NEW YORK | New East River access [Archive]

NYguy

Dec 31, 2006, 8:21 AM

NY Times

Temporary Roadway for Cars May Be Transformed Into Permanent Refuge From Them

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/26/nyregion/26park.1.600.jpg

Looking south near the F. D. R. Drive at the outboard detour. It may be used for pedestrian and bicycle paths.

http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/12/26/nyregion/26park.map.jpg

Large ships passing beside the detour are required to use tugboats.

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
December 26, 2006

A temporary detour route on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive that extends 25 feet over the East River would be remodeled into a waterfront park under a plan being studied by the Bloomberg administration.

The Outboard Detour Roadway, completed in 2004 from roughly 54th to 63rd Street while that section of the drive was being refurbished, had been scheduled to be dismantled last month. Now, though, city officials are pressing to use the abandoned 2,500-foot strip of roadway to extend the esplanade around Manhattan to a portion of waterfront currently inaccessible to pedestrians and cyclists.

The plan, in its very early stages, calls for demolishing all but the roadway’s westernmost underwater support beams and building a new structure that would not extend as far over the river.

The new park would probably be at most 20 feet wide, city officials said, enough room for bicycle lanes and a narrow pedestrian walkway. Advocates say the result would be akin to the High Line park being developed out of an abandoned elevated railway line on the West Side, although it would be much smaller, and over water.

“It is on the water, it is already built, and we would like to have a nice bikeway, a nice walkway that would connect to the rest of the esplanade,” said Lyle Frank, chairman of the local community board. “This is a tremendous opportunity to do it.”

The plan faces substantial obstacles. The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers have expressed concern that the design would interfere with shipping traffic, and the State Department of Environmental Conservation has voiced fears that the park would disturb fish habitats because of the permanent shadow it would cast on the water.

“It’s something we are very interested in, but a lot more work has to be done to make sure it is feasible,” said Daniel L. Doctoroff, the deputy mayor for economic development. “We’re trying to find as many creative ways as we can to give people access to the waterfront.”

The Bloomberg administration has made it a priority to complete an uninterrupted greenway around the waterfront of the five boroughs, particularly in Manhattan. While there is generally contiguous riverfront access along the West Side except for a stretch from approximately 81st to 91st Street, there are several significant gaps on the East River esplanade. Among them are the Consolidated Edison site from 34th to 41st Street and the United Nations headquarters at 42nd Street.

The site of the proposed park also lacks waterfront access because the F. D. R. Drive extends to the river there.

When a plan to refurbish the drive was proposed in the 1990s, some residents of the adjacent neighborhood worried that vehicles seeking to avoid highway delays would clog its streets, creating noise and safety problems.

Because the drive, which carries about 150,000 vehicles daily, is among the city’s busiest arteries, state and city officials ruled out closing a heavily used section of the highway for several years of repairs or even blocking off a few lanes at a time for weekend and night work.

Instead, the Outboard Detour Roadway was designed. The detour, which cost $139 million in federal money, is essentially a bridge built parallel to the existing F.D.R. Drive. The section from 53rd to 60th Street alone, which is entirely over the river, cost about $40 million to construct.

Because the detour extended so far over the river — which at that point is particularly turbulent and only about 800 feet wide — engineers had to figure out how to ensure that the 2,100 vessels a year that pass through that stretch of water would not strike the roadway.

So they designed a system of floating guardrails held in place by four anchors drilled into the bottom of the river, some as deep as 120 feet below the surface.

The anchors are secured to one another by a heavy chain with links that weigh more than 150 pounds each. They keep the system in place during changing tides and currents, which moved water levels up and down by as much as six feet a day during construction. For the last two years, even with that safeguard in place, large ships have been required to have tugboats help them navigate that stretch of river.

When the detour was completed in 2004, it won engineering awards for its innovation.

Now, even as sections of the detour are being dismantled to allow ship traffic unimpeded access in the river, advocates for a new esplanade are wondering whether spending the estimated $50 million it would cost to build a base for a park would make sense.

“We have to decide if the structure is worth the cost,” Mr. Doctoroff said. “It is too early to give odds, but if I could give odds — outside of cost — based only on our desire, they’d be pretty high.”

“But,” he added, “desire is not the only factor involved.”

NYguy

Dec 31, 2006, 8:28 AM

There are others who want to push for beachfront along the east river...
http://newyorkharborbeaches.org/main.htm

http://newyorkharborbeaches.org/image/beach13img07.jpg

http://newyorkharborbeaches.org/image/beach13img08.jpg

http://newyorkharborbeaches.org/image/beach13img04.jpg

http://newyorkharborbeaches.org/image/beach12img04.jpg

NYguy

Dec 31, 2006, 8:48 AM

Meanwhile, the City has its own plans for the lower Manhattan secion of the east river waterfront...

(lowermanhattan.info)

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/east_river_4.jpg

Multiple city agencies, along with world-renowned architects Richard Rogers Partnership and SHoP Architects, are producing a comprehensive master plan for the redevelopment of the East River waterfront, stretching from Battery Park to East River Park. Images courtesy of Richard Rogers Partnership and SHoP Architects for the City of New York.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/BMB_RENDER_01.jpg

The Battery Maritime Building: The space in front of the Battery Maritime Building (BMB) is one of two critical gateways to the new East River esplanade. The proposed plan calls for moving the Battery Tunnel entrance 350 feet to the northeast, clearing the way for a new plaza in front of the BMB.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/PIER-15_overview.jpg

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/PIER-15_closeup.jpg

Pier 15: The pier will be rebuilt to provide open public spaces and a better environment for marine life.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/NEW-MARKET_RENDER_01.jpg

New Market Building: The existing building and pier will be rebuilt to be used for community, maritime, and commercial activities. A new transient boat marina will provide a location for visiting vessels, boating enthusiasts, and amateurs to anchor.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/PIER-35_overview.jpg

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/PIER-35_closeup.jpg

Pier 35: This large pier will be opened to the public and will provide access to new waterfront amenities, including a boat launch, a place for family gatherings, new picnic tables, and outdoor grills.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/lar_esplanade_over.jpg

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/med_esplanade_over.jpg

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/PAV_KARATE!_01.jpg

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/PAV_DANCING_01.jpg

The Esplanade: The new esplanade will consist of a recreation zone along the water's edge with seating and plantings, a program zone under the FDR Drive for pavilions and outdoor activities, and a bikeway along South Street. A system of consistent paving, seating, railings, and plantings will be used throughout.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/BURLING-RENDER_01.jpg

Burling Slip: The current parking lot at Burling Slip will be transformed into a playground.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/BERM_RENDER_01.jpg

East RiverPark Connector: The area in front of Pier 42 is a crucial link to East River Park. Exiting barriers will be removed to create a wider, safer entrance into the park. Planted berms will screen the esplanade from noise and traffic generated by the FDR Drive. In the future, Pier 42 could be rebuilt to make way for a new urban beach floating above the East River.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/night_esplanade_sm.jpg

View of the waterfront at night.

NYguy

Feb 10, 2007, 2:08 PM

New York Magazine

2/9/07

Beware of Riprap in Greenpoint and Williamsburg

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/20070209waterfront.jpg

A section of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg East River waterfront under the new plan.

The city presented its latest plans for redeveloping the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront Wednesday night, and — believe it or not — local activist groups liked the proposals.

The new plans include boat launches, picnic grounds, wetland preserves, which are all things — like a more natural-looking waterfront, a bit of which is shown in the rendering above — community groups have been asking for. "I believe they are making a true effort to tune the plan into a community vision," said Laura Hoffman of the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning. She gave props to how the plan integrates Greenpoint Terminal Market artifacts — like old ropes and bricks — into the park's design. (We like this new rendering not least because landscapers call the sort of rocky water-edge depicted "riprap.")

How'd things get so lovey-dovey? Team Bloomberg persuaded three developers of waterfront high-rises to turn over open space to the city, and then the city designed with local priorities in mind. The impending towers still give some Williamsburgers the willies, and earlier renderings of the waterfront, warned Jasper Goldman of the Municipal Art Society, "looked like San Diego."

But gritty riprap? That's so New York.

—Alec Appelbaum

NYguy

Feb 10, 2007, 2:16 PM

curbed.com

New Boss for Williamsburg Waterfront Parks, McCarren Pool?

http://www.curbed.com/2007_02_WburgEsplanadeSmall.jpg

Friday, February 9, 2007, by Robert

Someday, maybe 2030, there will be a 1.6 mile "esplanade" along the East River in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, built by developers putting up all those waterfront highrises.

If developers build the open space per city guidelines and if they turn it over to the city to run, it looks like the city, in turn, will hand it off to a conservancy run by the Open Space Alliance for North Brookyn. Or something like that. That same conservancy will also run McCarren Pool, starting next year. A deal is in the works to channel "any money from concert promoters" staging events at the pool (we take as a hint that more big shows are coming this summer) into a fund to "improve the green space in Williamsburg and Greenpoint." The Alliance has been looking for a new director, too. Job duties listed include managing "newly acquired park properties" and designing plans "for interim uses of McCarren pool for the duration of its reconstruction." Interesting bit of information.

_____________________________________

A look at Williamsburgh's new waterfront (posted on curbed.com)

http://www.curbed.com/2006_07_SouthWilliamsburgWaterfront.jpg

http://www.curbed.com/2006_07_shaeferlanding2.jpg

STERNyc

Feb 10, 2007, 6:26 PM

Just looking at this picture:

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/gallery/photos/BMB_RENDER_01.jpg

And knowing for how many years the The Battery Maritime Building sat abandoned and now its going to be revitalized and an expansive park is going to be put infront to boot. Everything Bloomberg touches turns to gold, everything he does is good for the city, and the city has never been better for it. If Guiliani was still in office I'm sure there would be no East River Park, he probably would have petitioned the Battery Maritime Building to be demolished as well. I really wish Bloomberg could run for another term, he in my opinion is the best mayor in the city's history.

NYguy

Mar 17, 2007, 1:30 AM

Probably the most significant of the East River developments, Brooklyn Bridge Park has been in the works for a while...
http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/index.cfm?objectid=EE3D25A4-3048-7098-AFFFCF51D62FC0BF

The future 85-acre park will stretch 1.3 miles along the East River from north of the Manhattan Bridge to Atlantic Avenue. The Park includes Piers 1 - 6, each approximately the size of Bryant Park, and their uplands. Brooklyn Bridge Park will transform this underused and inaccessible stretch into a magnificent public space filled with lawns, recreation, beaches, coves, restored habitats, playgrounds and beautifully landscaped areas.

The Park will connect visitors to the waterfront and NY Harbor in extraordinary ways with floating pathways, fishing piers, canals, paddling waters and restored wetlands. This is the most significant park development in Brooklyn since Prospect Park was built 135 years ago.

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/01_Cover.jpg
http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/OverviewmapW.jpg

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/pier_6.jpg

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/pier_5.jpg

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/piers_3_4.jpg

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/pier2upland.jpg

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/pier_2.jpg

http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/images/pier_1.jpg

NYguy

Mar 30, 2007, 11:42 AM

amny

New life pouring into the waterfront

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28688032.jpg

A development just south of the UN, looking east across the East River.

By Michael Clancy and James Fanelli
March 30, 2007

Short, blue-collar and industrial, the East River has always been outshined by the majestic Hudson River. It's not even technically a river, but a brackish strait connecting the Long Island Sound and upper New York harbor.

But second billing for the East River may soon change. Its banks -- on both the Manhattan and outer borough sides -- are undergoing a profound transformation from underutilized industrial shoreline to the city's new Gold Coast.

"There is more land available and being developed now than perhaps any time in the city's history," said Kent Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society.

"More than urban renewal. More than Robert Moses. It's just an unbelievable amount of change."

More than 1,000 acres of East River shoreline are being redeveloped or slated for change as housing, parks and office space, creating millions of square feet of commercial, retail and office space along the river.

The sweeping changes represent an enormous opportunity to reclaim the waterfront -- a hallmark of the Bloomberg administration -- but advocates warn there is only one chance to get it right, to create an accessible waterfront that the whole city can enjoy, not just residents of luxury developments.

East River Waterfront Plan

A beach on the East River? That's just one of the new amenities planned for two miles of the neglected East River waterfront, from the Battery Maritime Building on the southern tip of Manhattan to the Lower East Side, which is slated to be revitalized with $150 million of federal 9/11 aid.

Parking lots, dilapidated piers and Department of Sanitation depots will give way to esplanades, walkways and even a sandy beach on the East River as the city reconnects the South Street Seaport, the financial district and Chinatown with the East River.

The city is working to get access to some of the properties, designing other portions, and moving other parts through the public review process, said Rachaele Raynoff, spokeswoman for the Department of City Planning.

Raynoff said to expect an announcement in the coming weeks that one of planned recreation spots will be open this summer.

Even the FDR drive, which hugs the East River, will get new lighting and sound-dampening material attached to its underside so that it looks and sounds a little better as New Yorkers pass under it to get to the river.

Pier 17

While the new leaseholders of South Street Seaport's Pier 17 haven't unveiled any final plans for the riverside site, it is nearly definite that some type of larger structure -- perhaps a high-rise -- will be proposed for the pier, which sits in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Meeting with Community Board 1 for the first time earlier this month, General Growth Properties outlined a rough vision for the pier and the former Fulton Fish Market buildings, which would include razing the mall, relocating the landmark Tin Building, shoring up the pier, and building a new mixed-use structure -- possibly a tower that rises 50 stories tall.

East River Science Park

A California-based firm that specializes in laboratory spaces, Alexandria Real Estate Equities plans to break ground next spring on the $400 million East River Science Park, a 1.1 million-square-foot complex that will house laboratories and office space for life sciences businesses and researchers.

The lot currently houses a Bellevue Hospital Center building and a parking lot. The science park will be built on 3.5 acres of city-owned land between 28th and 29th streets and First Avenue and the FDR Drive.

It is envisioned as an incubator for pharmaceutical and biotech businesses, which would find natural partners with NYU Medical Center, Columbia University, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center among others.

The first tenants are expected to occupy the facility by 2009. The city is expected to kick in about $14 million for infrastructure improvement, and the developers, who have a 49-year lease with two 25-year options, are expected to get tax breaks and other incentives worth more than $250 million.

Con Edison plant area

Along three empty parcels of East River waterfront, stretching from 35th to 41st streets, eight skyscrapers, some as tall as 69 stories, are planned as part of Manhattan's second-largest development after the World Trade Center site.

Developer Sheldon Solow seeks to build 3.54 million square feet of residential space, 1.3 million square feet of commercial space, 28,000 square feet of retail space and 120,000 square feet of 'community space' on the tracts, one of which used to be the site of a Con Ed power plant.

Renowned architects Richard Meier and David Childs are working on designs for some of the skyscrapers. A total of 3,000 new units is envisioned. The developer is preparing his final proposal to begin the zoning approval process.

