Ports and Blue Highways
The Port of New York and New Jersey is among the busiest ports in the country.
The Issue
The New York–New Jersey harbor is one of the most active and economically significant port systems in the United States, yet its potential to support sustainable freight and climate resilience remains underleveraged. Currently, over 90% of freight in the region moves by truck, contributing to severe roadway congestion, high greenhouse gas emissions, and disproportionate health impacts in frontline communities.
Meanwhile, our waterways, once the backbone of regional commerce, are underutilized. New York City’s Blue Highways initiative recognizes the strategic value of using navigable waterways for freight movement. However, implementation has been slow, and coordination across agencies, operators, and land use policies remains fragmented. The lack of investment in maritime infrastructure and policy alignment has left communities near industrial waterfronts exposed to pollution without benefiting from the economic opportunities of a revitalized working waterfront.
At the same time, the region’s maritime workforce is at risk. As traditional waterfront industries decline, land is rezoned for non-industrial uses, and the offshore wind industry is sidelined by the federal government, good-paying union jobs in longshore, tug and barge operations, ship repair, and marine logistics are disappearing. Without a clear strategy to preserve and grow the maritime sector, we risk losing a vital economic engine and the skilled workforce that supports it.
Our Approach
Waterfront Alliance is advancing a vision for Ports and Blue Highways that centers climate resilience, equity, and economic opportunity. Our approach builds on years of advocacy for a working waterfront and expands it to include:
Freight Diversion to Waterways: We support expanding container-on-barge services and short-sea shipping to reduce truck traffic, lower emissions, and improve supply chain reliability. This includes advocating for federal and state investment in marine highway corridors and terminal upgrades.
Modernizing Port Infrastructure: We call for strategic upgrades to port facilities to support offshore wind logistics, clean energy deployment like shore power for ships, and climate-ready infrastructure. This includes workforce development programs and land use planning that prioritize community access and environmental justice.
Integrating Blue Highways into Regional Planning: We urge NYC DOT and regional agencies to fully implement the Blue Highways framework, including:
- Designating and funding marine corridors.
- Coordinating land-side infrastructure with maritime operations.
- Aligning zoning and permitting to support waterborne freight.
Centering Environmental Justice: We advocate for policies that reduce pollution in port-adjacent neighborhoods and ensure that maritime investments deliver tangible benefits to frontline communities. This includes air quality monitoring, green infrastructure, and community-led planning.
As Much as the Traffic Will Bear: Experts Reflect on the Challenges and Opportunities of America’s Busiest
Although the harbor shared by New York and New Jersey is the largest port complex on the eastern seaboard (and the third largest in America), it is also one of the most compact, cramming into a relatively small geographic footprint a density of traffic and multiplicity of uses unseen anywhere else.
Integrating Industry and Public Access for a Sustainable Future
Bringing parks and residents to the waterfront has changed perception for many neighborhoods. As the transition continues, working and industrial waterfront space has become exceptionally limited. We must protect those remaining assets that we have, and bringing the public to those facilities to experience them is key to protecting them.
Public Access Along Your Waterfront: A How-To Guide
The New York and New Jersey harbor offers recreational, environmental, social, and economic benefits to the region. Yet access to these valuable waterfront resources is not equally distributed. Waterfront Alliance, a leading advocate for equitable waterfront access in the region, has developed this guide to empower community organizations in New York City to activate underutilized waterfront parcels and address historical disinvestment. This guide traces our long term efforts to promote equitable waterfront access, highlighting key initiatives and reports that shaped Waterfront Alliance’s approach to activating small parcels of land.
