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The
Plan for the Manhattan Waterfront, a part of New
York City's Comprehensive Waterfront Plan issued
in August 1992, presents detailed studies of the
five reaches that make up the Manhattan waterfront.
The
city's prominence stemmed originally from its
importance as a port, and the development of Manhattan
in particular has been closely tied to its waterfront
and maritime activity. For many years, Manhattan's
waterfront was a center for both shipping and
shipbuilding. As late as the 1850s many of the
clipper ships used in the China trade, such as
the Flying Cloud, were constructed and launched
from the East River. As maritime activity declined,
piers deteriorated or were abandoned. Several
factors led to this decline: the construction
of the arterial highway system in the 1930s, which
created a barrier between the waterfront and upland
communities; the change from breakbulk to container
shipping, which required more upland area; and
competition from other ports. Today only a few
vestiges of the great port remain, notably the
superliner terminal in the West Fifties and Pier
42 on the Lower East Side.
The
Manhattan waterfront presents great contrasts
in land uses, ranging from the affluent residential
neighborhoods of the Upper East Side to the abandoned
piers of the West Side. Long stretches of parkland
in Upper Manhattan and the Lower East Side offer
wonderful river views. Other less scenic but equally
necessary activities include heliports, industrial
uses like power plants and marine transfer stations
that require a waterfront location. The waterfront
has also become the repository for other municipal
and commercial uses such as bus garages, salt
depots and parking lots that have no functional
connection to their maritime setting. Since the
waterfront was isolated until recently, it was
often the location of last resort for many of
these non-maritime uses that were difficult to
locate in inland areas.
Interest
in the reuse of the waterfront has been spurred
in part by the debate over redevelopment proposals
such as those for the West Side Highway, Riverwalk
and the Penn Yards. Proposals for improving all
or part of the Manhattan waterfront are contained
in a variety of recent studies including the Department
of City Planning's East River Esplanade study,
the Hudson River Waterfront Plan developed by
the city/state West Side Waterfront Panel, the
Park Department's Riverside Park Master Plan,
and the Manhattan Borough President's Plan for
the Waterfront.
This
plan for Manhattan's waterfront builds on, and
integrates, the plans and studies recently completed
or under way. Its guiding principle is to reunite
the upland with the waterfront so that more of
it becomes accessible and enjoyable to the public.
In many places in Manhattan, deteriorated conditions
along the shoreline and the difficulty of access
have made the waterfront seem undesirable and
remote.
The
central recommendation for Manhattan's waterfront
is a continuous esplanade/pathway around most
of the island. Manhattan is unique among the boroughs
in that most of the shoreline is owned by the
city or state. A waterfront esplanade would reconnect
the upland with the water, increase waterfront
recreationalopportunities, and provide a shorefront
link between communities. An esplanade can be
created in part by improving public land, such
as underutilized or unconnected public lands and
parks, and in part by requiring private developers
to provide waterfront access and amenities to
the public. The waterfront zoning introduces new
height and setback controls and provides specific
public access standards for new mid- to high-density
residential and commercial development.
An
intermittent path now exists -- or is planned
as part of expected developments --along much
of the shoreline of the Hudson and East rivers.
Closing the gaps between existing public spaces,
such as the one between Battery Park and Battery
Park City, is a high priority for opening the
waterfront to more people. However, in some places,
such as along parts of the Harlem River, topographic
conditions and the intervening highway preclude
a waterfront esplanade. Instead, continuous access
would be provided via bridge links to the proposed
Harlem River Esplanade on the Bronx side of the
river.
Increased
public access would be required as part of new
development on the limited number of remaining
redevelopment sites. The two most prominent sites
are located along the lower Hudson River: Riverside
South and the proposed Hudson River Park, which
contains three redevelopment sites. The Hudson
River Park Plan would provide a continuous esplanade
and public spaces from Battery Park to 59th Street,
where the proposed Riverside South development
begins. Development by the Hudson River Park Conservancy
(the agency empowered to carry out the Hudson
River Park Plan) would be limited to three sites:
Pier 40 (at Houston Street), the Chelsea Piers,
and the piers at 40th Street. A separate city
plan would develop Pier 76 opposite the Convention
Center. The approved Riverside South development
proposal would provide a 21.5 acre waterfront
park, linking the Hudson River Park esplanade
to Riverside Park.
Taken
together, these two plans would complete a continuous
esplanade from the southern tip of Manhattan to
125th Street. Other smaller connections are planned
to provide a continuous path all the way to the
northern tip of the island. Ultimately, a continuous
path/esplanade would line all of the Manhattan
waterfront except for a portion along the Harlem
River.
Public
access is the central issue in planning for the
Manhattan waterfront. It is particularly important
in Manhattan where many high-density commercial
and residential areas lack sufficient open space
and recreation resources, but are within walking
distance of the shoreline. In most of these areas,
the waterfront presents the only opportunity for
new public open space. Except for the waters of
the Hudson and East rivers, little remains of
Manhattan's natural waterfront. The borough's
major working waterfront uses -- the passenger
ship terminal, heliports, utilities, and the coffee
pier -- are scattered and not likely to increase
significantly. Only one working waterfront use,
ferries and ferry landings, is expected to grow
in importance. Manhattan's few waterfront redevelopment
sites -- together with other public and private
sites -- are critical to providing public access.
Return
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