After hearing Solow's initial plans, Community Board 6 asked that the development be scaled back and include more open space, commercial space, affordable housing and a school.

"It's a question of scale and what is overdevelopment," said Community Board 6 land-use chair Ed Rubin.

United Nations Renovation

Long delayed by bureaucratic red tape, political wrangling and the search for temporary office space, a new building should begin to rise this year as a $1.9 billion renovation gets underway on the iconic United Nations landmark Secretariat and General Assembly buildings.

After unsuccessfully searching for temporary 'swing space' in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, the U.N. chose to build that swing space on the northern part of its own campus.

The specific dimensions of the new building are still being hashed out, said U.N. spokeswoman Soung-ah Choi.The renovation, to be done in phases and completed in 2014, presents an opportunity to allow better public access to the waterfront -- a move lauded by open-space advocates but which poses security challenges.

BROOKLYN

In Elias Kazan's 1954 film classic, "On the Waterfront," Marlon Brando plays a guilt-stricken dock worker in a corrupt union who does nothing to prevent a mob rubout.

During the course of his torment, Brando's Terry Malloy delivers an elegiac speech about his washed-up boxing career, indelibly whispering, "I could have been a contender."

Malloy never got that chance at the title, but the inspiration for the film's backdrop, the gritty Brooklyn waterfront once filled with bustling wharves and smoking factories, has a shot at the big time.

Multiple projects are breathing life into miles of fallow land along the East River's edge, ultimately transforming the rundown piers and vacant factories into a tantalizing waterfront destination for thousands of residents and park-goers.

Fueled by sweeping city and state incentives and unprecedented public-private partnerships in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and land near the Brooklyn Bridge, the projects will bring as much as 12,210 units of new housing and 121.1 acres of parkland and esplanades to the borough's waterfront and surrounding area.

Though no time frame has been hammered out, the city also envisions an interconnected series of parks, esplanades and bike paths on the waterfront that will stretch between Newtown Creek in Long Island City and Owl's Head Park in Bay Ridge.

"We do have a vision for a continuous connection of parks and greenways," said Joshua Laird, assistant commissioner of planning at the city Parks Department.

The Herculean overhaul is not without its opponents. Critics have scrutinized some of the city's deals as too favorable to developers. Others like the Manhattan-based Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit that has consulted on waterfronts around the world, warn that the emphasis on residential developments will ultimately keep people away from the parks.

"It's the suburbanization of Brooklyn," said PPS vice president Ethan Kent. "Residential buildings, especially high rises, are not really compatible with a waterfront. It may look nice and preserve a lot of parkland, but because of the residential adjacencies, they are preventing the parks from being used by the public."

But in an age where tight budgets and few dollars are readily available for public projects, city and state agencies argue that private housing is the most cost efficient and least intrusive way to spur the river's revitalization.

Here's a look at few of the projects:

Williamsburg-Greenpoint:

In May 2005, the city green lighted a wholesale makeover of two miles, or about 175 blocks, of Williamsburg and Greepoint. Its inlands already rife with development projects, the neighborhoods' waterfronts were now open game to the real estate boom.

The rezoning of land to mixed-use will bring luxury condos where weeded vacant lots, old warehouses and factories now stand. Further rezoning also allows for residential developments in the neighborhoods' upland area. In total, 11,000 new housing units will be created, according to the city's Housing Preservation and Development.

There is a tradeoff to allowing 30-story-plus high rises on the waterfront.

Of the 11,000 units, 33 percent will be affordable. On the waterfront, 1,563 of the housing units will be for middle and low-income residents.

Twenty-three months after the rezoning, the waterfront vision is taking shape, with 459 affordable units that have begun or are about to begin construction, according to HPD. L & M Equities has already started work on the first phase of its development, Palmer's Dock, which will bring 294 units, with more than a third of them affordable.

The other community benefit of the rezoning is the creation of 44.1 acres of esplanades and parkland. Among the amenities will be boat launches and stone edges that slope into the water, allowing closer access to the East River.

Though each waterfront developer will build their own section, the Parks Department said it's working with the developers to a make a seamless, interconnected esplanade.

"We want to ensure that it not just be a daisy chain of unrelated esplanades," said assistant Parks Commissioner Laird.

Further incentives make it favorable for developers to deed over the esplanade in exchange for the city taking on liability. The city will also collect fees from developers that will pay for the parkland's upkeep.

While the city has insisted it has been updating the community on its progress, some Community Board 1 members and neighborhood groups say they've been left out of the loop about the rezoning and land being gobbled up by developers.

"There should be greater input in our end," said Christopher Olechowski, the Community Board 1 liaison to the mayor's advisory board on the Brooklyn and Williamsburg rezoning.

Other critics have voiced concern about the indefinite timeline for the creation of esplanades and parks since

"The esplanade won't be developed until the developments are completed," said Marisa Bowe, economic coordinator at Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, a North Brooklyn advocacy group. "That could be 20 years before it's completed."

Brookyn Bridge Park:

After more than 20 years of debating what to do with 1.3 miles of unused piers and empty land between Jay Street and Atlantic Avenue, the city and state agreed in 2002 to give $150 million to help create a scenic park that cuts under Brooklyn Heights' bluff, through the Brooklyn Bridge and ends at the Manhattan Bridge.

But the final product, which includes a marina and a bike path, hasn't settled well with some of the residents in the borough's toniest section or its surrounding neighborhoods.

While the Brooklyn Bridge Park will have 77 acres of parkland, eight acres will be set aside to develop as much as 1,210 luxury condo units, a hotel and other retail space.

Brooklyn residents had expected a portion of the park's upkeep to be paid for with private development, but some had expected it to be in keeping with a 2000 planning document that limited commercial space to restaurants and retail stores.

"This is the first time in the history of the state that private housing has been allowed inside the park borders," said Judy Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, which is currently appealing a judicial ruling that upheld the project.

She said the earlier park plan provided for a skating rink, a pool and other amenities that have been scrubbed. She added that the 2000 plan would have had an annual operating cost of just over $9 million. Those costs would have been covered by a mixture of philanthropy and small commercial space, she said.

But the Brooklyn Bridge Development Corp., the state agency in charge of executing the plan, said costs would run higher. The state has pledged $85 million and the city $65 million to build the park, but annual maintenance and operation costs will be $15.19 million.

"The uses included in that 2000 Plan could not have covered the annual maintenance and operations of the Park," said agency spokesman Errol Cockfield. He added that out of all the self-sustaining park plans that BBDC examined, a mix of housing and a a small hotel was the most cost-effective.

"Housing occupies the smallest amount of land while generating the highest return," he said.

Domino Sugar Factory:

The Greenpoint-Williamsburg may have been a sweet deal for housing along the waterfront, but it does have its sticking points, including the preservation of a historic building in the neighborhood.

Built in 1884 and shuttered in 2004, the Domino Sugar factory remains an icon in Williamsburg for its illuminated curlicue sign. But because of its historical significance, the building has spawned a housing battle as its current owner, CPC Resources, determines how to turn the former factory into a residential development.

While some advocates want CPC Resources to build the maximum amount of affordable housing, others want the developer to preserve the factory as much as possible.

"We're trying to develop something that's responsible in terms of affordable housing and in terms of preservation," said Richard Edmonds, a spokesman for the CPC Resources, a subsidiary of Community Preservation Corp., an affordable housing developer.

Edmonds said the developer will unveil its plans in the coming weeks.

However, he did say that more than 20% of the development's units will be affordable housing.

NYguy

Mar 30, 2007, 12:05 PM

More images from the AMNY article...

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687517.jpg

Panorama of East River, looking toward Queens.

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687574.jpg

Looking east across the East River.

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687541.jpg

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687543.jpg

Looking west at the East River

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687580.jpg

Looking across the East River to the Kent Ave development in Williamsburg.

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687892.jpg

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687637.jpg

Kent Ave development in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687919.jpg

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687947.jpg

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687951.jpg

Looking east at the Kent Ave development in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from East River Park

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687496.jpg

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-03/28687497.jpg

South Street Seaport area along the East River.

phillyskyline

Mar 31, 2007, 11:33 PM

I'm extremely impressed with NYC being able to conserve and create public access to the waterfront - it goes a long way in quality of life for residents, especially when you consider how expensive that piece of land is.

the urban politician

Apr 1, 2007, 2:19 AM

Creating public access to the waterfront is one of the most important liveability issues in New York right now, as far as I'm concerned.

All of these visionary plans are great news

NYguy

Apr 2, 2007, 11:30 AM

The many waterfronts have always been the city's greatest asset, so it's good to finally see it being turned over to the public with such great projects.

Scruffy

Apr 14, 2007, 5:58 PM

I have seen no movement of Brooklyn Bridge Park. What's the deal? Is there a groundbreaking thats still to come?

NYguy

Apr 16, 2007, 3:06 AM

I have seen no movement of Brooklyn Bridge Park. What's the deal? Is there a groundbreaking thats still to come?

It's the biggest issue in Brooklyn, after Atlantic Yards. More so than the Coney Island revitalization...
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/sections/news/development/brooklyn_bridge_park/

NYguy

Jun 5, 2007, 11:18 AM

http://www.nysun.com/article/55880

Six Architects To Compete For East River Esplanade Design Rights

By ANNIE KARNI
June 5, 2007

As the city mulls an expansion of the United Nations campus onto city park space and the state moves forward with plans to rebuild the Midtown segment of the FDR Drive next door, elected officials and community members are seizing the opportunity to open up access to the East River with a new waterfront esplanade.

Six prominent landscape architects, including the architect of the High Line, the architect of the Museum of Modern Art roof garden, and the architect of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, will participate in a design competition on Friday to create a sweeping vision for a waterfront park that would stretch to 63rd Street from 34th Street along the East River.

The proposed 35-story U.N. office tower would be built on the current site of the 1.3-acre Robert Moses Playground. The loss of parkland would require the creation of more open space nearby, and officials have said a new waterfront esplanade would be an appropriate trade. A new tower would require approval by the state Legislature, and the esplanade would require approval from the developer of the former Consolidated Edison power plant site just south of the United Nations, Sheldon Solow, who owns the land. Officials from the state's Department of Transportation and from the city's parks department, as well as representatives from Mr. Solow's office, are expected to meet on Friday for a briefing on the proposed waterfront esplanade.

The 12-hour design competition is being sponsored by elected officials who represent the Upper East Side, including Assemblymen Jonathan Bing and Brian Kavanagh, state Senators Liz Krueger and Thomas Duane, and numerous civic groups. The winning design is expected to be unveiled to the public on Sunday and would serve as a makeshift blueprint for future construction.

State support for the city's plan to expand the U.N. campus has been hard to come by. "I don't believe the Senate's there," a state senator of Brooklyn, Martin Golden, said in an interview. "One would have thought the city would have moved on at this point. The U.N. doesn't curry favor with us. They are a useless group that is at best anti-American."

CGII

Jun 5, 2007, 2:02 PM

How important/active are the ports that Brooklyn Bridge Park would replace?

Patrick

Jun 5, 2007, 5:58 PM

zilfondel

Jun 6, 2007, 7:39 PM

Which 6 architects are going to compete??? I know that the high line is being done by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, but which are the other ones?

NYguy

Jun 8, 2007, 10:55 PM

How important/active are the ports that Brooklyn Bridge Park would replace?

They haven't been active for years now...

NYguy

Jun 11, 2007, 11:15 AM

http://www.nysun.com/article/56250

Plan Envisions Park Along East River

By ANNIE KARNI
June 11, 2007

East Side residents could soon enjoy close to 30 blocks of new park space along the East River, under a new plan unveiled yesterday by the Municipal Art Society.

While the United Nations seeks to expand its campus into what is now a local park and the state rebuilds the Midtown segment of the FDR Drive next door, community members and their elected officials are using the opportunity to lobby for park space in their dense neighborhood.

The park would stretch between 34th and 63rd streets, on the site of the abandoned Consolidated Edison waterside plant. The plan unveiled yesterday includes an elevated urban terrace over the FDR Drive, a wooded hill that would offer a new vista of the river, a ferry terminal, modern commercial development space, and waterfront access.

The blueprint provides the first unified vision for development of the area and was created by six architects in a 12-hour closed-door brainstorming session organized by the Municipal Art Society and Council Member Daniel Garodnick, who represents the district where the park would lie.

"It's not a substitute for a planning process, but it's a way to show people some really exciting ideas," a staff member of the Municipal Art Society, Jasper Goldman, said of the speedy design session. The plan would need approval from the developer and owner of the Con Edison site, Sheldon Solow, to move forward.

The landscape architects — including a designer of the High Line, Ricardo Scofidio, the designer of the Museum of Modern Art roof garden, Ken Smith, and an architect of the planned Brooklyn Bridge Park, Matthew Urbanski — worked together to create the first coordinated vision for a park that could make up for the loss of Robert Moses Playground, a 1.3-acre space on which the United Nations is seeking to erect a new office tower, with the city's support.

While strong opposition in the Legislature is likely to hold up the expansion of the U.N. campus, officials said the new esplanade project could move forward independently. Construction on the former Con Edison site could begin within months, according to officials from the Municipal Art Society.

fioco

Jun 11, 2007, 4:10 PM

^ You didn't include the eye-porn:
http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-06/30426042.jpg
Current East River look.

http://www.amny.com/media/photo/2007-06/30426025.jpg
Rendering of possible East River plans.

http://www.curbed.com/2007_06_eastriver1.jpg

As a "vision" exercise, they lacked no expense. Why tease people when the expense of this vision is beyond practicality and couldn't be built near any reasonable cost? Already estimated at a couple hundred millions of dollars, the costs of this dream will only escalate. Richard Rodgers should be invited to submit his recommendations, since he is designing the East River esplanade to the south, as well as some of the waterfront in LIC as part of his Silvercup towers. (This vision is a red herring in vain hopes of killing Solow's Con Ed development.)

zilfondel

Jun 11, 2007, 6:27 PM

As a "vision" exercise, they lacked no expense. Why tease people when the expense of this vision is beyond practicality and couldn't be built near any reasonable cost? Already estimated at a couple hundred millions of dollars, the costs of this dream will only escalate. Richard Rodgers should be invited to submit his recommendations, since he is designing the East River esplanade to the south, as well as some of the waterfront in LIC as part of his Silvercup towers. (This vision is a red herring in vain hopes of killing Solow's Con Ed development.)

Hmm, I didn't think cost concerns were really an issue in Manhattan... when you're home to 20 million in the metro area and the only city in the nation that knows how to build a subway, a couple hundred million isn't that much.

The park above is a bit reminiscent of the $85 million sculpture park in Seattle, opened recently that bridges Belltown over an active railway and highway to the waterfront... the real-estate along the riverfront that will be developed for this (East River access) will likely be worth FAR more money than the park will cost, so just do a little TIF funding, and boom! You're done.

