In a Sweeping Commitment to the Urban Shoreline, NY State Dept. of State Funds Waterfront Revitalization Throughout NYC

On the penultimate day of 2009, December 30, New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez announced $23.8 million would be funneled from the state's Environmental Protection Fund to waterfront revitalization projects across the state. Nearly $9 million of this will flow to projects in New York City. "This is a major commitment to urban waterfront access," said Roland Lewis, president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, which received $150,000 to build and install state-of-the-art Eco-Docks around the city. Read on for a synopsis of other NYC projects receiving Dept. of State grants.

BRONX

• Installation of a Fish Passage at the 182nd Street Dam on the Bronx River
  The Parks Dept.'s Natural Resources Group will design and construct an anadromous fish passage at the 182nd Street Dam (at River Park and the southern boundary of the Bronx Zoo) to implement part of the Watershed Management Plan for the Bronx River. This fish ladder project will allow alewives and blueback herring to get upstream on the Bronx River, which, as research several years ago showed, has been mostly impossible since the 1600s when dams were built that effectively cut off fish migration. The DOS grant will also fund improvements to canoe portage for the hundreds of paddlers who must bypass the dam each year, as well as pilot an environmental education and conservation training program, and monitor the upstream fish migration. At right, Congressman Jose Serrano releases alewife into the Bronx River in the reintroduction of alewife to the river in 2006. Visit http://www.bronxriver.org/puma/images/usersubmitted/greenway_plan/ to get to an interactive map of the Bronx River and for access to its Ecological Restoration and Management Plan.
  Total Project Cost: $1,389,156 Amount Awarded: $446,800
• Implementation of Shoelace Master Plan
  The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks Dept.), in partnership with the Bronx River Alliance, will use a $350,000 grant to implement the Shoelace Park Master Plan. Shoelace Park is a one-mile ribbon of parkland along the Bronx River extending from East 233rd Street to Duncomb Avenue in the Williamsbridge section of the North Bronx. Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects is working on the master plan and has already hosted a charrette with the local community. Work will include stormwater and erosion control mitigation, streambank stabilization techniques and control of invasive vegetation.
  Project Cost: $4,691,350 Amount Awarded: $350,000
• First Bronx Kill Boat Launches
  The NYC Department of Small Business Services in partnership with the City's Economic Development Corporation will design and construct two small boat launches on the Bronx Kill. The launches will create the only access point for small watercraft along the southern border of the Bronx for the City's growing Water Trail. Funding will support design and construction activities, as well as structural materials, directional signage and post-construction shoreline restoration.
  Project Cost: $400,000 Amount Awarded: $200,000

BROOKLYN

• Waterfront Improvements at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
  The City's Small Business Services, in partnership with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp., will undertake planning and design for the upgrade and rehabilitation of deteriorated waterfront facilities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, one of six remaining Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas on the City's 578-mile shoreline. The project includes analysis, design, construction documents and permitting for an upgrade to the bulkheads forming the Barge Basin; analysis, design, construction documents and permitting for the full restoration of Dry Dock 4; and planning for dredging and disposal options for Wallabout Bay to sustain ship repair functions and safe navigation. The project builds upon the Economic Development Corporation's Maritime Support Services Location Study.
  Total Project Cost: $2,100,000 Amount Awarded: $1,050,000

CITYWIDE

• NYC Comprehensive Waterfront Plan: Vision 2020
  The City's Dept. of City Planning will produce a new ten-year Comprehensive Waterfront Plan (originally adopted by the City Council in 1997) and revise the City's Waterfront Revitalization Program (originally created in 1982 and revised in 1999). The planning process will include an updated assessment of waterfront resources for the areas of natural, public, working and developing waterfronts; produce a statement of planning policy for the waterfront with consideration of the ten-year capital strategy, four-year capital plan and community board 197-a plans; and generate proposals for implementing the planning policy.
  Total Project Cost: $950,000 Amount Awarded: $475,000
• Urban Park Rangers: Adapting to Climate Change in New York City
  The Parks Dept.'s Urban Park Rangers will develop new curriculum and run waterfront programs for students and residents focusing on climate change. The programs will take place in Marine Park (Brooklyn), Pelham Bay Park (Bronx), and Fort Totten Park (Queens).
  Total Project Cost: $627,290 Amount Awarded: $313,645
• Catalyst for Neighborhood Parks: Reclaiming the Waterfront
  As part of its Catalyst For Neighborhood Parks initiative focusing on underserved, densely-populated communities that are cut off from their waterfront, the Parks Dept., in collaboration with the City Parks Foundation, will revitalize and provide public access to more than 350 acres of significant, underused waterfront parkland. These park improvements will be located at Soundview Park (where the Bronx River opens into the East River), East River Park in Lower Manhattan, and Calvert Vaux Park and Kaiser Park in Coney Island. Work will include visioning with community stakeholders, development of outreach materials, planning pilot events and small-scale physical improvement projects, and providing technical assistance.
  Total Project Cost: $950,000 Amount Awarded: $475,000
• Community Eco-Docks
  In partnership with the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, the Parks Dept. will foster the development of Eco-Docks and their integration into the NYC Water Trail. New Eco-Docks will be put in the water at Dyckman Marina in Manhattan and at the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Eco-Docks at Governors Island and, eventually, at Pier 26 will be incorporated into the Water Trail. MWA will undertake community outreach, while the Parks Dept. will perform site analysis, produce final design and construction documents, obtain appropriate permits, and draft maintenance and operating plans for each dock in collaboration with community organizations. A feasibility assessment for three more potential Eco-Dock sites will be conducted.
  Total Project Cost: $340,610 Amount Awarded: $150,000

