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Waterfront Alliance Kicks Off City of Water Day

Header image by Grace A. Capobianco

This morning, at 10 am, city officials cut a bright blue ribbon, initiating New York City’s 12th annual City of Water Day. The event, organized by the Waterfront Alliance, incorporates more than 50 activities along the city’s waterfront, with the aim of getting people to, on, and in the water. The Howard Hughes Corporation returns as this year’s presenting sponsor. 

The kickoff reception took place aboard the Wavertree, a 19th-century cargo ship restored and run by the South Street Seaport Museum. Speakers included Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Ben Kallos, who each emphasized the importance of “resiliency” against climate change for a city with an extensive shoreline. Resiliency is a primary emphasis of the Waterfront Alliance, and of the politicians who support it. 

“I believe climate change is real,” said Kallos, “and in June we passed a climate emergency resolution. We are the largest city in the world to do so. We’re gonna continue fighting every day to fight climate change so that the organization doesn’t have more waterfront in our city.”

“I just also want to say,” said Brewer, “the issue of resiliency is so friggin’ controversial. I know you’re talking about it as the issue, but those of us in the ULURP world have to figure out how high the park will be, how long we’re gonna spend on ULURP and what are we gonna do about keeping all of lower Manhattan safe…it is a long shot in terms of all these discussions, but it’s great because we’re always thinking about what Water Day means and what it means for resiliency. There is a connection between the two. So I wanna thank you also for that.

Waterfront Alliance Cuts Ribbon
Waterfront Alliance cuts the ribbon to start the 12th annual City of Water Day. Photo courtesy of Waterfront Alliance.

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Storm Surge: Sandy Five Years later

Storm Surge – Real or Fiction 

Five years after Super Storm Sandy, are we better today?

The coastal resiliency storm surge barrier boat tour carried elected officials, scientists and engineers to learn how agencies have responded to the real threat of future storms. The destructive regional impact from Super Storm Sandy on New York and the New Jersey Metropolitan area and Long Island is still felt today.

Professor Malcolm Bowman chairman and founder of the New York New Jersey Metropolitan Storm Surge said, we live and work in a city built on an ocean. All these buildings and skyscrapers are built on an ocean. We are surrounded by water. There is a difference in sea level and storm surge, we need a storm surge barrier. When Sandy happened, it was a combination of the storm’s wind, full moon high tide and the lack of defenses. Which caused hundreds of homes to be destroyed. Sandy damaged entire neighborhoods and left many without power. There have been projects and plans put forth to insure that our region is storm resilient, plans with flood gates, and other types of barriers. None have been constructed to date.

Mr. Bowman predicted, “The question is not “if” a catastrophic hurricane or nor’easter will hit New York, but when.” We have to be better prepared said Bowman. There have been steps taken to infrastructure including subways and tunnel entrances, but patchwork and little response is not what is needed, we need bigger solutions.Bill Golden president of the National Institute for Coastal and Harbor Infrastructure stated with great urgency, we are dealing with a regional issue. This is how important a regional system is to the city; take a look at the amount of influential people who attended our conference in 2017 May . Yesterday’s boat tour, we couldn’t accommodate the amount of RSVP’s. We had to cap the invites as we just did not have the room.

We must work regionally to get this system in place, or we move the Statue of Liberty to Bayonne. Millions of tourists visit NYC each year, they come to see New York. The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the many historical landmarks of this great city. What impact would it have on our state, if there were no tourist attractions?

Mr. Golden’s mission for this two hour boat tour aboard Classic Harbor Lines, was to continue to gather support for a much needed proposal to build a set of barriers, including below the Verrazano Narrows to block the ocean from coming into our harbor. A second barrier designed to prevent what happened during Sandy 2012, which caused the Long Island Sound to rush into our east river severely effecting Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens. “if barriers were in place we would have experienced just another windy day”. We are planning for protection into the next century with a regional barrier to hold back the water.

Speaking with Gale Brewer Manhattan Borough President-all communities are connected, we do not know when another storm will come. We have to make a change we have to prepare now. I urge you to get out and call your congress person and elected officials, let your voice be heard.

Catherine McVay Hughes former chairwoman for community board 1- “We are here five years after Sandy and there’s no plan in place for Lower Manhattan. There’s still so much more to do!”

In May 2017 National Institute for Coastal and Harbor Infrastructure (NICHI) and the Metro New York-New Jersey Storm Surge Working Group (SSWG)  met to discuss “Keeping the Water Out and the Lights On”.