Either that or get a few private donors like Seattle did.

fioco

Jun 11, 2007, 6:33 PM

^ Your comments are greatly appreciated, but you miss the point. The "park" is proposed for land already owned and cleared by the developer Solow. If the park proceeds according to plan, Solow pays for it and doesn't have the land to develop, land that is already zoned for tall buildings. The situation is very different from Seattle, where that fabulous park greatly increased nearby property values. This is Solow's property, not public property except for the ventilation tower for the Midtown Tunnel and the very small asphalt parcel known lovingly as Robert Moses Park. By the way, your home might make a lovely park. You should tear it down and build something nice for your community.

NYguy

Jun 11, 2007, 8:13 PM

NYguy

Jun 27, 2007, 1:07 PM

http://www.nysun.com/article/57360

Floating Public Pool To Open on East River

http://www.nysun.com/pics/57360_main_large.jpg

The Floating Pool under construction at a Brooklyn pier near Brooklyn Heights.

By ERIN DURKIN
June 27, 2007

Starting next week, New Yorkers looking to escape the heat will have a new option — a pool floating on the East River.

The Floating Pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park Beach will open July 4 on a barge moored between Piers 4 and 5 on the Brooklyn waterfront. It will be open to the public, free of charge, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week through Labor Day. A free shuttle bus will carry swimmers from surrounding neighborhoods.

The 25-meter, seven-lane pool can fit 174 people. On the barge's steel decks is a spray pool for children. Translucent murals depict the history of marine life on the New York waterfront.

The pool is docked at a 43,000-square-foot "beach," a parking lot transformed by sand brought in from Red Hook. " Brooklyn's trying to give Paris a run for its money," the president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, Marianna Koval, said, referring to similar pools on the Seine.

"To take a swimming lesson in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, it's pretty incredible," she said, noting that the pool's opening would mark the first time in 200 years that residents could access the previously industrial area for recreation.

The floating pool is the brainchild of Ann Buttenwieser, an urban planner who described herself as "a big proponent of opening the waterfront for recreation."

"When I started this," some 20 years ago, Ms. Buttenwieser said, "there was nothing on the waterfront. We didn't have Hudson River Park. We didn't have Brooklyn Bridge Park."

The Neptune Foundation, a nonprofit organization Ms. Buttenwieser founded to pursue the project, bought a decommissioned cargo barge in Louisiana in 2004. Construction on the Floating Pool was delayed for five months by Hurricane Katrina, but it was ready for its 10-day voyage to New York by October 2006.

After hitting a storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C., Ms. Buttenwieser said, "the pool arrived with a lot of water in it." For the past seven months, it has been anchored at nearby Pier 2 as finishing touches were added.

"It's unique. It's something new. There is just something wonderful about being in the water in the water," Ms. Buttenwieser said.

Though the pool will be a novelty to today's swimmers, it is not unique in the city's history. According to Ms. Buttenwieser's research, at the turn of the 20th century there were 15 riverside pools. People often stood in line for hours for a chance at 20 minutes in the packed pools, which had separate days for men — who generally swam nude — and women, she said.

But unlike today's Floating Pool, which has filtered water, they were filled with river water and gradually abandoned after it became clear they were contaminated with sewage.

" Manhattan Island is surrounded by water, and yet people can't swim in it," the CEO of American Leisure, which will manage the pool, Steve Kass, said. The pool is offering the next best thing, he said, and will host activities ranging from swimming lessons to beach volleyball games.

After spending this summer in Brooklyn, the pool is expected to be moored at communities around the city in the future, perhaps visiting the South Bronx for 2008.

Scruffy

Jun 27, 2007, 5:38 PM

awesome. now if they towed the pool around Manhattan, it would be the coolest thing in the world

NYguy

Jun 29, 2007, 1:53 PM

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/26/30_26floatingpool.html

Everybody in the barge

By Dana Rubinstein
June 30 – July 7, 2007

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/30/26/30_26_floatingpool_z.jpg

The floating pool — with faux beach — along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront.

The floating pool will finally open for swimming, soaking, and general relief-seeking on July 4, sources told The Brooklyn Paper.

The barge-borne pool is the dream of Ann Buttenwieser, the urban planner who concocted the idea for the so-called “Floating Pool Lady” nearly three decades ago and raised funding for it through her Neptune Foundation.

That barge is now anchored at the foot of Joralemon Street, a mere eight blocks from Borough Hall.

The splashy news was as welcome as a sprinkler on a steamy summer day.

“We’ve been looking forward to it,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association. “We hope that people enjoy it, and that it doesn’t become a noise issue.”

On the shoreline will be one-acre, man-made beach, where visitors will be able to rent umbrellas, chairs, and munch on Schnack hot dogs. The pool will be able to hold 174 swimmers at a time, with another 226 on the platform.

If all goes swimmingly, the pool will be open every day from Independence Day through Labor Day, from 11 am to 7 pm. And like all city pools, admission is free.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

NYguy

Jun 30, 2007, 11:09 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/30/nyregion/30pool.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

Brooklyn, Your New Floating Swimming Pool Is Almost Ready Now

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/06/30/nyregion/pool600.jpg

Jonathan Kirschenfeld, the architect of the pool in a barge, was helping with construction details on Thursday. Public opening is set for next week.

By ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD
June 30, 2007

The barge was a buzz of activity. Crews were halfway done with a half-dozen projects. Siding was being put on locker rooms. A checkerboard of paving tiles was being laid out on the deck. Metal panels still had to be hung from the railings. In the center of it all, a large aquamarine pool glimmered, tantalizing everybody on board.

“I want to jump in that pool right now,” said Tommy Farrell, 39, a construction worker from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, whose face was red and sweaty in Thursday’s midmorning heat.

He won’t have to wait much longer. On Wednesday, Independence Day, if all goes well, a dream born over a quarter century ago, a floating pool built on a barge, will finally be ready for bathers and bobbing off the Brooklyn waterfront in Brooklyn Heights. Eventually, the site will be part of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The pool is 25 meters long, or just over 82 feet, is 4 feet deep and has 7 lanes. Admission will be limited to 175 and will be free.

The Floating Pool Lady, as it is called, has not been easy or cheap to put together.

The idea for the barge was conceived in the early 1980s by Ann L. Buttenwieser, a former parks department official, who was attracted to the notion of floating pools by studying the history of New York. She found that there were once dozens of bathhouses on the water, used more for sanitation than for recreation.

Ms. Buttenwieser started a nonprofit group, the Neptune Foundation, to finance her pool project. So far, it has spent $4 million in donations and Ms. Buttenwieser has spent $1 million in borrowed money to pay for the pool.

Ms. Buttenwieser said that when she approached the parks commissioner, Henry Stern, in 1999 or 2000, he told her he was interested in helping her but could not afford the pool’s upkeep. The city did give her an old garbage barge, but it sank. The mayor of Hoboken, N.J., said his city wanted a pool, but he left office. So Ms. Buttenwieser and her team looked south, and in 2004 bought a decommissioned cargo barge in Louisiana called the New Orleans. In a bit of good luck, Hurricane Katrina did not damage the 85-by-300-foot vessel, but it did delay the first stages of conversion.

The barge with its pool-shaped hole arrived in Brooklyn last fall, where governmental hurdles were added to the remaining construction challenges and even threatened to sink the project. A big question, Ms. Buttenwieser said, was whether the barge was a building or a ship.

“There are multiple layers of jurisdiction here, because nobody knows what it is,” she said. “Is it a structure, or is it a vessel? Does the Coast Guard need to be involved?”

Ms. Buttenwieser said it took seven licenses and agreements to get the project approved. And yes, the Floating Pool Lady may be the first swimming pool that required a sign-off from the Coast Guard.

Once the barge was docked off Brooklyn Heights, a new round of work began. The earlier work done in Louisiana was rough shipbuilding; now that had to be made to work with precision blueprints for the pool.

“When you take something built in a shipyard and you add an architect on top of that,” said Steven Spivak, a construction supervisor, “what you get is a rigid world landing on a slightly irregular world.”

He and the pool’s architect, Jonathan Kirschenfeld, had just discovered one problem: 400 short aluminum cylinders, needed to install metal panels evenly around the edge of the barge, were a fraction of an inch too long.

That was one reason why getting the Floating Pool Lady ready for its debut was going to be a close call.

Despite the remaining hard work, some of the few people who have seen the pool up close are enthusiastic about the project. One of the construction workers, Alfred G. Baker, from Canarsie, Brooklyn, was thrilled that he could take his three children on a New York outing that would not cost him anything.

“Even my little daughter’s going to be excited about it,” he said. “When it’s time to go, she’s going to say, ‘Oh, Daddy, no! Can I spend a little more time?’ “

A shuttle will be available to take people to the pool, with stops at Cadman Plaza and Borough Hall and in Brooklyn Heights. And shiny gangways will reach from shore to barge. There are locker rooms. The pathways to the pool from the locker rooms pass large translucent seascape murals. Next comes a spray-pad, where children can get wet without swimming, and a sitting area for adults. Lifeguards will watch over the swimmers, and in the background is the Manhattan skyline, a view all can behold.

NYguy

Jul 6, 2007, 9:12 PM

curbed.com (via mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com)

http://www.curbed.com/2007_07_bargepool.jpg

gothamist.com

Floating Pool Update: Tilted Barge, Pool Closed For Now

http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2007_07_floatpool1.JPG

July 5, 2007

The Floating Pool opened at Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday to visitors (a "decent sized" crowd showed up) . However, there are some lingering issues, thanks to yesterday's rainy weather. Reader Drew went to visit the pool today and wrote to us:

Unfortunately, after being open only one day to the public, it was closed. The director, a very nice woman, explained that the rain from yesterday flooded some of the ballast tanks and tilted the entire barge. So basically one end of the pool had 2 feet of water, and the other end was overflowing. They did let some of the public on the barge to check it out and take some pictures, but the pool is closed all day while engineers attempt to fix the problem. We'll see if this gets resolved by tomorrow.

He also included this photograph - you can see the tilt if you look at the level of the pool in the photograph. If they can put a man on the moon, then we're sure engineers can fix the problem.

NYguy

Jul 13, 2007, 5:55 PM

double

NYguy

Jul 13, 2007, 5:56 PM

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/070709fdr.asp

Is Kahn’s FDR Memorial Back on Track?

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/images/070709fdr1.jpg

Shortly before his death, Louis I. Kahn designed a memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt that occupies 2.8 acres at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City’s East River. Work on the project began during the 1980s but was halted by budget problems.
Rendering by Christopher Shelley, photo by Amiaga, courtesy the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/images/070709fdr2.jpg

The FDR Memorial will culminate in a granite-walled room that will feature views of the United Nations—an organization the president helped create. The site has already been graded and shaped; it only requires the granite blocks to be laid.
Photo: © James Murdock

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/images/070709fdr3.jpg

Kahn’s 1973 sketch of the memorial.
Rendering: © University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission / Louis I. Kahn Collection

July 9, 2007
by James Murdock

It doesn’t take much to envision what Louis I. Kahn’s memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt will look like if it is eventually finished. It occupies a triangular, 2.8-acre site at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City’s East River. Construction crews have already shaped the earth into the exact dimensions and contours that Kahn specified in 1973: a raised lawn, to be flanked by two groves of trees and granite steps, that gently slopes down and culminates in an open-air, granite-walled room overlooking the United Nations.

These walls will bear quotes from the president’s powerful Four Freedoms speech.

“Most of the memorial is already there,” says Gina Pollara, executive director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial—Four Freedoms Park project of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI). “We only need to plant the trees and lay the granite blocks.”

Easy as that sounds, there is still the challenging matter of finding money to make it happen—something that FERI has struggled with since proposing a memorial in the 1960s. But the project just received a big boost. In June, it earned a letter of support from New York’s new governor, Eliot Spitzer. FERI also received an anonymous $2.5 million donation, helping jump-start fund-raising efforts on a $40 million capital campaign.

These developments are the first in a dozen years. Although Mitchell/Giurgola Architects prepared construction documents following Kahn’s death in 1974, the state and city’s legendary budget crisis sidelined the project. Construction finally began during the 1980s—until money problems, coupled with a change of governors, once again stalled it. Great monuments often take years to complete, but Pollara is now feeling pressure from a competing scheme pegged for the same site.

The Roosevelt Memorial occupies an overgrown area known as Southpoint, which also includes the ruined Smallpox Hospital, designed by James Renwick in 1854. It is the last substantial open space on the island—neé Blackwell’s Island, then Welfare Island—which the state has redeveloped according to Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s 1969 master plan. At the request of then-governor George Pataki, the Trust for Public Land began reenvisioning Southpoint in 2003. It engaged Mark K. Morrison Associates, which, with input from island residents, created a plan titled “Wild Gardens/ Green Rooms.” It calls for stabilizing the Renwick ruins and maintaining Southpoint’s feral quality with pocket-sized forests and lawns. Absent is a Roosevelt memorial.

A team led by WRT Planning & Design is now preparing construction documents for the scheme’s $10 million first phase, which encompasses roughly 8 acres from the Renwick ruins north. Andy Stone, director of the trust’s New York program, expects to break ground by summer 2008. He says that decisions regarding the remaining portion of Southpoint will depend on fund-raising—and the Roosevelt Memorial’s fate.

Although Pollara is energized by her recent successes, this optimism is tempered with pragmatism. Relying purely on state support again would be a mistake, she says. But if FERI is unable to raise a substantial chunk of money from private sources within a year, the memorial will likely remain unbuilt—which Pollara says would be a shame. “Roosevelt Island was renamed because the memorial was going to be put there. Many people today don’t even know who Roosevelt was, but his definitions of freedom are more important than ever.”

Swede

Jul 17, 2007, 10:16 AM

Never having been to Roosevelt Island beyond the tramway's terminal, don't know what the south tip looks like. But the FDR-memorial looks elegant and like a nice placer to be. Having it instead be fake wilderness... no.

curbed.com (via mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com)gothamist.com
They did let some of the public on the barge to check it out and take some pictures,
Just that little thing is so smart. Letting "the people" see and document that the pool really was messed up and had to be closed.

Scruffy

Jul 17, 2007, 2:47 PM

the southern tip has been closed off to everyone but the ballsiest of trespassers for a couple years now. you cant get to the ruins either

NYguy

Jul 20, 2007, 11:35 AM

Just that little thing is so smart. Letting "the people" see and document that the pool really was messed up and had to be closed.

It was only closed for that one day I believe.

NYguy

Jul 20, 2007, 11:37 AM

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/28/30_28floatingpool.html

Pool with a view

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/30/28/30_28_floatingpool_z.jpg

July 21, 2007

The Floating Pool Lady barge at the foot of Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights is welcoming Brooklynites like Amanda, Rob and Matthew Rowan, to its cool water and skyline view.But the 174-person-capacity pool’s sojourn off the Brooklyn coast is fleeting. After Labor Day, the pool will close; next summer, it may open in the South Bronx, which sought the pool this summer, but lost out to operators of the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront development. The state-run project is under pressure to demonstrate that it will be a park first and a luxury condo neighborhood second.

