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Projects & Proposals > Manhattan > East River Waterfront |
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East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project
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| Project Update - August 27, 2009: |
After years of community outreach, planning, and design, construction started mid April 2009 on Phase I Pilot Project of the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project (ERW). This phase of construction will showcase all of the design elements proposed for the esplanade, and will be completed by fall of 2010. It is a two-block portion of the Esplanade from Wall Street to Maiden Lane in Community District 1. It will include new esplanade features such as a variety of seating (chaise lounges, bar stools, and social seating), lush landscape plantings, new paving, a continuous innovative railing, an integrated lighting system, and a Class 1 bikeway. Also included in this phase are amenities such as a dog run and a “look-out” which will offer unobstructed views of the waterfront and provide seating steps.
The remainder of Phase I will include the reconstruction of Pier 15 as a two-level recreational pier, the renovation of Pier 35 into a landscaped park, and improvements to portions of the esplanade in both Community Districts 1 and 3. In addition, pavilions underneath the FDR Drive will be built to accommodate community and commercial uses. Phase I is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.
Founded on Mayor Bloomberg’s 2002 Vision for a 21st Century Lower Manhattan, the ERW was initiated in 2004 by the Department of City Planning in cooperation with NYC Economic Development Corporation to transform a two-mile stretch of long neglected waterfront into a spectacular waterfront esplanade. Spanning from the Battery Maritime Building in the south to East River Park in the north, ERW’s bold and ambitious plan will contribute to the revitalization of Lower Manhattan by improving waterfront access, enhancing pedestrian connectivity, and providing amenities for public use, recreation, and enjoyment. Implementation of the project is critical for the on-going efforts to reclaim NYC’s waterfront and thereby improve quality of life for local residents, workers, and visitors in Lower Manhattan. View the Mayoral press release.
East River Waterfront Esplanade |
Based on extensive input from the local community, area elected officials, City and State agencies, and civic associations, the City developed an innovative waterfront park design that is flexible and diverse, responds creatively to the various neighborhoods adjacent to the East River and to the challenges posed by urban infrastructure at the water’s edge. Below is a brief summary of new amenities to be found throughout the ERW:
Esplanade
The East River Waterfront design emphasizes continuity along the water’s edge, and restores a missing link in the Manhattan Greenway. Traditional esplanade elements have been re-interpreted into unique designs that harken back to this waterfront’s industrial past. A new, customized railing will lean in and out along the water’s edge and invite users to engage with the waterfront in different ways. Bar seating, installed next to portions of the railing, will provide a place to eat lunch, read the newspaper, use a laptop or reflect on the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. A new integrated lighting system will reflect off the underside of the FDR Drive structure, providing continuous, soft, and indirect lighting to the esplanade, while vertical lights incorporated in the railing will shimmer off the water. The paving, made up of oversized hexagonal pavers of various shades of gray, will animate the esplanade.
Ample seating will be provided by furniture and planter walls, which take the form of boxes and crates that are evocative of cargo resting on the water’s edge during the days when the waterfront was North America’s largest shipping hub.
Cyclists will finally be able to safely bike along the waterfront on a continuous Class I bikeway that is separated from vehicular traffic. This bikeway will connect Battery Park to East River Park, helping to complete the Manhattan Greenway.
Landscape plantings, which are a key open space amenity, will be maximized where adequate sunlight exists. The plantings offer glimpses of a progression of upland vegetation to coastal grasses which are native to this region, from canopy trees to shrubs to wild flowers and grasses.
The esplanade design reinforces the maritime character and history of the area by utilizing traditional waterfront materials that have been reinterpreted through contemporary applications and fabrication techniques. Esplanade users will have access to amenities that will help reconnect the city to the water’s edge, create a continuous open space, and generate a diverse and active waterfront.
Look-outs and Pavilions
The construction of the FDR Drive in the 1950’s severed the city’s access to East River and the relationship between the upland neighborhoods and the waterfront. The proposed pavilions situated under the Drive will help to repair this lost connection and restore active uses to the waterfront. These pavilions will serve community and commercial uses with their imaginative architectural expressions that will complement the public open space as well as return the vitality of the city to the water’s edge.