MANHATTAN

• East Midtown Waterfront Park and Esplanade
  The City's Small Business Services and EDC will advance planning and preliminary design for waterfront amenities along the East River between East 38th Street and East 61st Street. When completed, the project will fill a major gap in the Manhattan Greenway, a 32-mile waterfront path around Manhattan that remains disconnected in parts. In this section, the FDR Drive and the United Nations campus block waterfront access.
  Total Project Cost: $800,000 Amount Awarded: $400,000
• East River Blueway Trail
  The Manhattan Borough President will complete plans for the future Blueway Trail in the East River from East 38th Street to the Brooklyn Bridge. Christine Datz-Romero, executive director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, explained that the Blueway Trail will focus on waterfront access and is complementary to the NYC Water Trail. "We are very interested in a floating swimming pool in the stretch below 14th Street," she added. "The pool would be a way to address the issue of water quality in the East River. You need people to get in the water to care about it."
  Total Project Cost: $2,874,878 Amount Awarded: $650,000
• Randall's Island Living Shoreline
  The Parks Dept., in a public-private partnership with the Randall's Island Sports Foundation, will use a $1.5 million grant to pay for the design and demolition of the failing seawall, construction and landscaping of the living shoreline, as well as construction of the 2.2 acre recreation area with a connecting pathway, benches, picnic tables, drinking fountain, trees and boat launch. This will replace 550 feet of crumbling seawall with stabilizing infrastructure that will allow non-motorized small boat access and will also foster marine habitat, improving ecological function and water quality.
  Total Project Cost: $8,008,499 Amount Awarded: $1,558,499

QUEENS

• Public Access and Habitat Restoration at Beach 80th Marina
  The City's Small Business Services and the EDC will construct waterfront public access at Barbadoes Basin on Jamaica Bay. The project will complement a private project to develop a vacant waterfront site with a two-story building with retail, restaurant, docks and parking and associated public waterfront access. Improvements will include restoration of 68,500 sf of tidal wetland and construction of walking paths, a put-in for non-motorized small watercraft, fishing pier, community garden, boardwalk, flower garden, lighting, seating, and landscaped overlook area. The site is located within the Jamaica Bay Special Natural Waterfront Area and will include stormwater control features.
  Total Project Cost: $2,800,000 Amount Awarded: $1,400,000
• Jamaica Bay Habitat Restoration
  The Parks Dept.'s Natural Resource Group, through its Rockaway Waterfront Access Program, will restore 12+ acres of maritime forest and wetland habitat along the Jamaica Bay shoreline by removing vegetation in preparation for the creation of waterside trails. The GreenApple Corps, the Parks Dept.'s public service initiative, will engage and partner with the broader Jamaica Bay community through coastal clean-ups and enhanced coastal education programs to build stewardship and the sustainability of the Jamaica Bay watershed.
  Total Project Cost: $855,060 Amount Awarded: $427,530

STATEN ISLAND

• High Rock Park Natural Area Restoration (Phase I)
  The Greenbelt consists of more than 2,800 acres of woods, wetlands and meadows in central Staten Island. Collaborating with the Greenbelt Conservancy, the Parks Dept. will restore the Greenbelt's 90-acre High Rock Park. The project will include eradicating non-native invasive species and the planting of endemic species. The grant also covers three internships, community outreach and monitoring as outlined in the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program Habitat Workgroup 2001 Status Report.
  Total Project Cost: $910,380 Amount Awarded: $447,000
• Freshkills Park: North Park Signature Features and Educational Outreach
  The Parks Dept. will continue its transformation of the Fresh Kills Landfill into a new 2,200-acre park through the development of one of the project's components, North Park. North Park, which is adjacent to Staten Island's Travis neighborhood, will eventually feature natural settings -- meadows, wetlands and creeks -- with paths, scenic overlooks, and activities such as fishing and bird-watching. This grant will allow nine acres to be cultivated as a seed farm and tree nursery. A comfort station with composting toilets will be installed. A 0.6-mile long pathway will be created and at its end, a two-story bird observation tower will overlook water.
  Total Project Cost: $2,500,000 Amount Awarded: $1,250,000