Busy Bee

Jul 20, 2007, 2:24 PM

There's a cheesy movie with Michael J. Fox called For Love or Money where he wants to renovate one of the old hospital buildings at the tip of the island into a lux hotel. That was 1993 and nothing has happened to the actual site since a fictitious scenario 15 years ago.

NYguy

Jul 21, 2007, 10:25 AM

NYguy

Jul 21, 2007, 11:10 AM

View of Manhattan from Roosevelt Island...

http://www.roosevelt-island.ny.us/images/islandview2.jpg
roosevelt-island.ny.us

The tram ride over only seems to take about a half a minute, though some people
got stuck up there for hours during an incident last year...

http://gothamist.com/attachments/jake/2005_12_roosevelttram.jpg
gothamist.com

http://weblogs.nrc.nl/weblog/newyork/wp-content/uploads/2006/dec/tram.jpg

http://polisnyc.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/roosevelt-tram.JPG?
polisnyc.wordpress.com

NYguy

Aug 27, 2007, 10:19 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/realestate/26post.html?_r=1&ref=realestate&oref=slogin

Counting on a River to Entice

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/08/24/realestate/600-posting.jpg

The Edge, a development in Williamsburg.

By C. J. HUGHES
August 26, 2007

THE East River is still polluted, from sewage runoff and a long-ago oil spill, according to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, so it is probably not quite fit yet for doing the backstroke.

But that hasn’t altered its role as a selling point for developments springing up along its banks in Brooklyn and Queens, where a recent rezoning has allowed housing to take the place of warehouses.

How popular are developers expecting the waterfront to become? Well, the sheer size of some projects provides an indication.

Take the Edge, a mixed-use development going up in the Northside neighborhood of Williamsburg. It is to span more than two full city blocks, or seven acres, between North Fifth and North Seventh Streets, from Kent Avenue to the river.

Plans call for 1,432 units, with 1,085 condos and 347 rental apartments, spread among five buildings from 8 to 30 stories high, said Jeffrey E. Levine, the chairman of Queens-based Douglaston Development, the developer. Other partners in the $1.2 billion project include UBS, the investment bank, and Louis Silverman, the former owner of the site, which used to house a trucking business.

A would-be city-in-miniature, the Edge will be crisscrossed by streets lined with 60,000 square feet of retail space. Residents will have access to 34,000 square feet of parks; 27,000 square feet of indoor recreation space, including a spa and a video-game room; and two garages, for 550 cars.

But under the terms of the new zoning, the Edge, like neighboring developments, must also provide parkland for nonresidents, and so 21,000 square feet of the property, mostly on two piers, will be open to the public, Mr. Levine said.

The state attorney general has not yet approved the Edge’s offering plan, but Mr. Levine said prices had already been determined. The smallest studios, about 600 square feet, will cost $600,000, and the largest two-bedrooms, with about 1,075 square feet of space, will run about $1.08 million, he said. Finishes throughout include oak floors, quartz kitchen counters and Miele appliances.

In addition, the city’s 421a tax-abatement law requires 20 percent of the units to be priced for people with lower incomes, so the rental apartments, one- and two-bedrooms, will cost $800 to $1,200 a month, Mr. Levine said, adding that the first round of closings is set for the summer of 2009.

Housing directly on the water “is desirable in other cities like Chicago or Paris,” he said. “There’s no reason it can’t be here.”

Reconnecting people with the East River, especially in a park-starved area, is a noble undertaking, said Roland Lewis, the president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, which advocates for greater waterfront access.

But, he said, “you have to be careful about what’s promised and what’s delivered.”

Many of Manhattan’s vest-pocket parks, which were often created by builders in exchange for greater development rights, are often poorly maintained or locked, Mr. Lewis said.

“It’s one thing to cheat the public out of a pocket park,” he said, “but it’s another to cheat them out of access to a river.”

NYguy

Aug 27, 2007, 10:44 PM

Thought this was funny. Posted on curbed.com

Introducing the Roosevelt Island Tower of Death

http://curbed.com/2007_08_deathtower.jpg

We have absolutely no idea where the hell this YouTube video came from, but it might be the finest architectural vision for New York City, and Roosevelt Island in particular, we've ever seen. You must watch it immediately, and this must be built. Make it so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkLPoUoGZOg

NYguy

Oct 5, 2007, 11:52 AM

Not the east river proper, but close enough...
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/39/30_39naturewalk.html

Nothing stinks about this nature walk

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/30/39/30_39_greenpointnature_z.jpg

A mother and daughter enjoy the new Newtown Creek Nature Walkway at its formal opening on Saturday.

By Sarah Rivette
October 6, 2007

Turns out, that new “nature walk” along side the Newtown Creek sewage treatment plant on Provost Street doesn’t smell like the Port Authority men’s room.

The much-mocked walkway, which is the only park space in the northern part of Greenpoint, opened to raves from the residents last weekend, and, most important, didn’t smell as bad as they thought it would.

“It’s better now than the old days,” said Ed Arlowski, who was sent by his congregation, the Church of the Ascension on Kent Avenue, to report back on the walkway.

Arlowski, who has lived in Greenpoint on and off for the past 30 years, found the area “gorgeous” and commended those involved for “doing a great job on the waterfront.”

The nature walk runs along the shoreline of the Newtown Creek and, indeed, borders the wastewater plant.

Where Paidge Avenue ends, the futuristic stainless steel railings usher pedestrians up stairs that lead down a path guarded on the right side by a 20-foot wall separating the path from the plant.

To the left is a small field of large metal containers, scrap metal and varying construction equipment that lay between the path and the creek. Once reaching the edge of the creek, there are tiered steps that go straight into the water, and the granite stairs, as well as many of the granite slab benches, are engraved with names of Indian tribes that once populated the area.

The path leads to a circular area, where the centerpiece is a marble engraving of what the original tributaries of the creek looked like before being filled in for development. When it rains, the engraving fills with water and flows toward the East River, as the tributaries would naturally do.

The path then extends inland, towards the plant and the infamous large egg shaped units, where there is a loading dock for kayaks and boats for access to the water, and railed areas for fishing.

Helen Geist, a Greenpoint lifer, brought her children to take part in the scavenger hunt organized by the Department of Environmental Protection, which runs the site.

“It’s nice to see something developed nice,” Geist said. “It’s nice to come down here and get away from it all.”

The Newtown Creek Monitoring Committee worked with DEP to complete the $3.2-million walkway, which was conceived over a decade ago as a way to ensure water access and cleaning of the creek.

“This will raise environmental awareness,” said Laura Hofmann, a member of NCMC. “The more people that use the waterway, the more it will improve.”

This section of the walkway is the first of three phases that will eventually ring the entire sewage plant.

Given that location, plenty of people joked on local blogs about the manure-smelling nature walk. But that snarkiness did little to cub the enthusiasm of NCMC Co-chair Barbara Milhelic.

“[Thanks to this path] I will be able to dance from one end of Greenpoint to the other!” she said.

NYguy

Oct 5, 2007, 8:10 PM

http://www.therealdeal.net/breaking_news/2007/10/05/1191615528.php

City takes Williamsburg waterfront properties for park

Octoboer 5, 2007

http://www.therealdeal.net//breaking_news/2007/10/05/images/12061.jpg

A rendering of the planned Bushwick Inlet Park.

The city has taken two Williamsburg waterfront properties by eminent domain for the planned 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park park, officials said.

The city took titles to two properties bounded by the East River, North 9th and North 10th Streets and Kent Avenue. Brooklyn judge Abraham Gerges approved the taking by eminent domain last month, said Lisa Bova-Hiatt, Department of Law deputy chief of tax and bankruptcy.

Now the city must pay for the properties, one owned by 9th Street Equities and the other by 50 Kent Associates. The sales prices will influence the price tags for the other three parcels needed to complete Bushwick Inlet Park, named for the waterway that divides Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The other properties are bounded by North 15th Street, North 10th Street and Kent Avenue.

A judge will determine the price the city must pay to the former owners.

Mark Lively, Massey Knakal director of sales for Greenpoint and Williamsburg, said the properties' zoning allows for retail and commercial development. While they could fetch at least $200 per buildable square foot on the open market, he predicted the city would pay only around $100 per foot plus relocation expenses, based on comparable sales figures.

Louis Silverman, a 9th Street Equities principal, said he wanted a fair compensation for the company's four acres.

"They have taken the property from us. All we are looking for is the fair market value of the property," Silverman said.

The three outstanding properties will not be acquired easily.

One owner, TransGas Energy Systems, is in litigation with the city. TransGas wants to build an underground power plant there with parkland above ground. A judge has issued a stay on the city's land-taking until a state commission rules on the proposed 1,000 megawatt power plant.

Another landowner, Norman Brodsky, chief executive of CitiStorage, is negotiating with the city over a price and relocation arrangement.

The third property, north of the inlet, is owned by an organization called the Greenpoint Monitor Museum, which plans to build a museum dedicated to the USS Monitor on an acre of property donated by Motiva Enterprises in 2003. The famous Civil War ship was built and launched on that spot in 1862.

"We are fighting it. It was donated and we are not giving it up," said Janice Lauletta-Weinmann, president and co-founder of the Greenpoint Monitor Museum. "It is a disgrace."

The city wants to instead make the property part of the park and has offered to relocating the proposed museum off the waterfront and onto an undetermined street, she said.

Silverman said he already sold other properties that will be part of the park to the Trust for Public Lands in 2000.

Government agencies have been on a land-grabbing binge lately, said attorney Michael Rikon. Big planned takings include Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, Willets Point in Queens and the Second Avenue subway sites in Manhattan. New Jersey Transit is seeking land for a tunnel on Manhattan's West Side.

"There is a tremendous amount of eminent domain going on throughout the city of New York," said Rikon, a partner at the firm of Goldstein, Goldstein, Rikon and Gottlieb. "I can't remember as many takings."

By Adam Pincus

NYguy

Oct 6, 2007, 11:29 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/arts/design/06tent.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

Artwork, Assembled at the Last Minute, Explores the Long Ago

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Thom Sokoloski’s installation artwork, “The Encampment,” has been assembled on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.

By MELENA RYZIK
October 6, 2007

At about 7 last night, “The Encampment,” an installation of 100 19th-century-style tents by the Canadian artist Thom Sokoloski, was to open in an empty field at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.

“The Encampment” A year in the making, the tents represent the patients who once lived in the island’s smallpox hospital, the remains of which loom nearby. Inside each, volunteers would arrange artifacts to memorialize patients and other island residents. As a final touch, the tents were to be illuminated from within, so “The Encampment” would be visible from both sides of the East River, a glowing link to the area’s history.

But first, it had to be finished.

In the 80-degree weather of yesterday morning, a dozen volunteers showed up to help; most encountered a locked gate. Though Mr. Sokoloski spent months assembling the proper permits, security had been a constant issue: the site, part of what will become Southpoint Park, is usually closed to the public. Homeland Security officials were on high alert because of the United Nations General Assembly meeting just across the East River, and the police threatened to shut things down because of a miscommunication.

By noon only a dozen tents had been set up, and few were filled. Mr. Sokoloski’s partners, Jenny-Anne McCowan, a choreographer and outreach coordinator, and John McDowell, a composer, busied themselves marshaling the volunteers.

Even the construction supervisors — four Canadian military re-enactors, with extensive experience in putting up tents — were sweating. The exhibition, part of the annual Openhousenewyork weekend, was several hours behind schedule.

But Mr. Sokoloski, a Toronto-based artist who seems younger than his 57 years, remained calm. A former theater director (he worked at La MaMa in the 1980s) and location scout for movies, he is adept at making big projects work, like an opera he staged in Toronto’s main train station in 1992.

“It’s one thing after another, but you get used to it,” Mr. Sokoloski said. “You just keep going till the last moment, because who knows what will happen tomorrow?”

“The Encampment” is the second in a series of tent-based installations Mr. Sokoloski has planned. A smaller-scale version was erected in Toronto last year for Nuit Blanche, an arts festival, and he hopes to create a larger version elsewhere in Canada next year. Each project is devoted to exposing an urban past that’s usually kept hidden: the history of mental health and addiction treatment in Toronto, the confinement and isolation of the many sanitariums that once dotted Roosevelt Island.

The idea, Mr. Sokoloski said, was to create “an archaeological dig into the collective memory of a space.” To enhance that collective spirit, he enlisted about 70 “creative collaborators” — artists, students and patients from the island’s Coler-Goldwater Memorial Hospital — to research and compile art for the tents.

Some people took on more than one tent. The interior objects — drawings, dioramas, mannequin heads, flowers — had to be small enough to be boxed up, though Mr. Sokoloski was not to know what they were. The volunteers had only two hours to install their work.

Ronit Muszkatblit, 32, a theater director from the East Village, was inspired by the story of Ernest Otto, an asylum patient who died in 1894 after choking on rice and bread. Her installation included a human silhouette buried in rice.

“I love site-specific work,” Ms. Muszkatblit said before dragging a cart laden with props to her tent. “The energy, the adrenaline, the rush of the last moment, the not sleeping and carrying everything back and forth.”

Mr. Sokoloski knows all about it. On Wednesday the tents — seven-foot-long canvas A-frames — were still at the manufacturer, the Fall Creek Suttlery, of Lebanon, Ind., which usually supplies tents for military re-enactments, because Mr. Sokoloski didn’t have the money to pay for shipping. By the time the funds materialized, he needed the tents shipped overnight— at a cost of about $4,000.

“I said, ‘I can’t pay that much,’” Mr. Sokoloski recalled. (“The Encampment” cost about $150,000, financed mostly by him, Ms. McCowan and donations.) He asked Andy Fulks, the company’s owner, for a cheaper alternative. Mr. Fulks came up with one: a guy named Wayne. So Wayne, a local resident, packed the 100 tents into his pickup and drove straight through from Indiana to New York, delivering the tents at 2:30 on Thursday afternoon. Then he turned and drove home.

The construction cavalry — Canadian re-enactors who specialize in the War of 1812 — arrived early Friday morning, hauling a trailer filled with 100 pounds of 10-inch nails and 300 beams to erect the tents.

But the beams were the wrong size. So hours before opening, volunteers had to cut them to fit, using the trailer’s fender as a sawhorse. Mr. Sokoloski savored the momentum.

“I find there’s a kind of excitement when you do it this way,” he said of his last-minute art. “It’s not a Cartesian way to achieve results. But there’s this other level of energy, of spontaneity.”

In the end they were able to erect only 90 of the tents on Friday. (Ten more will follow today.) But the lights went on just after 7.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/10/05/arts/20071005_TENT_SLIDESHOW_index.html

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Early Friday morning, the construction cavalry arrived with 100 pounds of five-inch nails and 300 beams, to help erect the tents.

