guardian of the American Littoral Society. Mr. Riepe is coordinating the effort with assistance from colleagues at the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers and city, state and federal government agencies.  The spartina plugs will be delivered by truck to the Broad Channel dock, then by boat -- along with volunteers -- to the island. "We're going to be responsible for monitoring and maintaining Ruler's Bar," Mr. Riepe told WaterWire. "We're aiming for an 85% success rate after three years." As an experiment to see what restoration method works better, Blackwall Marsh will be seeded with spartina, not planted with plugs. Last summer, volunteers harvested 140 pounds of spartina seed heads in Jamaica Bay (photo above) for the project. The seeds were stored over the winter and treated with cold water to simulate the natural process. Mr. Riepe and his allies at the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers have been meeting with city, state and federal agencies about the Bay environment for many years. "We had input into other islands," Mr. Riepe said. "With these two, we thought maybe we could do some of this restoration work with volunteers and save a lot of money. The whole budget is $645,000 -- probably half of what the government would have spent." Half a million dollars for the project is coming from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority in mitigation funding related to construction at the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge. May 18 and May 19 will be the first days of community planting, and are for persons over the age of 16. May 25, 26 and June 2 will be open to families and individuals of all ages. Planting will start at 12pm and end at 4pm. Sign in at 8-11 Shad Creek Road, Broad Channel, NY. _________________________________________________________
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HARBORLORE IN BROOKLYN
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Celebrating Brooklyn's 50+ miles of waterfront, from Greenpoint to Canarsie, the Harborlore Festival brings free performances of dance, music and storytelling to Brooklyn through June 15. The performances focus on the culture of water as carried in arts traditions practiced by Brooklyn folk artists who come from water-based cultures such as Jamaica, Egypt, and Bangladesh.Sponsored by the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Harborlore Festival's highlights include Songs of the Sea (May 30), traditional maritime songs such as English sea shanties, spiritual Baptist hymns and Jamaican banana boat folksongs; Dancing the Waters (June 2), traditional dance workshops at Coney Island Creek followed by dance performances of water lore; and the Sandylore Symposium (June 13), a discussion at 160 Schermerhorn Street about traditional ideas and approaches to managing natural disasters. The Festival concludes with Waterlore at the Water's Edge (June 15), performances and workshops for all ages on water lore found in stories, dance, drumming and ritual at Brooklyn Bridge Park. For a full description of the Harborlore Festival and list of performances, click here. ___________________________________________________________ |
COMMUNITY PROJECTS GET
$4.7 MILLION FROM NYCDEP
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Green roofs, porous pavement, rain gardens; these are examples of the dozen stormwater management projects awarded grants from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection Awards last week.
The DEP awarded a total of $4.7 million to projects that will improve water quality by keeping stormwater out of the city's sewer system and reducing overflows into local waterways. Preference for grants was given to proposals that would provide cost-effective stormwater controls, matching funds or other contributions, and other benefits such as increased shade, decreased energy use for cooling buildings, increased awareness about stormwater management, and increased community stewardship.
The 12 grant recipients are... READ MORE |
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BY & LARGEShort items on
waterfront events and issues
Relive the MWA Conference
The voices and ideas of hundreds of people at the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance 2013 Conference on April 9 were integral to its resounding success. Click here to see videos of the panel discussions and be reminded of how MWA partners are collaborating to reshape the City's waterfront. ___________________________
The Global Metropolis, hosted by NYU President John Sexton on June 18 & 19, is bringing in hundreds of city builders from around NYC, the USA and 14 nations to look at how we build -- and rebuild -- our great cities for a changing future. How we use our precious natural resources and develop -- and preserve -- our waterways and foreshores will be a major focus. Register today for a special members' rate. Space is limited. __________________________
Atlantic Cup Racers
Swing by NYC
 As you read this, an international fleet of magnificent sailboats are racing up the east coast to New York City. It's the first leg of the grueling Atlantic Cup, a race from Charleston to Newport, now in its third year. Get the scoop on the Atlantic Cup here, and visit the great vessels when they alight in North Cove (Battery Park City) for a three-day respite on May 15. The second leg of the race starts at 2pm sharp on May 18 off North Cove. While you're at North Cove, say hello to Francis Joyon aboard his extreme trimaran Idec. Joyon is at North Cove awaiting an optimal weather window to challenge the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Record. Details on the Idec here. Photo by Billy Black___________________________
Habitatmap has introduced Go With the Flow, a short-term group research project that empowers high school students to investigate their water system through real-world learning and document their research findings using interactive web-based media. Go With the Flow uses reading, writing, mapping, interviewing and local site visits.
