Plan extends screening buffer waiver to community facility uses. In 1993, special waterfront zoning regulations were adopted to facilitate the redevelopment of waterfront properties. The regulations, found in Article VI Chapter 2 of the Zoning Resolution, were a response to the obstructed views, blocked public access, and out-of-character development that occurred along the City’s waterfront. The rules required developers in certain districts to construct and maintain waterfront public access areas. Over time, the rules helped create new access areas throughout the City. The access areas in Greenpoint-Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Hudson River Park, Manhattan serve as examples.
Though the regulations allowed for greater public enjoyment of the waterfront, the Department of City Planning believed revisions were necessary. Planning proposed to eliminate the design models for Shore Public Walkways and Supplemental Public Access Areas and replace them with a single set of regulations that would allow for greater design flexibility for both the walkways and access areas. The flexibility would alleviate design constraints that developers experienced when building public access areas along the highly varied conditions of the City’s waterfront. Other amendments included changes to lighting, signage, seating, bicycle parking, hours of operation, planting, and buffer requirements. (more…)
- Fence along esplanade in Red Hook ordered to be removed. Photo: NYC Law Department.
Private owner built a fence along the Henry Street Basin. The Gowanus Industrial Park consists of 46 acres of land on the edge of the Henry Street Basin in Red Hook, as well as land under the Basin. The industrial park is adjacent to Red Hook Park, which, in addition to ball fields and a pool, has an esplanade with trees and benches overlooking the water. Prior to 2002, the esplanade had a short, decorative fence that allowed for fishing and provided a view of the water.
In 2002, however, the owners of the industrial park built a fence on the Basin’s bulkhead, running parallel with the Park’s fence and entirely blocking the view to the Basin. It claimed that the fence was necessary to prevent trespassing. The City sought an injunction ordering the fence’s removal, claiming that the industrial park did not have the requisite special permit to build the fence, the fence interfered with the City’s right to access the Basin, and that the fence constituted a nuisance. (more…)
Rendering of a portion of the East Midtown Greenway. Image Credit: NYC EDC/Stantec
The 1.5 acre stretch of open space, to be completed by 2022, is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway initiative to create continuous loop around perimeter of Manhattan. On November 22, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio and top agency officials celebrated the commencement of construction of a new waterfront public open space, the East Midtown Greenway, which will stretch between East 53rd Street to East 61st Street. The East Midtown Greenway project is a piece of a larger project, Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The Manhattan Greenway Project’s goal is to create accessible public waterfront space and safe bicycle pathways along the outer edge of Manhattan. (more…)
NYC Department of City Planning
The event kicks off the Commission’s program for the next Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. The Department of City Planning has announced a Waterfront Planning Camp for Saturday, August 17th. The camp will be hosted at Nolan Park on Governors Island and is open to all ages, free of charge. As it begins the process of crafting the future of the City’s 520 miles of waterfront, City Planning is inviting New Yorkers to participate in a day of fun, interactive activities that will allow them to share their vision and help shape it. (more…)
Image credit: GoogleMaps
The City Planning Commission approves the rezoning of five-acres on the waterfront of the Harlem River. On August 23, 2017, the City Planning Commission approved an application by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to establish a Special Harlem River Waterfront Subdistrict for future development in the Bronx. The application included the sale of city-owned property to the Development Corporation, a zoning map and text amendment, and a special permit to reduce parking requirements. (more…)