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A view of the tents being constructed. The idea, Mr. Sokoloski said, was to create “an archeological dig into the collective memory of a space.”

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/10/05/arts/tentsnight.jpg

The are tents illuminated from within.

NYguy

Nov 5, 2007, 1:44 PM

http://tribecatrib.com/news/newsnov07/ERiverWaterfront.html

CB1 Sees Latest Waterfront Concept

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By Nick Pinto
POSTED NOVEMBER 2, 2007

Architects for the city revealed their most detailed plans yet for remaking virtually every aspect of the East River Waterfront.

Gregg Pasquarelli, a partner in SHoP Architects, presented to Community Board 1 the firm’s latest visual concepts for a lively promenade, a new Pier 15 dedicated to recreation and easy access to the waterfront.

The plan eliminates one of the major obstacles to pedestrians trying to reach the waterfront. South Street, running beneath the FDR Drive, is nearly twice as wide in some places as the standard New York City street and lacks curbs, well-delineated bike lanes, or sidewalks in many areas. The street would be narrowed, with more crosswalks, freeing up space for the esplanade, which will include planted areas, several kinds of seating, and at least 20 feet of uninterrupted pedestrian walkway at the water’s edge.

For much of Lower Manhattan’s East River waterfront—the stretch between Pier 11, near Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge—pedestrians will take a path over the river, on a 58-foot-wide walkway that hangs above the water.

“This is going to be a destination in its own right,” Pasquarelli said.

Interspersed along the esplanade would be a series of glassed-in pavilions under the highway with garage-style doors that pull up to form an awning at their front entrances, perhaps equipped with acoustic baffles to shield visitors from the noise of the FDR Drive. Ranging from 1,500 to 8,000 square feet, the pavilions could house a range of uses, including flower markets, cafes, daycare centers and dance studios.

Unlike the current walkway, the new esplanade would be well-lit, but with soft, indirect illumination to preserve night-time river views. Some lights would be bounced off the elevated FDR, while others—possibly programmable LED arrays—would be installed in the railing at the water’s edge.

Pedestrians from Battery Park trying to get to the East River waterfront now face a daunting passage in front of the Battery Maritime Building, where the FDR emerges from its tunnel and the sidewalk narrows to barely over a foot wide. The plan calls for the creation of a pedestrian plaza in front of the building, making space by moving the tunnel entrance 350 feet to the northeast. Pasquarelli conceded that this part of the project isn’t expected to get underway anytime soon, however.

“It takes a lot of money and planning to move a highway tunnel,” he said.

The reconstruction of the decrepit Pier 15 is a centerpiece of the waterfront plan. The new pier would rest on more widely spaced pylons—a more hospitable environment for underwater life. The architects’ vision consists of an elevated park, complete with lawns and shrubs, connected by long ramps to the lower level pier, which is slated for maritime use by the South Street Seaport Museum.

Community Board members responded positively to the presentation.

“This is one of the most breathtaking public works projects in the world,” said board member Bruce Ehrmann.

But not everyone was pleased with the designs. More than a dozen boating enthusiasts crammed into the small meeting room to voice their displeasure at the plan, which they said offers little to boaters.

“This doesn’t work from a boating point of view,” said Carolina Salguero, the director of Portside New York, an advocacy group fighting for more boating opportunities on the city’s waterfront.

In particular, the boating advocates said they want Pier 15 to be a true working pier, with access for all sizes of private boats to tie up. William Kelley of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, the agency overseeing the East River Waterfront Project, noted that the South Street Seaport Museum holds the lease on the pier, so it is more likely to be used to showcase the museum’s collection of old ships.

South Street Seaport Director Mary Pelzer said the new Pier 15 will celebrate the city’s maritime past.

“This is a great opportunity for the museum to reprogram our fleet and let people see more of our historic ships,” she said.

Advocates for an active waterfront remained unimpressed, however.

Lee Gruzen, the co-chair of Seaport Speaks, a group advising planners on the area’s redevelopment, said she too was disappointed by the plan.

“I was hoping to see something here that I can’t do anywhere else in New York,” Gruzen said. “Instead, this plan makes us couch potatoes.”

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NYguy

Nov 30, 2007, 1:13 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2007/11/29/2007-11-29_if_bill_passes_greenpointwilliamsburg_wa.html

If bill passes, Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront park will come

BY RACHEL MONAHAN
November 29th 2007

A planned 28-acre park on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront will finally be built if a state Assembly bill to be introduced Thursday is passed.

Eight acres of the planned Bushwick Inlet Park is owned by the company TransGas Energy, which has repeatedly revamped plans for a power plant, in part to evade city plans to seize the property, critics charge.

Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D-Greenpoint) is slated to introduce legislation Thursday to put an end to the long delays by having the state seize the property through eminent domain.

"This is an appropriate use of eminent domain. We're not taking people's houses. We're not trying to aid a private developer," Lentol said. "TransGas has been very clever in trying to put off what has been recommended long ago."

The park was included as part of the 2005 rezoning of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, and the city attempted to seize the property.

Two years ago, a judge forced the city to wait for a ruling from the obscure state Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment.

Public officials and local leaders had blasted the Pataki administration as early as 2004 for not ruling on the power plant. TransGas has revised the project several times - including once to move the whole plant under ground.

The board received the latest revisions to the power plant in July, said Public Service Commission spokeswoman Anne Dalton.

"The pleadings and filings are under review," she said.

NYguy

Dec 20, 2007, 10:45 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2007/12/20/2007-12-20_new_waterfront_park_coming_soon.html

New waterfront park coming soon

BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM
December 20th 2007, 4:00 AM

Construction on what will become a sprawling 1.3-mile Brooklyn Heights waterfront park could begin as early as next month, the Daily News has learned.

If approved today, the $18 million construction phase would include the demolition of the historic Purchase Building and the removal of portions of five piers, officials said.

"This is the first major step in constructing this park, and we're very proud to be moving forward," said Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. President Regina Myer.

The Purchase Building, built with federal Work Projects Administration funds in 1936, had been used as a temporary headquarters for the Office of Emergency Management following 9/11, when its Manhattan office was destroyed.

Supporters of the $150 million park plan believe the landmarked building would bisect the park, interrupting its continuity and blocking views of the river.

But despite protests from preservationists bent on saving the Art Deco building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted in favor of demolishing it in 2006.

"It's further evidence that the [Empire State Development Corp.] cares so little about what the community thinks," said Judi Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund. "All parties, for and against the project, have wanted to preserve it because it's a landmark."

A shed on Pier 1, meanwhile, is also expected to be demolished during the construction phase as well as the partial removal of four other sheds on piers 2, 3, 5 and 6.

The piers will eventually be home to basketball and handball courts, a rolling landscape called Prospect Hill, soccer fields, playgrounds and a promenade, Myer said.

"I'm happy that the process is moving forward, but I hope there is a comprehensive plan for financing the park," said Roy Sloane, a critic of the project, which he believes has grown in cost.

The nine-month construction phase had been slated to begin last April, but complications including the reevaluation of the project by Gov. Spitzer, forced its delay.

Portions of the project will be open to parkgoers by 2009, said Myer, shrugging off concerns by critics who believe construction delays will continue.

Lecom

Dec 20, 2007, 11:41 PM

How many nimbies have complained so far and said that they like their rat-infested under-highway parking lots the way they are?

NYguy

Dec 22, 2007, 10:29 PM

How many nimbies have complained so far and said that they like their rat-infested under-highway parking lots the way they are?

Many, and they're still going at it.
Coverage from the Brooklyn Paper (http://www.brooklynpaper.com/sections/news/development/brooklyn_bridge_park/)

NYguy

Jan 2, 2008, 1:53 PM

http://tribecatrib.com/news/newsjan08/BMB.html

They Try a Different Top on Landmark

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By Nick Pinto
JANUARY 1, 2008

[cjolor=blue]Developers proposing to top the landmark Battery Maritime Building, next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal, with a dramatic glass addition, returned to Community Board 1’s Landmarks Committee last month with a number of concessions in their design. But it wasn’t enough to please the committee, who declared the addition, a four-story glass-enclosed hotel atop the historic 1909 ferry terminal, still too big and obtrusive.[/color]

The Economic Development Corporation, which owns and restored the building, gave the Dermot Company a 99-year lease in June. Dermot’s plans call for continuing ferry service to Governors Island from the building’s ground floor while turning the 9,000-square foot great hall on the second floor into a public space available for private events in the evening.

The controversial element in Dermot’s plan, designed by Rogers Marvel Architects, is the construction of a 146-room hotel and rooftop restaurant, housed in a four-story glass cap on top of the existing building, nearly doubling the landmark’s height. Rooms are expected to cost up to $500 per night.

It was Dermot’s second presentation to the committee, and board members found much improvement to the land side of the building: a more understated entrance; a window proposed for the building’s west side that is broken up into smaller, less jarring sections; a segmented southern façade (rather than the monolithic one first proposed) that reflects the architectural divisions of the original building.

Dermot partner Steve Benjamin argued that the addition of a three-and-a-half foot railing between the original building and the addition extends the profile of the original building, further diminishing the visual impact of the addition.

“There’s no question that this is a much better proposal,” said committee co-chair Bruce Ehrmann. “Many of the issues I had have been resolved. I just don’t understand why the addition is still so high.”

Benjamin told the committee the addition, which was brought down three-and-a-half feet from the one first proposed, can’t be made much smaller.

“We squeezed the penthouse as much as we could,” he said. “The hotel rooms are already smaller than standard. To make this project make financial sense, this is what we have to do.”

However, Benjamin’s argument didn’t satisfy the committee.

“If the developer is saying they need the addition to be so big to satisfy the financial side, that’s their problem,” said committee member Marc Ameruso. “Why should a historic landmark building have to suffer for a developer’s bottom line?”

The committee asked Benjamin to consider their comments and return with further revisions before taking the proposal to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Benjamin agreed, but warned the committee that what they see now is very close to what they will get.

“We’ve tweaked this about as much as we think is possible,” Benjamin said. “We’re happy to come back and talk to you again, but it’s not going to look significantly different.”

When Dermot first took its proposal to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in October, commissioners shared many of the Community Board’s concerns.

The developer is expected to return to the commission in January, before the full Community Board makes its recommendation on the plan.

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NYguy

Jan 14, 2008, 12:33 PM

http://www.nysun.com/article/69413

Waterfalls as Art To Be Installed in East River

http://www.nysun.com/pics/69413_main_large.jpg

Images of a planned waterfalls art installation have not yet been released; above, a waterfall and a view of the East River.

By KATE TAYLOR
January 14, 2008

As if it didn't already have enough, the East River seems to attract water: Last summer, its big draw was a floating swimming pool; this summer, it will be waterfalls — created by an artist.

Olafur Eliasson, a Danish–Icelandic artist whose installation "The Weather Project" drew 2 million people to the Tate Modern in 2003 and 2004, has designed what will likely be the city's biggest public art project since Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates": a series of freestanding waterfalls in the East River.

Mayor Bloomberg and the Public Art Fund, a private nonprofit organization that produced, among other works, Anish Kapoor's "Sky Mirror" and Jeff Koons's "Puppy," both at Rockefeller Center, are scheduled to announce Mr. Eliasson's project at the South Street Seaport tomorrow.

According to a source whom the mayor told about the project, the waterfalls will rise about 60 to 70 feet above the water — more than half as high as the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge. They will be visible from the area around the Seaport, from Brooklyn Heights, and from the Governors Island Ferry.

Someone who was briefed on the waterfalls project last year said that, at that time, it was estimated to cost between $9 million and $11 million.

The waterfalls project will coincide with a retrospective of Mr. Eliasson's work, called "Take Your Time," which will run at the Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 between April 20 and June 30. The exhibition, currently at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, is the first major retrospective of his work in America.

Mr. Eliasson is known for creating immersive environments that take their inspiration from nature and play tricks with viewers' perceptions. With "The Weather Project," Mr. Eliasson used mist, mirrors, and 200 monofilament light bulbs to create an image of a glowing sun in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. In a work called "Green River," in 2000, he poured nontoxic dye into a river in Stockholm, turning it green. In an early work called "Beauty" (1993), he created a rainbow in a gallery by projecting light across a fine mist of water.

Born in Copenhagen to Icelandic parents, Mr. Eliasson has long been interested in waterfalls, which form an important part of the landscape of Iceland. A piece called "Reversed Waterfall" (1998), which will be included in the P.S.1 exhibition, uses a system of pumps and basins to send water jetting uphill. In 2005, he created a 20-foot outdoor waterfall as part of an exhibition at Dundee University in Scotland.

Many of Mr. Eliasson's works have a subtle environmental message. "The Weather Project" was partially intended to make viewers contemplate their personal experience of weather and climate. The exhibition at SFMOMA includes a work called "Your mobile expectations: BMW H2R project," in which Mr. Eliasson removed the outer shell of a BMW hydrogen-powered race car and replaced it with a translucent surface of steel mesh, reflective steel panels, and ice. A 1999 series of photographs, called "The glacier series," documented glaciers in various stages of melting.

Mr. Eliasson is one of a number of contemporary artists working on a scale that requires vast workspaces and fleets of assistants. According to a 2006 profile in the New Yorker, he has a 15,000-square-foot studio in a former train depot in East Berlin and employs about 40 people there, including mathematicians, technicians, lighting designers, and architects.

The New York City Economic Development Corp. estimated that Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates," a series of some 7,500 saffron-yellow gates that were installed in Central Park for 16 days in February 2005, attracted 1.5 million out-of-town visitors and generated $254 million in economic activity for the city. The project cost more than $20 million and was financed entirely by the artists.

A spokesman for the mayor declined to confirm plans for the waterfalls project

NYguy

Jan 16, 2008, 1:10 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01162008/news/regionalnews/making_a_splash_774849.htm

MAKING A SPLASH
B'KLYN BRIDGE WATERFALL PLAN

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By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief
January 16, 2008

Four manmade waterfalls, 90 to 120 feet high, will be installed under and around the Brooklyn Bridge this summer in one of the city's most audacious art undertakings, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday.

"They really must be seen to be believed," the mayor declared, standing next to renderings of the awesome displays during a press conference at the South Street Seaport.

Although they're being built on scaffolding at the edge of the waterfront, some of the waterfalls appear to float above New York Harbor. High-powered pumps will dispense 35,000 gallons of water a minute over each of the structures.

The highest is expected to be as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

One of the most eye-popping falls has water cascading under the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge .

"This project today is the most ambitious project the Public Art Fund has ever undertaken and, I dare say, the city has ever seen," said Susan Freedman, president of the nonprofit organization.

The $15 million project was commissioned in 2006 from Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who created a sensation in London by erecting a giant sun made of 200 yellow lamps, mirrors and mist in the entrance hall of the Tate Modern in 2003.

