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The Topic

NYC's waterfront is roughly 600 miles long. Include metropolitan New Jersey and Westchester, and the total increases to over 1000 miles. This metropolitan waterfront is as diverse as it is long. Its uses range from oil depots, cruise ship terminals and modern container ports to marinas, recreational esplanades, and bathing beaches. Contrary to reputation and expectation, the harbor, its shores and its waterways are integral to the region's economy and quality of life.

The Context

The harbor is one of the few places in the metropolitan area where large spaces still exist and where usage patterns are dynamic. Unlike most urban land areas, the regions' waterways belong to everyone. Consequently, many uses compete for the same space. Diverse concurrent uses and a clash of competing interests shape the character of today's metropolitan maritime crossroads. In the shared world of the waterfront, issues are complex, and political values intermingle. Within each issue is a frothy mixture of economics and ecology, community and bureaucracy, freedom of action and the desire to be protected from the actions of others. Improving water quality makes the competition among users more robust. Fish, waterfowl, birds of prey, and marshlands are returning. Recreational uses proliferate, competing with other uses. In commerce, long-term harbor users are expanding operations. Growth in trade requires smarter port operations and more acreage for containers. Deeper dredging of ship channels and expanded municipal facilities are planned. Privately owned ferries crisscross the waters carrying commuters by the tens of thousands. Despite all this, the waterfront is still part of larger natural processes. Twice a day, vast seas flood into and ebb from the harbor, which determine the pace of maritime commerce. Daily, the waters change the harbor's geography, creating and denying access to mudflats, shellfish, docks and harbors. Flux at the water's edge holds peril and promise.

Reports

Caring For Emerging Waterfront Parks
New York City’s tremendous success in revitalizing its waterfront will require about $ 100 million a year to meet new management and operating needs, according a new report by Regional Plan Association. Close to 700 acres and 58 miles of new waterfront parks, greenways and other public spaces are being created in all five boroughs. To ensure that this legacy is well maintained and managed in the public interest, the Association has recommended more than a dozen specific policy recommendations to ensure that responsible public agencies have the resources and authority to take a primary stewardship role. (June 17, 2007)

Staten Island Ferry Fare
The Independent Budget Office estimates that if the Staten Island Ferry would start charging a fare of one dollar, but charge it only to tourists (commuters who lived or worked in Staten Island would be exempt), “costs would exceed fare revenues within the first seven years of operation. At a fare of two dollars, however, there would be an operating surplus for the foreseeable future.” All passengers have ridden the ferry for free since 1997, when a 50-cent fare was eliminated. (November 13, 2006)

Mayor's Management Report
The Mayor's Management Report, released online, provides performance highlights and statistics for more than 40 agencies, as well as data on inquiries received by the 311 Citizen Service Center. (September 15, 2006)

Sites for Beginners

Downtown Boathouse

Gateway National Recreation Area

Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance

Hudson River Park Trust

Pier Park & Playground Association

Recommended Sites

Suggest Waterfront link

Books

At Sea in the City
by William Kornblum

Heartbeats in the Muck: A Dramatic Look at the History, sea Life and Environment of New York Harbor
by John Waldman

Manhattan Water-Bound
by Anne Buttenwieser

The Meadowlands
by Robert Sullivan

The Riverkeepers
by John Cronin and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.