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The Department of City Planning, together with SHoP Architects PC, received the Waterfront Center's "2006 Excellence on the Waterfront" Honor Award for the East River Waterfront Plan. The "Excellence on the Waterfront" Awards Program recognizes high quality waterfront plans and projects from all over the world. |
Improved East River Waterfront Esplanade with pavilions and FDR cladding
(Image courtesy of SHoP:Property of the City of New York) |
| Project Update - May 1, 2007: |
Since publication of the Concept Plan for the East River Waterfront in 2005, several major milestones have been reached bringing the vision closer to reality. Funding for implementation has been secured from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for this and other projects proposed the Mayor's Vision for Lower Manhattan (2004), a Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared and released for public comment, an interdisciplinary design and engineering team has been engaged, and a ULURP application has been certified by the City Planning Commission.
Under the direction of EDC, SHoP Architects and Ken Smith Landscape Architects were retained in late 2006 to develop detailed designs for the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project -- they were an integral part of the original team that developed the concept plan. The design team is hard at work to address the principal components of East River Waterfront revitalization by focusing on enhancing the esplanade, upgrading several piers, and creating a major new waterfront amenities. Engineering services will be provided by a joint venture between Daniel Frankfurt and Ove Arup. Frankfurt/Arup will collaborate with the design team and contribute substantial waterfront experience and a long history of successful implementation of complex projects in New York. Working with the City, the design and engineering team is moving forward with design, soliciting community input, preparing detailed engineering, and seeking federal, city and state approvals. Construction is anticipated to begin in the Spring of 2008.
The Esplanade and Piers project is one of several integrated projects enhancing and revitalizing Lower Manhattan. The Department of Parks and Recreation is leading the effort to implement other aspects of the Concept Plan, such as the improvement of Peck Slip, Rutgers Slip, Catherine Slip, and Montgomery Slip. These projects are part of the East River Waterfront Access project being designed by Quennell Rothschild and Partners and Tom Balsley Associates. In the South Street Seaport historic district Burling Slip is being designed by the Rockwell Group as an innovative new children's playground, an important part of the City's initiative for the Fulton Street Corridor Initiative which seeks to revitalize the corridor and enrich the historic nature of the area. The Department of City Planning and EDC are coordinating all the design teams to ensure that upon completion the East River Waterfront Plan not only provides continuous waterfront access and new recreational amenities, but is also integrated with adjacent neighborhoods, linking the Financial District, the Civic Center, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side to the East River Waterfront.
- East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers: On February 26, 2007 the City Planning Commission certified the joint application by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services and the Department of Small Business Services seeking approval for site selection and disposition of city-owned property. These land use actions are necessary in order to implement portions of the ambitious East River Waterfront Plan.
As part of the land use action, design, and permitting process, the City has been meeting with the community, elected officials, and stakeholders regularly to discuss the design and implementation of the project. Topics include ULURP, programming, phasing, management and organization, and economic conditions.
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Overview of the Concept Plan
This planning and urban design study proposes short-term improvements and long-term strategies to reconnect Lower Manhattan's diverse communities to a two-mile stretch of East River waterfront. Building on the Mayor's Vision for Lower Manhattan released in December 2002, the Department of City Planning, in conjunction with the Economic Development Corporation, embarked on the one-year study in mid-2004. The study area, extending from the Battery to the southern edge of East River Park, straddles two community districts (districts 1 and 3) and forms a link between the financial district, the South Street Seaport, Chinatown and the Lower East Side. In May of 2005, the revitalization of the East River Waterfront, guided by this study, received $150 million of federal funding administered by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
East River Waterfront Study Area from Battery Park to East River Park
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"Transforming the East River Waterfront" summarizes the study and documents the process leading to identifying the elements for a new and improved waterfront and public spaces for the East River in Lower Manhattan.
Objectives
The study seeks to enhance access to the waterfront, create new active and passive recreational opportunities, complete missing links in the Manhattan greenway, and provide a planning framework that sustains growth. To achieve these goals, the plan addresses a number of urban design challenges that include blocked access to the waterfront, underutilized waterfront, and the lack of amenities for public use and enjoyment of the shoreline.
Background
The East River waterfront has developed over the past 350 years as a central place in the city's maritime history. The city began here, and as it grew and developed, the island expanded into the river. As population expanded, the city promoted the infill of waterfront lots to serve the growing demand for land in Lower Manhattan. As a result, the current shoreline is more than three city blocks from the original shore. The present location of Pearl Street is in fact the original East River shoreline of Lower Manhattan.
As the city's position as the premier port for trade on the east coast grew, so did the need for new piers to service the vessels coming and going out of the port. At its peak in the 1950's there were over 40 piers along this two-mile stretch of waterfront; today there are fewer than 10 remaining.
With the decline in maritime activity over the past 40 years, various master plans have been developed for this waterfront. The Water Street Access Plan in the 1970's envisioned Water Street as a commercial spine for modern office buildings and the expansion of the financial core. In the 1980's, the plan for East River Landing, inspired by Battery Park City, proposed new office development on the waterfront south of Fulton Street. In the 1990's, a new outpost for the Guggenheim Museum was proposed on the waterfront at the present location of piers 13 and 14 at the foot of Wall Street. Aside from some components of the Water Street Access Plan, none of these waterfront schemes have been realized to date.
The Planning Process Today
A striking difference between past plans and the East River Waterfront Study is the level of public outreach and community participation involved in the planning process. Frequent and continuing interaction with the community has been an integral part of this study. Public meetings have been held during each stage of the study to generate feedback and direction for the following stage. The design team has held more than 70 meetings over the past year with the community boards, tenant associations, civic leaders, maritime experts and local elected officials.
Reconstructed Pier 15 with maritime and recreational uses
(Image courtesy of SHoP:Property of the City of New York) |
Consultant Team
The study was conducted in three phases by a team of consultants, led by Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP) and Sharples Holden Pasquerilli Architects (SHoP), with Ken Smith Landscape Architects (KSLA).
Implementation
Currently, the City is developing an implementation plan for the project which will include environmental review, design development and attaining the necessary approvals and permits to ensure timely construction of the project.
Contact Information
For further information about the study, please contact the Manhattan Office, Department of City Planning, (212) 720-3480.
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