Officials are predicting 86,000 tourists will be drawn to New York solely by the falls, which will be on view between mid-July and mid-October. The city's economy is expected to gain $55 million.

By comparison, the enormously popular "Gates," which enveloped Central Park in 2005, generated $254 million.

Private contributors, including Bloomberg LP, the mayor's information-services company, are picking up the hefty construction bill.

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NYguy

Mar 26, 2008, 5:29 AM

http://gothamist.com/2008/03/25/demolition_unde.php

Demolition Underway for Brooklyn Bridge Park

Marc 25, 2008

The conversion of an 85-acre stretch of Brooklyn waterfront from post-industrial decay to pristine park is continuing apace, as bulldozers have begun demolishing the hulking warehouses that have barred access to the East River for years. But a Sierra Club lawsuit could yet stall the long-planned urban renewal project, and outcry from some community groups remains undiminished.

The Sierra Club objects to the “wave-calming systems and floating walkways” that are to be installed along five piers in the park to encourage kayakers, because the system could hurt East River marine life. Other critics like Fred Kent, founder of the Project for Public Spaces, opposes the park’s design, which he sees as uninspired “fields in the middle of a pier,” designed to appeal to future dwellers in the condos and hotels being built along the park – these will ultimately provide the revenue to cover the park’s operation and maintenance.

Kent would like to see the park accommodate markets, museums and other cultural life; other critics like Judi Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, fault the plans for not providing enough access to the waterfront from other places like the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. On the other side of the debate, Marianna Koval, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, tells the Times that the park, parts of which will be completed as soon as next year, will have enough activities to draw thousands of people to Brooklyn: “You can over-program a place and turn it into Disneyland.” Would that be so wrong? Part of the park is in DUMBO

NYguy

Mar 26, 2008, 5:36 AM

Photos of the demolition for the Brooklyn Bridge Park from epc (http://flickr.com/photos/epc/)

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Patrick

Mar 26, 2008, 5:50 AM

I'm sorry but this plan is just rediculous, what the point besides ruining the bridge?

http://www.nysun.com/pics/69413_main_large.jpg

NYguy

Mar 26, 2008, 6:04 AM

I'm sorry but this plan is just rediculous, what the point besides ruining the bridge?

http://www.nysun.com/pics/69413_main_large.jpg

Not everyone will get it, but the city has a practical interest in these types of things:

Officials are predicting 86,000 tourists will be drawn to New York solely by the falls, which will be on view between mid-July and mid-October. The city's economy is expected to gain $55 million.

By comparison, the enormously popular "Gates," which enveloped Central Park in 2005, generated $254 million.

NYC2ATX

Mar 28, 2008, 9:12 AM

WOW that waterfalls shit is ridiculous. ...and by ridiculous, I mean ridiculously COOOOOL!!!!!!!! I will definitely be goin' to see that shit this summer! I think a new New York tradition has been created. Housing huge, crazy temp art exhibits. Talk about getting more attention as a world art capital.

God, New York is just a World Everything Capital.

NYguy

Mar 28, 2008, 9:22 AM

NYguy

Apr 3, 2008, 6:57 PM

http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Art_will_gush_over_East_River/12155.html

Art will gush over East River

by amy zimmer
APR 3, 2008

LOWER EAST SIDE. The stretch of the East River path near Rutgers Street is where men from Chinatown come with their fishing rods or the homeless find benches to sleep. But yesterday, a gaggle of media convened at Pier 35 to get a glimpse of what is expected to become a hot tourist spot.

Workers were erecting a 110-foot high steel scaffolding for one of Olafur Eliasson’s “Waterfalls,” which is expected to start pumping river water (using green energy) in July, running through October.

A 90-foot-tall waterfall will cascade under the Brooklyn Bridge and there will be 120-foot falls at Governors Island and between Brooklyn’s piers 4 and 5. The Dutch-Icelandic artist “always knew he wanted to do something with water,” said Rochelle Steiner, director of New York’s Public Art Fund, which commissioned the $15 million, privately-funded project two years ago.

Steiner’s group has worked with 500 artists over the last 30 years, but this is its most “ambitious” project, requiring complicated permitting and meetings with nearly a dozen government agencies and environmental groups.

Eliasson initially envisioned 25 sites from the Battery to the Harlem River. NYPD concerns about homeland security and Coast Guard considerations about boat traffic limited the scope. Plus, they needed city-owned sites that didn’t interfere with neighbors.

NYguy

Apr 3, 2008, 10:44 PM

NYC2ATX

Apr 5, 2008, 10:59 AM

like I said before.....REEEDICKKKYOUULUSSS!!!!

NYguy

Apr 7, 2008, 9:19 PM

like I said before.....REEEDICKKKYOUULUSSS!!!!

And coming soon. Get your camera ready...;) I wonder what kind of security they are going to have, because you know on one of those hot days....

NYguy

Apr 11, 2008, 3:49 PM

curbed.com

Randall's Island 'Field of Schemes' Fight Gets Weird

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_04_Randalls%20%20Island.jpg
[Photo courtesy of Bones!/flickr]

When we last checked on the Randall's Island 'Field of Schemes' issue, it had been seriously wounded by a judge's decision against the city's plan to sell rights to use athletic fields on the island to nearly two dozen exclusive private schools. The judge said the huge plan had to go through the city's land use review process. In the meantime, work has started on a big 20-court tennis complex with a 4,000 seat stadium.

As it turns out, work has not stopped on the athletic fields either, and yesterday, opponents were back in court trying to tell the judge that the city was thumbing its nose at the court and that its order was being "eviscerated." Construction continues, but the judge may take a field trip to the island.

NYguy

Apr 17, 2008, 5:57 AM

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/2008/04/nyc_waterfalls.php

NYC Waterfalls could start flowing as early as June

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/images/waterfallsprogress2-thumb.jpg

April 15, 2008

Olafur Eliasson is aiming to debut his NYC Waterfalls earlier than the "mid-July" date touted thus far in press releases.

"I am hoping to bring out the waterfalls project in the last week of June," he told media gathered Tuesday morning for a preview of his "Take Your Time" exhibition that will open at the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday.

The four man-made waterfalls will dot the East River -- one under the Brooklyn Bridge, one at Governors Island, one below Brooklyn Heights betwen piers 4 and 5 and another at Manhattan's Pier 35.

Image credit: Waterfall construction this morning, as seen from the FDR. Amy Langfield/NewYorkology.

NYC2ATX

Apr 18, 2008, 1:30 AM

I'm so there, and there, and there, and there.

NYguy

Apr 18, 2008, 2:20 AM

I'm so there, and there, and there, and there.

Yeah, its the sort of very simple, yet somehow insane idea that thrives in New York (remember "the Gates"?). Get ready for Circle Line.

NYguy

Apr 18, 2008, 2:24 AM

More east river fun
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/16/31_16_parking_lot_paradise_on.html

Parking lot paradise on waterfront

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/31/16/31_16_bushwickinletpark2_z.jpg

The city has just released these renderings of the proposed Bushwick Inlet Park. One of the designs features a building covered in grass — that you can climb on!

By Ben Muessig
April 19, 2008

A weed-strewn parking lot on the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg will bloom into a lush waterfront area that features a cutting-edge building topped with a slanted lawn under the latest city plan to create a world-class waterfront park.

The city moved quickly to release renderings of the first phase of the long-planned 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park this month — just weeks after the state unplugged a plan to put a powerplant in the same spot between North Ninth and North 10th streets.

“We want to make every square inch as usable as possible,” architect Gregory Kiss told Community Board 1 on April 8.

“Instead of wasting a third of the space for a parking lot and a maintenance building, we designed a grass slope that will go up and over the building, which creates a 100 percent usable space as well as an overlook for the entire park.”

Neighborhood groups are behind Kiss’s daring plan.

“Covering the roof with a lawn is an amazing solution,” said Dewey Thompson, co-chair of Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning. “It looked like we were going to have a big shed or a maintenance building in our park, but the lawn roofing is a great way to get around that.”

And it’s not just the grassy roof that’s going to be green. Solar panels will provide the building’s energy and excess water will go through filters before draining to the river.

The city plans to break ground on the athletic field this fall and complete it by next summer, when construction will begin on the sloped building. The waterfront wetlands will come later.

_________________________________________

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_04_Inlet%20Park%20Plan.jpg
curbed.com

NYguy

May 1, 2008, 4:20 AM

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/04/25/meet_the_east_river_pingpong_tango_pavilions.php

Meet the East River Ping-Pong & Tango Pavilions

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2047/2440303933_c8164639de_o.jpg

Friday, April 25, 2008, by Robert

Among the things being planned for the remakes of the East River waterfront and piers in Lower Manhattan are two new pavilions "underneath the fume-laden F.D.R. Drive near Rutgers Slip."

The description comes from the Villager, which describes them as places "where ping-pong, aerobics, tango and karate could become the norm."

Unlike some controversial elements of plans, the Villager notes that Community Board 3's Waterfront Subcommittee "overwhelmingly supports using the pavilions for dance, exercise and recreation."

The plan is to select a builder by next summer or fall and to have the pavilions open by 2011. In the meantime, everybody's talking about how "community access" gets defined and one local activist says "the devil is in the details," meaning that there could still be some fireworks. Some of the plans from SHoP Architects have previously been called "couch potato" plans.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2113/2441134100_be7f26b14f_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3004/2440303785_0d551e020b_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2027/2441134126_c929e34a12_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2147/2441133962_e04061b422_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2057/2441134000_5512c522a2_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2328/2440303731_ecc90d2f4c_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2213/2441133984_3a965fbdf4_o.jpg

NYguy

May 10, 2008, 10:47 PM

WOW that waterfalls shit is ridiculous. ...and by ridiculous, I mean ridiculously COOOOOL!!!!!!!! I will definitely be goin' to see that shit this summer!

Get those pennies together!
http://gothamist.com/2008/05/09/50000_tour_of_m.php

May 9, 2008

$50,000 Tour of Man-Made NYC Waterfalls in Works

http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/050809waterfalls.jpg

When Olafur Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls start roaring on the East River and New York Harbor this June, cruises like Circle Line will be bringing passengers so close to the spray they’ll need to stock ponchos on board. Sure, you could just look at the falls from any number of points on the shore, but tour boat companies are betting that plenty of people will gladly pay for the Man-Made of the Mist experience.

A press release from Circle Line notes that “in today's travel climate, it is more important than ever to create a memorable experience that provides bragging rights to last a lifetime.” So for rich braggarts with $50,000 to throw around, the company will be offering a luxury “Gold Plate” package tour that includes:

-Champagne: Dom Perignon and Karl Lagerfeld's vintage 1998 "A Bottle Named Desire."

-Chocolate: Knipschildt's La Madeline au Truffe, recognized by Forbes Magazine as the most expensive chocolate in the world.

-Diamonds: Tiffany Jazz™ Drop Earrings.

-Dinner for Two: Six-course meal from Chef Daniel Boulud's Feast & Fêtes catering.

-Presidential Suite: A night in one of New York City's most luxurious presidential suites.

The only thing missing is a diamond-encrusted poncho! And those on a fixed-income needn’t feel shut out – you can also slum it with Circle Line on a $10,000 budget cruise, which features none of the swag but does include a night in the Presidential Suite at Westin New York Times and dinner for two at Le Bernadin. (And yes, Circle Line will still be herding hoi polloi onto double digit tours as well.)

:banana:

NYC2ATX

May 11, 2008, 12:34 PM

Oh thank god, I've been wondering what to do what that 50 grand that's been burning a hole in my pocket. :cheers:

Scruffy

May 12, 2008, 5:00 PM

there are soo many plans for the east river park, but other than the waterfalls which is privately funded, i see no movement on any of them. Finally BK Bridge Park has some motion with the demolition of the the warehouses

NYguy

May 12, 2008, 11:09 PM

Oh thank god, I've been wondering what to do what that 50 grand that's been burning a hole in my pocket. :cheers:

LOL. That's just another example of how things take on a life of their own in New York.

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/05/12/waterfall_watch_weird_tower_rises_beneath_brooklyn_heights.php?o=5

Waterfall Watch: Weird Tower Rises Beneath Brooklyn Heights

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3033/2486184041_21a03c5669_o.jpg
A vertical shot of the waterfall's steel framework and some rubble behind it. Presumably, it'll look nice with water and from the other side.

Monday, May 12, 2008, by Robert

This is the steel framework for one of Olafur Eliasson's waterfalls, which is now up on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront. It's north of the former location of the Floating Pool and One Brooklyn Bridge Park, next to a subway ventilation shaft. It is huge (120 feet tall) and also strange looking, although it will presumably look at lot better once the water is turned on from 7AM-10PM, seven days a week, with nighttime lighting. Alas, the view from Brooklyn itself will always be of the tower's backside, no matter how glorious the vista from the Circle Line tour boat.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3015/2486184383_1ccddcff9a_o.jpg
Here's the waterfall map. Two are in Brooklyn. One is at Governor's Island and on is in Manhattan.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/2096/2486184307_759221c47a_o.jpg
A shot of the tower with crane, from the Brooklyn Promenade last week.

NYguy

May 23, 2008, 12:02 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/regionalnews/peek__say__i_see_london__112143.htm

PEEK & SAY: I SEE LONDON!
B'KLYN 'SCOPE' OFFERS UK VIEW

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/photos/news017.jpg

FARSIGHTED: Ashley Gonzales peers into the Brooklyn "telectroscope" yesterday.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/photos/news017a.jpg

Pals (above from left) Lorena Yeves and Elizabeth Castillo "reflect" with Londoners.

By RITA DELFINER with AP
May 23, 2008 --

Thanks to an artist's tunnel vision, a New Yorker can stand in Brooklyn, wave to someone in London - and see the Brit waving back.

The jolly good show is made possible by a huge optical device called a "telectroscope" created by a sculptor who has also invented a tale about its origin, claiming it was made possible by a long-lost secret tunnel.
The gizmo, which looks like it dates to Queen Victoria's time, was placed at the Fulton Ferry Landing by the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday - and an identical one was set up across the pond on London's South Bank by the Tower Bridge.

Step up to the person-size lens of the brass-and-wood device and you see a life-size view in real time of whoever is gazing through the lens on the other side.

The work by London artist Paul St. George looks like a giant telescope burrowing into the ground.

Publicists for the project would say only that the scope works by using fiberoptic communication.

St. George offers a more creative conceit - saying he just carried out the dream of his great-grandfather Alexander Stanhope St. George, who began excavating a secret tunnel under the ocean over a century ago.

His relative planned to put a telectroscope at each end that would magnify the view through the tunnel and let people on both sides see one another, according to the tale.

Yesterday, spectators used wipe-off boards provided at both sites to exchange messages.

Some used the scope to swap cellphone numbers with strangers so they could hear as well as see one another, said the project's spokesman, Adam Bricault.