The conference co-sponsors included the Port Authority of NY & NJ, Regional Plan Association, New Jersey Future, The Waterfront Alliance, Cameron Engineering and Associates, Chelsea Piers, Waterside Plaza, Manhattan Borough President, The Alliance for Downtown New York, the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association, Stony Brook University, Columbia University, and Society for American Military Engineers, Howard Hughes Corp., Standard and Poors, Goldman Sachs and others.

The conference focused on the urgent need to investigate the role that a regional system of movable surge barriers could play in creating layered defense, to protect the metropolitan area from storm surges and sea level rise. This system would be designed to work in tandem with planned local barriers and other strategies.This system will protect and maintain Metropolitan NJ-NY-LI as a safe, secure and thriving world center of finance, urban innovation, transportation, science, medicine, history, culture and recreation well into the next century.

For more information go to-https://www.nichiusa.org/

READERS- we urge you to contact your congress people and elected officials. New York, NJ and the metropolitan area will be effected. This is your home!

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Events Featured Living

Highlights From The Launch Party Of Downtown Magazine’s Fall 2016 Issue

 

 

On Oct. 18, Downtown Magazine held its Fall 2016 Cover Launch Party at the new Four Seasons Downtown Private Residences at 30 Park Place in Tribeca. Champagne and hors-d’oeuvres were served and guests had the luxury of enjoying the incredible interiors designed by Robert Couturier and stunning views of Lower Manhattan from the 78th Floor in one of the newly-finished penthouses.

 

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With a long guest list, the who’s who of the downtown area joined Downtown in celebration of this very special issue of the magazine. As the undeniable architect of Lower Manhattan, the man on the new issue’s cover story, Larry Silverstein, was the event’s special guest.

 

“The first time I came upon Grace Capobianco, I said to her ‘You’re a unique woman”

 

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“I never expected to have the opportunity of having a magazine as spectacular as the magazine we have with us tonight”

 

The elevators were overwhelmed with guests who included; VIPs and real estate power players including:

 

 

 

In tribute to the aforementioned Larry Silverstein — a pillar in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan — Downtown prepared two surprises for the evening’s special guest. After Mr. Silverstein had given a speech, Downtown CEO & Publisher Grace A. Capobianco thanked Mr. Silverstein with a heartfelt video by Director & Cinematographer Zurab Katamadze and Photographer Dimitri Mais with help from the Downtown team, featuring many of Mr. Silverstein’s closest friends and collaborators, both in real estate as well as in the downtown area.

 

Friends such as Bruce Ratner, Norman Sturner, and Leonard Boxer spoke to Silverstein’s character, while local community figures including Jessica Lappin, Gale Brewer, and Catherine McVay Hughes talked about the incredible role Silverstein has played in the revitalization of downtown. Within the video, his daughter Lisa Silverstein and her husband Tal Kerret noted how incredibly lucky they are to be a part of the Silverstein family and how both Larry and Klara Silverstein inspire them every single day. Son Roger Silverstein offered similarly-touching sentiments.

“We’re blessed to have the magazine and we are blessed to have her”

The second surprise from Downtown was in the form of music. When Ms. Capobianco first learned of Mr. Silverstein’s love of classical music, she knew exactly who to call. Her dear friend Gregory Harrington, Ireland’s most recognized violinist, who has played all over the world for celebrities heads of states and several times at Carnegie Hall. Most recently he played for Hillary Clinton.

 

 

Although it was Downtown honoring Mr. Silverstein, he spoke eloquently about Ms. Capobianco’s talent, passion and incredible job she’s done with launching Downtown Magazine almost 8 years ago. A much-needed vehicle for the new downtown.

 

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“I never expected to have the opportunity of having a magazine as spectacular as the magazine we have with us tonight and the person who is remarkable, responsible for everything in that magazine because of the passion that she has for this magazine — the passion she has for everything that exists down here in Lower Manhattan, at the end of the day, we’re blessed to have the magazine and we are blessed to have her. Lo and behold I’m on the front cover, so how can I say anything negative about this magazine. The first time I came upon Grace Capobianco, I said to her ‘You’re a unique woman.’ Unique because whatever she did, she did it with such zest, with such drive, with such passion that I finally said to her “You know, I’ve never met another magazine publisher like you.” She said, “Well, how many have you met?” I replied “Well, you’re the only one that I’ve met,” said Mr. Silverstein as he and the crowd roared with laughter.

Diamond Jewelry provided by Barbara Novak Diamonds.
The wardrobe of Grace Capobianco was provided by La Petite Robe Chiara Boni.

Photography by Sophie Kietzmann

 

A Video Tribute to Larry Silverstein – From Downtown Magazine – Videographer Zurab Katamadze
https://drive.google.com/open?id=15kHKfrJUz9s_nYiScGPNAZLm-oEqUNYZ