The New York City Waterfront Revitalization Program (WRP) is the city's principal coastal zone management tool. As originally adopted in 1982 and revised in 1999, it establishes the city's policies for development and use of the waterfront and provides the framework for evaluating the consistency of all discretionary actions in the coastal zone with those policies. When a proposed project is located within the coastal zone and it requires a local, state, or federal discretionary action, a determination of the project's consistency with the policies and intent of the WRP must be made before the project can move forward.

Local discretionary actions, including those subject to land use (ULURP), environmental (CEQR) and Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) review procedures, are reviewed for consistency with the WRP policies. WRP review of local actions is coordinated with existing regulatory processes and in most instances occurs concurrently. For local actions requiring approval by the City Planning Commission, the Commission acting as the City Coastal Commission makes the consistency determination. For local actions that do not require approval by the City Planning Commission but do require approval by another city agency, the head of that agency makes the final consistency determination. For federal and state actions within the city's coastal zone, such as dredging permits, the Department of City Planning, acting on behalf of the City Coastal Commission, forwards its comments to the state agency making the consistency determination.

A proposed action or project may be deemed consistent with the WRP when it would not substantially hinder and, where practicable, will advance one or more of the ten WRP policies, dealing with: (1) residential and commercial redevelopment; (2) water-dependent and industrial uses; (3) commercial and recreational boating; (4) coastal ecological systems; (5) water quality; (6) flooding and erosion; (7) solid waste and hazardous substances; (8) public access; (9) scenic resources; and (10) historical and cultural resources.

These policies, including their goals, standards and criteria, as well as further explanation of the WRP regulatory framework and review process, are presented in the New Waterfront Revitalization Program (WRP).

• Parts I and II contain an explanation of the program, its regulatory and planning context, the consistency determination process, and the new WRP policies.

• Maps of the Special Natural Waterfront Areas (SNWA):
  East River - Long Island Sound
  Jamaica Bay
  Northwest Staten Island - Harbor Herons

• Maps of the Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIA):
  South Bronx
  Newtown Creek
  Brooklyn Navy Yard
  Red Hook
  Sunset Park
  Staten Island

Project sponsors may view maps of the NYC Coastal Zone Boundary to determine whether a proposed action would be subject to WRP consistency review.

Applications for actions within the city's Coastal Zone generally require submission of a NYC WRP Consistency Assessment Form. NOTE: You may fill out the form in the Acrobat Reader prior to printing.

If the project requires preparation of an Environmental Assessment Statement (EAS) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the WRP consistency assessment will be incorporated in the EAS or EIS. Applications requiring "joint" NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and United States Army Corps of Engineers approval should also include the NYC Consistency Assessment Form and supporting information to address relevant WRP policies.

For further information or assistance, contact the Department of City Planning's Waterfront and Open Space Division, at 212-720-3525.