"Other people who know each other are setting times to meet up," he said.

There's even talk of marriage proposals by long-distance couples.

"We've heard rumblings of boyfriends and girlfriends and possible engagements," he said.

The scope will operate until June 15, and seeing is believing. Or is it?

The artist is "fascinated by the overlapping territory between illusion and reality - between optical effect and perception," a press release says. "He delights in mesmerizing his audience."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/regionalnews/telectroscope/photo01.jpg

The Telectroscope, which can be used by New Yorkers to see their English cousins, is framed by the Brooklyn Bridge.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/regionalnews/telectroscope/photo02.jpg

Londoners gaze into the Telectroscope near the Tower Bridge.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/regionalnews/telectroscope/photo03.jpg

Lorena Yeves, left, 21 of Manhattan, and Elizabeth Castillo, 21 of San Pedro, Ca. are reflected in the Telectroscope glass as they exchange phone numbers with Tyrone in London.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/regionalnews/telectroscope/photo04.jpg

Friendly New Yorkers communicate by way of signs and smiles at their counterparts in London.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232008/news/regionalnews/telectroscope/photo05.jpg

The London end of The Telectroscope sits by the Tower Bridge.

NYguy

May 23, 2008, 12:39 PM

More images of the Telectroscope, from gothamist.com
http://gothamist.com/2008/05/22/telectroscope_t.php?gallery3609Pic=6#gallery

http://gothamist.com//attachments/nyc_arts_john/052208telectroscope1.jpg

http://gothamist.com//attachments/nyc_arts_john/052208telectroscope2.jpg

http://gothamist.com//attachments/nyc_arts_john/052208telectroscope3.jpg

http://gothamist.com//attachments/nyc_arts_john/052208telectroscopecops.jpg

http://gothamist.com//attachments/nyc_arts_john/052208telectroscopeinside.jpg
Londoners who paid 1 pound to look in the Telectroscope gaze enviously at New Yorkers, who get the view for free.

Scruffy

May 23, 2008, 11:46 PM

I like art installations like this, but you have to pay for it in London? what's that about?

Scruffy

May 28, 2008, 1:38 AM

the waterfall thing on the brooklyn piers is so out of way. it seems kind of a waste

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC00603.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z70/Scruffy66/saya/DSC00619.jpg

NYguy

May 29, 2008, 12:47 PM

the waterfall thing on the brooklyn piers is so out of way. it seems kind of a waste

That's where the tour boats come in. It's meant to be experienced more from the water...

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3015/2486184383_1ccddcff9a_o.jpg

NYguy

May 30, 2008, 1:31 PM

http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/050809waterfalls.jpg

Shot of construction from miamihitman (http://flickr.com/photos/miamihitman/)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2396/2528835118_1dfe9f454a.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2396/2528835118_1dfe9f454a_b.jpg

NYguy

Jun 17, 2008, 10:43 PM

Getting ready for some waterfall watchin...

Brooklyn Bridge Pop-Up Park Popping Up on June 26

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_06_Popup%20Park.jpg

Thursday, June 12, 2008, by Robert

That pop-up park on Brooklyn Bridge Park land whose renderings we posted
back in late May? It will be opening on June 26, the same day that Olafur
Elliason's waterfalls are turned on.

The summer park was announced at a local community board meeting last
night, the Brooklyn Eagle reports, and will remain open through Labor Day. It
will include four sod mounds "with a slight elevation to improve viewing and to
give children something to roll down," 1,700 square feet of sand, ten
benches, 10 picnic tables and, uh, four trees. Yes, four trees, "to provide
shade." (Don't everybody try to get into the shade at once.)

The park will be open from 10AM to 10PM and Rice will operate a concession
stand. Veggie tofu meatballs while one angles for a seat on one of the 10
benches or shade under one of the four trees and watches the water fall!

____________________________________________________

JUNE 12, 2008

Area of the soon-to-be park (which will eventually be turned into Brooklyn Bridge Park)

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844174/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844185/large.jpg

View out into the harbor

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844186/large.jpg

Looking down on the telectroscope...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844153/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844160/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844163/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844165/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98844171/large.jpg

Scruffy

Jun 19, 2008, 2:51 AM

so they tested out a waterfall. i freakin knew it would not look as good as the render. It looks like a mild spray instead of a gushing falls

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=21297

NYguy

Jun 19, 2008, 8:08 PM

More testing revealed...
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/19/waterfalls_are_very_turned_on_governors_island_revealed.php?o=0

Waterfalls Are Very Turned On: Governors Island Revealed

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3208/2591960775_75921e9359_o.jpg

Thursday, June 19, 2008, by Robert

Olafur Eliasson's Brooklyn Heights waterfall was very turned on most of yesterday, prompting a number of pics to land in our inbox, and now, the one at Governors Island has gone on too, yielding the photo above that one might call Danish Waterfall with Swedish Furniture in distance. As of this point, the only one we haven't seen in operation is the one under the Brooklyn Bridge.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3041/2592799228_68dc67899f_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3041/2592799228_68dc67899f_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3157/2591960805_1abfb1892c_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3005/2592127645_6af01b0343_o.jpg

Dac150

Jun 19, 2008, 8:38 PM

I don't see the attraction to be honest.

NYguy

Jun 20, 2008, 4:57 AM

^ There will be enough people who will to justify it though. It probably would have been better if they just lined one area with it, like the perimeter of Governor's Island, or just had the falls coming from the Brooklyn Bridge. But it's ok the way it is. Believe me, enough people will be "thrilled" by it.

Another test shot from curbed.com:

http://curbed.com/uploads/2008_06_Pier%2035%20Daytime.jpg

More testing revealed...
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/19/waterfalls_are_very_turned_on_governors_island_revealed.php?o=0

Waterfalls Are Very Turned On: Governors Island Revealed

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3208/2591960775_75921e9359_o.jpg

Thursday, June 19, 2008, by Robert

Olafur Eliasson's Brooklyn Heights waterfall was very turned on most of yesterday, prompting a number of pics to land in our inbox, and now, the one at Governors Island has gone on too, yielding the photo above that one might call Danish Waterfall with Swedish Furniture in distance. As of this point, the only one we haven't seen in operation is the one under the Brooklyn Bridge.

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3041/2592799228_68dc67899f_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3041/2592799228_68dc67899f_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3157/2591960805_1abfb1892c_o.jpg

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3005/2592127645_6af01b0343_o.jpg

NYguy

Jun 20, 2008, 5:06 AM

http://downtownexpress.com/de_268/delugeexpectedfrom.html

Deluge expected from Waterfalls art

June 20 - 26, 2008

http://downtownexpress.com/de_268/olafor.gif

http://downtownexpress.com/de_268/olafor1.gif

The crash and spray of water hitting water will give New Yorkers a new reason to look up this summer.

The New York City Waterfalls are opening June 26, creating a manmade version of a natural phenomenon that is difficult to find in this largely flat city.

In Manhattan and Brooklyn and on Governors Island, the four falls will suck gallons of water from the East River, pump the water up to 120 feet in the air and spray it back down for all to see.

The artist Olafur Eliasson, famous for his recreations of nature, dreamed up the idea for the falls. He wants to bare the water to the elements — gravity, wind and light — to draw attention to a part of New York that he thinks is too often overlooked.

“This is a call for the revitalization of areas that until recently have been under-utilized as creative and recreational spaces because people have focused primarily on the interior grid of the city,” Eliasson said in a statement. “There is a huge unrealized potential waiting to be explored and this is located right at our feet.”

The scaffolding structure of the waterfalls is already in place at Pier 35 in Manhattan, the north shore of Governors Island, the Brooklyn anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge and Piers 4 and 5 in Brooklyn. Starting next Thursday, the water will rise and fall seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Oct. 13, with lights that turn on at dusk.

The Public Art Fund sponsored the $15.5 million project with private funding and a $2 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. The city Economic Development Corporation expects the project to add $55 million to the city’s economy.

Lest anyone worry that the fish in the East River will suddenly find themselves flung through the air, the Public Art Fund reassures that the project will not disrupt any of the harbor’s wildlife. Also, all the energy needed to keep the water moving will come from renewable resources, keeping with the “green” theme.

“There’s this abundance of water [in the city], but it’s something we take for granted,” said Rochelle Steiner, director of the Public Art Fund. “This is a great opportunity to showcase a part of the city we don’t always pay attention to.”

The falls will be visible from the Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan waterfronts, and from Governors Island. The free ferries to Staten Island and Governors Island will also provide a good look, and Circle Line Downtown will run the “official” tours with audio commentary from Eliasson every 45 minutes starting at noon on June 26. Tickets will cost $10 but a limited number will be given out free every day to people who call 866-9-C-LINE-1.

For more information, visit nycwaterfalls.org.

-- Julie Shapiro

NYguy

Jun 20, 2008, 9:59 PM

JUNE 20, 2008

Another test run. I think I like this one the best. In fact, all of the falls
should have been installed under east river briges, and they should be
permanent. Can't wait to see it lit at night.

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98968190/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98968193/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98968195/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98968197/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98968199/large.jpg

Chicagoguy

Jun 20, 2008, 11:56 PM

I think they would look so cool if they didnt look so poorly constructed. I like the one under the bridge the best. I think it they made the base of it stone or something they would look great!

kenratboy

Jun 21, 2008, 4:30 AM

Its interesting - but the scaffolding ruins it. If only they made it look decent.

NYC2ATX

Jun 21, 2008, 9:29 AM

Can't wait to get out and see them for myself!

NYguy

Jun 21, 2008, 2:07 PM

I think they would look so cool if they didnt look so poorly constructed. I like the one under the bridge the best. I think it they made the base of it stone or something they would look great!

Yeah, it would look much better if it appeared to be coming out of the bridge. I think they all should have been put beneath bridges, its not like there's a shortage. But I guess it's meant to be experienced in other places.

NYguy

Jun 21, 2008, 2:11 PM

JUNE 20, 2008

The lady and the water...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98990800/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98990801/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98990802/large.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/98990800/original.jpg

NYguy

Jun 25, 2008, 11:53 AM

NY Times

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/24/arts/23831177.JPG

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/24/arts/23831167.JPG

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/24/arts/23831169.JPG

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/24/arts/23830807.JPG

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/06/24/arts/23831175.JPG

dempsey hillman

Jun 25, 2008, 10:09 PM

This is an amazing design for the eastriver area and a great design for New York .the architects could also work in some greendesign aspects solar awnings wind towers and recycled building supplies. without it its still an outstanding design.

NYC4Life

Jun 27, 2008, 4:48 AM

Took these snapshots on Thursday 6/26

The Waterfalls at Pier 35 (Lower East Side) From the Brooklyn Bridge:

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/9448/manhattanbridgenycwatersk8.jpg

From South Street Seaport:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4079/nycwaterfallspier35vb2.jpg

The Waterfalls at Brooklyn Piers from South Street:

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/5239/nycwaterfallsatbrooklynmy9.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8374/nycwaterfallsatbrooklynmm4.jpg

The Waterfalls Under The Brooklyn Bridge From South Street Seaport:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9905/nycwaterfallsbrooklynbrsu1.jpg

The Waterfalls at Governors Island From South Street Seaport:

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/429/nycwaterfallsgovernorsirw9.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/69/nycwaterfallsgovernorsiwd4.jpg

NYguy

Jun 27, 2008, 6:09 AM

:tup: Great photos NYC4LIFE...I didn't think I would feel anything for the falls, but they are actually a nice touch for the lower east river area. They'll be around for about 4 months, long enough that we'll get used to seeing them. I think they should find a more permanent way and location for the falls, with not so much scaffolding visible.

Meanwhile, the temporary east river park near the Brooklyn Bridge falls is ready:

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/06/26/meanwhile_the_brooklyn_bridge_popup_park_is_open_too.php?o=0

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Bridge Pop-Up Park is Open Too

http://curbednetwork.com/cache/gallery/3057/2612892265_8e8953bd14_o.jpg

Thursday, June 26, 2008, by Robert

So, here's this summer's little Brooklyn waterfront surprise: the Pop-Up Park designed by dlandstudio that was only officially announced a couple of weeks ago. It occupies the northernmost part of Pier 1, which until very recently was occupied by a warehouse. To its south is more land that's been cleared for Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The little park features pavement painted to look like sand, a bunch of picnic tables, four trees, an outpost of the restaurant Rice, promotional banners for the future park and a close view of the waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge with a distant view of the other three. It was quiet and cool there this morning, but both of those conditions are sure to change soon.

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NYguy

Jul 2, 2008, 4:37 AM

http://curbed.com/archives/2008/07/01/brooklyn_bridge_park_updated_fully_revealed.php?o=9

Brooklyn Bridge Park Updated & Fully Revealed

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These are the Pier 5 Recreation Fields.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008, by Robert

Here is a big new set of renderings of Brooklyn Bridge Park, some of which have been trickling out for the last week or so and some of which haven't been seen before. In any case, it's been quite a while since new renderings were released. Land clearance for the park is underway and two sections (at Pier One and Pier Six, at opposite ends at Fulton Ferry Landing and Atlantic Avenue) are supposed to be finished late next year. Entire park will stretch for 1.3 miles. The original budget was $150 million, but it has climbed to $300 million, with the trouble being that only $225 million is funded. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. estimates that about 2/3 of the park will be done by 2012.

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Here's a view from Pier 1 to Brooklyn Bridge Park Plaza

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A view of the future Pier 6.

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This is the Tidal Pool and Performance Stair near Pier 2.

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Boating Basin with Pier 4 Nature Island and Beach.

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This is called the Picnic Peninsula.

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Movies on the lawn north of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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The park's entrance fromm Atlantic Avenue.

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Atlantic Avenue Promenade and Playground.

NYguy

Jul 28, 2008, 2:24 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07282008/news/regionalnews/new_bklyn_park_a_hit_121892.htm

NEW B'KLYN PARK A HIT
RAVES FOR BRIDGE SITE

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YAY TIME: Julian Igneri, Lance Pereia and Francesco Igneri (from left) play in the Brooklyn Bridge Park sand.

By RICH CALDER
July 28, 2008

A tiny taste of one of the state's most highly contested projects -- Brooklyn Bridge Park -- has quietly become one of New York City's biggest summer attractions.

Since popping up with little fanfare June 26 in Brooklyn Heights on a sliver of the future waterfront park's construction site, a temporary playground at the edge of Pier 1 is giving the public its first real sense of what the long-delayed development will bring to the Big Apple.

And so far it's been rave reviews -- especially from out-of-towners who stumbled on the 26,000-square-foot chic play space for both children and adults while walking over the landmark bridge from Manhattan in search of the best views of artist Olafur Eliasson's four "New York City Waterfalls."

But critics of the long-delayed park project are still questioning why it took the city and state so long to offer a first glimpse of the breathtaking waterfront access the planned 85-acre park will bring.