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Volunteer at the Waterfront!
 It's volunteer season at the waterfront, as boats of all kinds are scraped, painted, refurbished and rerigged for summer. Hope Wright, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, is also part of the crew at the John J. Harvey fireboat. She and other crew members spent the weekend on Man Overboard and safety drills, line handling exercises and "a shake-down cruise up the Hudson," she reported. The Harvey owners require all crew members to have their CPR certificates, which volunteer Wendy Range, above, just achieved.
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Osprey WatchAnother pair of nesting osprey has been spotted in New York City, startling and gladdening local environmentalists. "This is the first year that we've noticed this osprey platform in the East River and we believe that it's a new one," reports Chrissy Word, Director of Public Programs at Rocking the Boat. "The selected site is extraordinary -- an abandoned and dilapidated crane!"  Photo by Charles Berenguer________________________________ NYC Beach Updates The NYC Parks Department offers excellent updates of beach repair and restoration all around the city. Sign up to receive them here.
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May 14Series on Sandy, Climate Change & the Future of NYC sponsored by the Institute for Public Knowledge. 7:30pm, Global Center Concourse, 238 Thompson St.
May 15
Atlantic Cup Racers Arrive
See the racing sailboats at North Cove through May 17.
May 16
Hoist a few with people working for waterfront access. $20 (suggested) gets one drink and membership in NYC Water Trail Assoc. 6pm. Pier 66 Maritime
May 18 Aboard the historic tugboat Pegasus, retrace with Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione the last voyage of the excursion boat General Slocum on the East River. 12pm.
Second leg, to Newport. 2pm, North Cove
See the works of Naima Rauam, through May 21. 12pm-7pm. Pier 17, 2nd floor.
May 19 Circumnavigate Staten Island aboard a NY Water Taxi. Board at Slip 6, Battery Park. 11am-2pm.
Fundraiser; first screening of the Jamaica Bay documentary trailer. 1pm-4pm. MoMA PS1 VW2 Dome, Shore Front Parkway between Beach 94-95 Streets
Free festival, Sheepshead Bay. 12-6pm. May 20Protecting the City Before Next Time
Panel discussion sponsored by the Community Advisory Board of WNYC/WQXR public radio. 7pm-9pm,
44 Charlton Street.May 22
7:45am-5pm. Rutgers University. May 25
Click here for more water-related events on the MWA web site!
______________________ CLASSIFIED ADSPlace your water-related classified ad free in
WaterWire! Contact asimko@waterfrontalliance.org
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WATERFRONT NEWSLINKS
Cut late-night and early-morning Staten Island Ferry service, fiscal watchdog says
"...Stopping the ferry in the late night and early-morning hours would save the cash-strapped city $4 million annually, the report found..."
NY Daily News, May 9, 2013
Blasting to start in June
"...The good news is that this latest round of blasting will cover a smaller area than in the past. The bad news is that it will be closer to homes along First Street than in prior episodes, creating a greater risk of damage due to vibrations..."
HudsonReporter.com, May 8, 2013
NJ Floats $35M Deal In Passaic River Cleanup Suit
"The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on Monday proposed a $35.3 million settlement under which more than 250 defendants - including Merck & Co., 3M Corp. and General Electric Corp - would pay past and future costs to clean up environmental damage in the Passaic River..."
Law360.com, May 7, 2013
Neighbors Resist a Plan to Clean a Toxic Canal
"Almost everybody wants the Gowanus Canal cleansed of its toxic gunk. But a $500 million plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to do just that has run into protests from otherwise environmentally conscious residents in several Brooklyn neighborhoods. They want the canal purged of pollutants like PCBs, lead, mercury and raw sewage, but are fighting the methods the agency has chosen..."
The New York Times, May 5, 2013
Park Tower revives 22-acre Greenpoint plans
"A developer is breathing new life into its decade-old proposal to build thousands of apartments over 22 acres in the northern tip of Greenpoint, Crain's reported..."
The Real Deal, May 6, 2013
Arthur Kill off Elizabeth shoreline is next up for harbor deepening project
"...The multi-phase project is currently centered on the western end of the Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal's channel and in the Kill Van Kull between Bayonne and Staten Island..."
The Star-Ledger, May 3, 2013
NYC's River Parks, Restaurants and Recreation Areas
Interactive guide.
Conde Nast Traveler, May 2013
City to dredge Newtown Creek
"The city wants to tear down a giant sludge transfer station at the mouth of Newtown Creek so it can free-up space for a park there, but first is has to dredge a large portion of the filthy waterway so tankers can head into Greenpoint to pick up their load..."
The Brooklyn Paper, April 26, 2013
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