Historically, the slips were areas where the river “slipped” into the city’s grid. Several significant slips are identified and transformed into “Look-outs”. At these historic locations, steps are carved into the sea wall to allow unencumbered views of the East River and to provide the opportunity to get down closer to the water.
Esplanade Seating |
Pier 15
Taking its cue from two-story recreation piers of the late 19th century, Pier 15 lifts its primary recreation area to the second level. Nestled beneath the recreation area, and recalling historic storehouses and cargo areas that were located on the lower level of recreation piers are two “boxes” which will house waterfront related programming such as a maritime education center and a café. On the north edge of the pier is a ramp leading up to an “amphitheater” seating area, which will give new and intimate views of the tall, historic ships of the South Street Seaport. Reaching the upper level, visitors can picnic, sunbathe, or simply lounge on its gently sloped lawns, and enjoy spectacular views of the East River and New York Harbor from its elevated perspective.
On the lower level, there will be big, wooden chaise lounges, oriented due south for maximum enjoyment of the sun in a comfortable reclined position. All around the perimeter of the pier will be maritime infrastructure to accommodate historic and visiting ships and various waterborne transport vessels.
Pier 15 |
Pier 35
The Pier 35 design is a series of folded topographies that create outdoor rooms for recreational activities. Because of Pier 35’s unique location and orientation, visitors will be able to view the city from an unusual perspective. A special feature on this pier is the “Eco Park”, an intertidal zone that will provide habitat for aquatic species and a dynamic tidal landscape replete with educational and interpretive opportunities. Additional amenities to be provided on Pier 35 are a series of tilted lawns interspersed with landscape dunes and scattered trees, a terraced podium creating a place for elevated views, and a folded screen wall planted with vines that forms a strong backdrop for the public spaces and screens the adjacent sanitation building.
Pier 35 |
Sustainability
The project will demonstrate the City’s continued commitment to sustainability through a series of initiatives such as minimizing energy demand and consumption, maximizing use of recycled and sustainable materials, specifying low-maintenance plantings, and reducing storm water runoff in the park. ERW will also seek LEED certification, proving that “green” and high performance measures have been incorporated.
Team Planning Process
With funding from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the Department of City Planning, working closely with the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks and Recreation, undertook a year-long study of the East River Waterfront in 2004, and produced the Concept Plan. During this study, over 70 meetings were held with community boards, tenant associations, civic leaders, maritime experts and local elected officials.
Since 2006, this intensive level of community involvement has continued with outreach efforts during the 2007 ULURP process for site selection and disposition of pavilion spaces, and also for actions related to the text amendment in 2008 ( zoning text amendment N 080358 ZRM). Subsequent updates on the design and the programming of the pavilions continue to be presented to the community for feedback and input. Well over 100 public meetings have now been held.
In April 2009, NYCEDC issued a Request for Expression of Interest seeking entities interested in leasing and operating the pavilion located in the Maiden Lane area. Responses were received in June 2009 and are now under review.
In addition, the ERW is under review by the Public Design Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Army Corps of Engineers for various federal, state, and local approvals.
Major project milestones have included the Final Environmental Impact Statement (adopted by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation in November 2007), ULURP approvals for the site selection and disposition of the pavilion component (approved in July 2007), schematic design (completed in August 2007), design development (completed in September 2008), and the RFEI process for the pavilion component (completed in June 2009). Final Approval from Public Design Commission for Phase I Pilot Project was received in May 2008, and in June 2009, for Pier 15.
The Department of City Planning is tremendously proud of “doing something really important for New York City,” as juror Karen Van Lengen said when the project received the 55th Annual P/A Awards in 2008. The project has benefited from remarkable efforts from the consultant team, led by SHoP Architects and Ken Smith Landscape Architects, along with a joint venture of HDR and Arup engineers, and Tillotson Design. With NYCEDC as the lead agency and input from DCP, DOT, and Office of Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, detailed design development and engineering is moving forward for the next construction phases. |
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Overview | Concept Plan
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