The green space has been in the works for more than 20 years, and its price tag is now expected to exceed at least $350 million to $400 million -- well above a $150 million budget set by the Pataki administration in 2002.

Even the development's biggest critics agree that the project only gathered steam in November after Regina Meyer, a longtime Brooklyn planning director, was appointed president of the state-city Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp.

She replaced Wendy Leventer, a Pataki administration holdover who was fired in March 2007 after the Post reported the agency at that time had spent $16.5 million over the previous five years with little to show expect mounting legal fees and continuously changing project renderings.

But this past March, construction kicked off despite there only being enough government funding to build about two-thirds of the park. Including $6.1 million recently donated by the City Council and Borough President Marty Markowitz's office, the project's current budget now totals $231.1 million.

Meyer said she felt it was important to finally get the project going and then lobby to fill the remaining budget shortfall at a later date.

Since March, the sheds at Piers 1 and 6 have been razed, along with a few nearby buildings, to make way for the park, while the demolition of Pier 5's shed and the Purchase Building under the Brooklyn Bridge is nearly complete.

Meyer's office also decided to join forces with the nonprofit Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy to bring the temporary playground to Pier 1 this summer. The first segments of the actual park are expected to open at Piers 1 and 6 in late 2009.

"We're thrilled to be giving the public a glimpse of what this beautiful park will look like," Meyer said.

Despite having to rely on a shoestring $100,000 budget and donations to build it, the temporary park has been even more popular than a floating barge that docked nearby last summer.

As of Saturday, 67,872 people visited the park during its first month, officials said. It features a massive sandbox, sprinklers and games for children; and fine wine and beer, food and spectacular New York Harbor views -- including the temporary waterfalls display.

"Who knew you could have cocktails on the waterfront here? I totally feel like a tourist," said Jackie Igneri, of New Jersey, sipping wine as her children Francesco, 10, and Julian, 8, enjoyed the sandbox.

By comparison, the pool barge had 71,000 visitors during its nine-week run last summer.

When the floating pool barge sailed off to the Bronx for this summer, there was concern that its loss would leave the construction area barren again until the park is finally built.

But those worries were unnecessary, said Mariana Koval, the conservancy's president.

She said the temporary park is on pace to double the floating pool's visitors last year by Labor Day over a similar nine-week run and that there is a good chance the park will stay open through the end of September due to its great success.

Meyer modestly claims she has it easier that Leventer because she took over a project that was already fully-approved, but sources close to the development say the change in leadership has been the biggest difference in project finally moving ahead.

Judi Francis, who heads a group suing to keep controversial high-rise housing out of the park that officials claim is needed to offset maintenance costs, warned that there's "still a dark side" to the new construction plan.

"We are pleased as punch with the interim uses, but the first construction of the park is being done along the piers where the housing will be built, while the work being held up is at the real recreation piers," said Francis.

The parkland being delayed due to lack of funding would run at Piers 2 and 3 and include kayaking, basketball courts and other recreation. The goal is for the park to eventually run 1.3 miles from Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights to Jay Street near the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO while including the existing Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO.

Besides offering some of the best waterfront views in New York, it will include ball fields, a marina, grassy lawns, playgrounds, a beach and an ice-skating rink under the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Brooklyn Bridge Park will be to the 21st Century what Central Park was to the city in the 19th Century," Koval said.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/07/26/2008-07-26_city_council_speaker_christine_quinn_wan.html

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants to keep focus on the waterfront

By Kathleen Lucadamo
July 26th 2008

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is introducing legislation that would force future mayors to take a fresh look at development on the city's waterfronts every decade.

Standing on Governors Island with boaters and other water lovers yesterday, Quinn praised them for keeping the city's waterfronts vibrant but said "government must keep pace."

A bill she will introduce next month will require the City Planning Department to draft a plan for waterfront development every 10 years, she said.

"Planning around our waterfront shouldn't be, 'Oh, when we get to it.' It should be a requirement for every mayor and every speaker," Quinn said.

The goal is to keep the city's waterfronts brimming with activities like biking and boating as well as buzzing with commercial shipping and ferries, she said.

Pointing to the fight to reduce car congestion on city streets, she said that "waterfronts are really an untapped transportation resource."

NYguy

Nov 12, 2008, 1:13 PM

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11122008/news/regionalnews/wburg_park_budget_victim_138301.htm

W'BURG PARK BUDGET VICTIM

By RICH CALDER
November 12, 2008

A popular new waterfront park that Williamsburg residents fought hard to get built will be shut for the winter as part of Gov. Paterson's sweeping budget cuts.

East River State Park, which opened in 2007 after years of delays and planning, will be closed January through March, officials said.

"Closing a park is unheard of in modern times," said Geoffrey Croft of the watchdog group New York City Park Advocates.

The 7-acre park is popular with Brooklyn's hipster sunbathers for its scenic views of Manhattan and the Williamsburg Bridge. But it has been subject to criticism, including its many rules - such as no pets allowed - and that it is only open 10 a.m. to dusk.

NYguy

Apr 16, 2009, 12:46 PM

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/vision-for-a-new-esplanade-near-seaport/

Vision for a New Esplanade Near Seaport

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A vision for a new esplanade calls for new uses of space under the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive along the East River waterfront.

By Patrick McGeehan
April 15, 2009

Seven years after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg laid out his plans for redeveloping a two-mile stretch along the East River waterfront of Lower Manhattan, city officials are taking the first steps toward developing an esplanade near the South Street Seaport.

This week, the city’s Economic Development Corporation began soliciting ideas and expressions of interest in a pavilion planned for an empty space beneath the elevated Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive at Maiden Lane. The glass-walled structure is intended to be the first of several pavilions to be built along the riverfront in the financial district.

It could house a cafe, a bike rental shop or some other use that would “activate the esplanade and enhance the waterfront experience for the community,” according to the soliciting document. The development corporation is looking for “financially feasible and economically viable” proposals that would produce enough revenue to help cover the costs of maintaining the area.

The esplanade construction project, which is scheduled to get under way this spring, is expected to cost $148 million. Most of the money — $138 million — is coming from a federal community development block grant through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Another $10 million will come from the Federal Highway Administration, according to the development corporation.

Soliciting document
http://www.nycedc.com/NR/rdonlyres/C747551B-ACCD-46AA-ADB3-6318CC314222/0/FINALMaidenLaneSouthPavilionRFEI.pdf

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In directly related news...
http://tribecatrib.com/news/2009/april/162_bus-parking-plan-for-tribeca-is-met-with-anger.html

Bus Parking Plan for Tribeca Is Met with Anger

By Carl Glassman
Apr. 15

Community Board 1 members are furious over a city plan to turn seven blocks of Tribeca, along West Street, into a commuter bus-parking zone by the beginning of May.

In a presentation to CB1’s Tribeca Committee on April 15, Sushi Sanagavarapu, a senior project manager for the city’s Department of Transportation, said 25 bus parking spaces plus motorcycle parking must be removed from beneath the FDR Drive, between Wall Street and Maiden Lane, to make way for the first phase of work on the East River waterfront renewal project. The buses, up to 18 at a time, would park on the east side of West Street, from Canal Street to Harrison Street.

According to the DOT, that section of West Street was chosen because several of the blocks do not allow parking any time, there is little ground-floor retail and pedestrian movement there and it is “on the edge” of a residential neighborhood.

But committee members called the plan ruinous to the adjoining Tribeca neighborhood and an assault to the waterfront across the street.

“It’s an abomination,” committee member Noel Jefferson told the Trib following the meeting. “Why are they going to cram all of these buses in our backyard?”

Jefferson, who lives directly above West Street in Independence Plaza, said residents would suffer from the health effects of idling buses, and Borough of Manhattan Community College students and staff would be without needed metered parking next to the school.

“Not to mention the wall of buses on our beautiful [Hudson River] waterfront that we’ve waited so long for,” she added.

Only when pressed, according to Jefferson, Sanagavarapu told the committee that buses would continue to park in the area for three to five years.

NYguy

May 7, 2009, 8:25 PM

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_315/withnoplace.html

With no place to move buses, city slows waterfront project

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East River jogger runs past the buses.

By Julie Shapiro
May 18 - 14, 2009

Tribecans breathed a collective sigh of relief last month when the city backed off its plan to dump 18 buses on West St., but the problem is far from solved.

In fact, the problem may be bigger than the community realized. The city Dept. of Transportation is still struggling to find an acceptable spot to park the 18 buses, but they will also have to find room soon for an additional 74 buses, bringing the total to 92 buses that need a home.

The 92 commuter and tour buses currently park beneath the F.D.R. Dr., where work on the East River Waterfront is about to start. As construction on the esplanade moves forward over the next couple years, all 92 buses will have to move.

“Ninety-two buses? Wow,” said Andy Neale, a member of the Tribeca Community Association who fought against the city moving the buses to West St. in Tribeca. “So this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Neale is not exaggerating. Lower Manhattan is already overrun with both commuter and tour buses, which clog traffic and idle, polluting the neighborhood, many residents say. And now, the impasse on the 18 buses under the F.D.R. is also delaying the long-awaited East River Waterfront construction, which was scheduled to start April 27, the same day the buses were supposed to be moved to West St. before the community objected.

Janel Patterson, spokesperson for the city Economic Development Corp., said work on the esplanade could not have started April 27 because the city’s construction manager had not registered with the comptroller. But the city has cleared that up and can now only do preliminary work while waiting for the buses to move.

Community members appear more concerned about where the buses will go than about potential delays to the East River Waterfront project.

Compounding the larger bus problem, in addition to the 92 buses from the East Side, Downtown can expect at least another 200 tour buses a day when the 9/11 memorial opens, the Port Authority estimated several years ago.

“We always raise this issue of the buses time and time again,” said Julie Menin, chairperson of Community Board 1. “A solution has to be worked out.”

Carl Weisbrod, president of Trinity Real Estate and a member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. board, called the buses a “plague” at an L.M.D.C. meeting last summer.

Avi Schick, the L.M.D.C.’s chairperson, said with 5 million visiters a year predicted to visit the memorial, a tour bus garage was essential.

“If we don’t starting thinking now about how to address it, we’re really going to have a mess on our hands Downtown,” Schick said then.

A partial solution will come when the World Trade Center’s underground bus garage opens as part of the Vehicle Security Center. That garage will hold about 80 buses, but it’s not supposed to open until 2012, nearly a year after the 9/11 memorial is scheduled to open. While all the World Trade Center projects are subject to delays, the bus garage is particularly vulnerable because the disaster-prone Deutsche Bank building has to come down before the bus garage can take shape.

Menin and others say more space for buses is needed, and soon. The best solution, she said, is the garage near the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel entrance, an option that has garnered much discussion but little action over the past several years, mostly because it needs money.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority currently owns the garage, and both commuters and residents park there. The plan Menin supports, formulated by the L.M.D.C., would be for the L.M.D.C. or the city to buy half of the garage and rebuild it so it can house 120 buses. A new residential tower atop the garage would help generate revenue.

The L.M.D.C.’s plan for the site shows either a five-story or a seven-story garage, with either a 41-story or 31-story residential tower on top of it. The development can total nearly 1 million square feet, based on available air rights, according to the L.M.D.C. plan.

Money is the chief obstacle. The L.M.D.C. was once expected to fund the garage, but spokesperson Mike Murphy said there is no money allocated. Money for the garage could have come from a $29 million economic development fund, but that fund is nearly empty after $5 million went to help small businesses and $22 million went to cost overruns at the Deutsche Bank building.

“It’s very, very important this gets funded,” Menin, also an L.M.D.C. board member, said of the garage. “I would be really hesitant to give up on this idea and come up with something else. We have a very viable idea on the table — let’s figure out how to get it funded and make it happen.”

The L.M.D.C. has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on Lower Manhattan, including a $150 million contribution to the East River Waterfront project, which, ironically, will displace buses, increasing the need for a garage.

The L.M.D.C. would not say how much they expect the garage to cost, but the first step would be to buy the space and its associated air rights from the M.T.A.

M.T.A. spokesperson Aaron Donovan said the entire garage, of which the L.M.D.C. would take only part, generates $9 million a year.

“We’d be willing to entertain any ideas at a fair price,” Donovan said, though he did not name figures.

In an executive budget document released last week, the city said the money for the project would have to come from the L.M.D.C.

“D.O.T. continues to consider strategies to address bus parking in Lower Manhattan, including the possibility of a garage and will support solutions that address the need for bus parking, are financially viable and take into account community concerns,” D.O.T. spokesperson Scott Gastel said in a statement.

When the L.M.D.C. discussed the garage at the meeting last June, Weisbrod worried that the garage would not be big enough.

“We all know that the demand and the problem far exceeds 125 buses,” Weisbrod said. “And there aren’t going to be that many places where buses can go.”

Weisbrod declined to comment this week.

David Emil, president of the L.M.D.C., said at that meeting that he had first looked at a garage that would hold 175 buses, with elevators moving the buses up and down to store them, but the technology proved too complex. In an ordinary garage with ramps, the L.M.D.C. is limited to 120 buses because otherwise it would take too long for the buses to get in and out of the garage, Emil said.

He added that the reason the L.M.D.C. is pushing the bus garage, though it may not be a perfect solution, is because it appears to be the only viable option. A city consultant did a survey to try to find another solution, and “The news isn’t good,” Emil said. “They really looked at it and they tried to figure out what can be done with these buses. And the answer is it’s not so obvious. So we need to figure out a place, a way to deal with these buses.”

Liz Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance, did not want to comment on the Battery garage but said the solution did not have to be in Lower Manhattan.

“Our pre-grid street plan, which is further compromised by construction and security closings, just isn’t made for bus parking,” Berger said. “We need to think about whether the buses that bring people here to work and to visit need to stay here.”

Berger did not have any specific suggestions but said she would like to see a plan that doesn’t “turn Lower Manhattan into a permanent bus depot.”

If the bus garage cannot get funding, Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of C.B. 1’s W.T.C. Redevelopment Committee, mentioned several alternatives. One that has gained particular support in the community is for tour buses to park in New Jersey, with the tourists taking the PATH train in to see the World Trade Center site. That proposal has not gained much political traction, but Hughes said several 9/11 family members support it as well.

Another idea would be for the buses to take the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to Red Hook after dropping people off in Lower Manhattan, just a short ride away, Hughes said. Joyce Mulvaney, spokesperson for M.T.A.’s Bridges and Tunnels, said commuter buses would fit through the tunnel but double-decker tour buses might not meet the 12-foot height cutoff.

Neale suggested parking buses on Pier 76, the city’s tow pound, which has large floor plates and could handle the weight of buses, he said.

As the community looks for solutions to the larger bus problem in the future, the D.O.T. is still looking for a place to immediately move the 18 buses for the East River Waterfront Project. The D.O.T. had one meeting with several community leaders and is planning another soon, Menin said.