POLICY 1: RESIDENTIAL + COMMERCIAL REDEVELOPMENT          

GOALS OF REVISIONS

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• Incorporate climate change and sea level rise projections into the planning and design of waterfront development.
• Promote measures that maximize the compatibility of new residential development adjacent to Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas and existing area businesses.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Example: Brooklyn Navy Yard uses revenue from upland non-industrial development to fund maintenance of maritime infrastructure. (Image: Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation)

• Promote industrial development in concert with ecological preservation along the West Shore of Staten Island by creating and mapping a new designation to be called the Ecologically Significant Maritime and Industrial Area (ESMIA). 
• Create the West Shore Significant Maritime and Industrial Area, a new SMIA.
• Provide clarification about non-maritime development in SMIAs to strengthen the prioritization of water-dependent uses while allowing for a mix of uses to spur reinvestment when appropriate.
• Promote the use of best practices to minimize the adverse impacts of industrial uses on nearby neighborhoods.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Red Hook Boaters at Valentino Pier, Brooklyn

• Promote human-powered boat launches in safe and suitable locations.
• Create and map a new designation to be called the Priority Marine Activity Zone (PMAZ) to promote the maintenance of necessary shoreline infrastructure for waterborne transportation such as piers for ferry landings. PMAZs are located throughout the five boroughs, and their designation is intended to help streamline the permitting process for such infrastructure.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Udall’s Cove, Queens (Photo: Mike Feller, DPR)

• To promote industrial development in concert with ecological preservation along the West Shore of Staten Island, create and map a new designation to be called the Ecologically Significant Maritime and Industrial Area (ESMIA).
• Identify additional ecologically-significant sites as Recognized Ecological Complexes (RECs), and promote their protection, remediation, and restoration.
• Promote a wider range of restoration goals throughout the Coastal Zone.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Enhanced Tree Pit, Brooklyn (Photo: NYC DEP)

• Incorporate latest City plans to improve water quality through the use of green infrastructure, while also building cost-effective grey infrastructure.
• Promote strategies to improve the quality of compromised water bodies, including in-water ecological strategies.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Governors Island Park Master Plan takes in sea level rise into consideration, elevating many sections of the park above the projected future flood plain.  (Image: West 8 Team)

• Require projects to consider the risks associated with coastal flooding based on climate change projections, and encourage applicants to minimize these risks through design strategies that will enhance their ability to withstand and quickly recover from weather-related events.
• Projects should explore strategies as elevating or waterproofing the lowest floor of potentially vulnerable buildings and choosing salt-water-tolerant plants for parks that may face temporary inundation in the event of a storm surge.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Open industrial uses on the waterfront include such activities as construction material storage

• Require projects to examine the storage of materials that may pose public-health risks in the event of flooding or storm surge, such as the open storage of industrial materials.
• Promote the use of best management practices to prevent contaminated storm runoff and ensure the safety of workers and residents of adjacent neighborhoods.

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Design principles promote a mix of seating and other amenities, like shade.

• Incorporate design principles for waterfront public spaces described in Vision 2020.   
• Require shoreline developments using public funds or on publicly owned land to provide public waterfront access where safe and practicable.

  
Protect scenic resources that contribute to the visual quality of the New York City coastal area.

GOAL OF REVISIONS

Interpretive Signage at Erie Basin Park (Image: Russell Design)

• Promote the creation of waterfront viewing areas on publicly accessible sites and the use of interpretative signage.

POLICY 10: HISTORIC + CULTURAL RESOURCES  

GOALS OF REVISIONS

Festival goers on Clipper City (Image: Bernard Ente for the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance)

• Provide clearer definition of historic resources.
• Promote provision of tie-up for historic vessels.