Filed Under: Environmental Issues | New York City | Land Use | Water

Waterfront

The New York City Waterfront: Frontier of Opportunity
The coastlines of NYC's five boroughs touch on some of the country's most magnificent public waterways: the Hudson River, East River, Harlem River, New York Harbor, Long Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and many more. Yet, in the late 1990s New York City's 578 miles of shoreline had little public waterfront land or access. This is gradually improving.

In many ways, this waterfront represents a frontier of opportunity: untapped potential for open space, recreation and parks, as well as economic revitalization through reuse of waterfront warehouses and piers. Years of neglect have degraded the shoreline habitat. Now, it is left to us to act upon the many opportunities to save existing habitat and restore our City's natural waterways.

In every borough, local community and political leaders are voicing strong proposals for waterfront access and habitat conservation. For instance:

• On the Bronx River, community and government leaders are working to implement a 20-year-old vision for waterfront access that would replace abandoned industrial facilities with parks, kayaking and open space at the water's edge.

• On each end of 125th Street in Manhattan, parks are being proposed to provide public spaces on the waterfront. On the Hudson side, for example, the "Harlem on the River" plan is led and supported by major local environmental, educational, business and cultural institutions and provides a vision for both parks and economic revitalization of nearby neighborhoods. Parks from East 135th to 139th St. have been completed and development  between 139th and 142nd are still in the works.  Further south in Manhattan, the Hudson River Park Trust has already opened a new segment of the park in Greenwich Village.  Projects at Clinton Grove and pier 84 at 44th St. are set to finish within two years.

• In Brooklyn, plans are in various stages of development for parks.  Park space has been created around Manhattan Bridge, and plans are in the works for piers one through six at the Brooklyn Bridge waterfront.  The City Planning Commission has also made revitalization of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfronts a priority.  These parks range in scale from major waterfront redevelopments to small street ends and community spaces.

• In Queens, new access to Jamaica Bay would be provided on the north shore of the Rockaways, and through a revitalized waterfront greenway. Waterfront access plans have been prepared for Queens' East River and Flushing River waterfronts.

• In Staten Island, the north shore waterfront is ripe for greenway development, and significant habitat opportunities exist along the northwest and western shores.