Tag: Waterfront Alliance

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Waterfront Alliance Advances Climate Resilience

View of the huge iconic stainless steel Unisphere sculpture in Flushing Meadows, New York, which represents the Earth

Reprinted with permission from Waterfront Alliance

Waterfront Alliance Secures Congressional Grant to Develop a Climate Resilience Plan for Flushing Meadows Corona Park

The Plan will be a Community-Led Process to Identify Climate Hazards and Potential Resilience Strategies to Advance Plans for Shovel-Ready Projects

Waterfront Alliance is pleased to announce that its proposal for a climate resilience plan for Flushing Meadows Corona Park has been awarded Community Project Funding in the 6th Congressional District (NY) as part of the new federal spending package.

In Spring 2021, Congressmember Grace Meng submitted 10 Community Project Funding requests to the House Appropriations Committee for review. The funding was included as part of the FY 2022 spending bill signed into law yesterday.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park serves as critical infrastructure for multiple neighborhoods in the 6th District. The park is a space for recreation, reflection, and increasingly, refuge from urban heat. And yet, the park faces tremendous challenges due to climate change.

The primary objectives of Waterfront Alliance’s “Flushing Meadows Corona Park: A Hub for Climate Resilience” are to increase public awareness about local climate risks, build community participation in planning and infrastructure projects, and to identify potential resilience solutions for future investigation and development. Working with Queens community leaders, partners in city government, and academia, alongside the community, Waterfront Alliance will provide tools and lead events to share and gather information that will culminate in a climate visioning for the park. These concrete recommendations and concept plans can better position the Park and surrounding community to receive city, state, and federal funding for resilience projects.

Receiving much of the stormwater from surrounding neighborhoods, the park was identified by the Center for an Urban Future as the most-flooded park in the City alongside Forest Park due to increasingly heavy rains. Recent extreme weather events including Hurricane Ida reinforce the need for better preparation and planning. Torrential waters forced the NYPD to conduct multiple rescues from Flushing Meadows Corona Park and there was severe flooding as stormwater from the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway ran off into areas of the park. Access to recreational programs and facilities in the park was halted due to sustained damage to buildings.

Additionally, the park faces risks due to sea level rise and storm surge, with much of the park facing permanent inundation by 2080, according to the New York Panel on Climate Change, and other areas only recently being brought back online following damage from Hurricane Sandy.

“As Queens’ signature local and destination park, serving several Central and Northern Queens communities with high social vulnerability, we must ensure that the park and surrounding communities are prepared for our climate future,” said Karen Imas, Vice President of Programs, Waterfront Alliance. “Tremendous thanks to Congresswoman Meng for her climate leadership. This project is particularly timely as increased funding may come to our region for climate change adaptation projects per the infrastructure funding package.”

“Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a beautiful landmark of our district. It provides a lovely area for recreational and leisure activities, refuge from the heat in the summer and possesses one of the most beautiful sculptures in all of New York, the Unisphere,” said Congresswoman Meng, New York’s senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee. “That is why I am so pleased that the Waterfront Alliance will receive funding through the new government spending package to help the park battle the effects of climate change. Stormwater from surrounding neighborhoods continuously flood the park and in some areas, the park is projected to be permanently flooded due to rising sea levels in the coming decades. The funds will help make key assessments, plan out necessary strategies, and begin implementation to help keep the park open for Queens residents for generations to come.”

“Once a flourishing tidal wetland that absorbed waters from Flushing Bay and the Long Island Sound, Flushing Meadows Corona Park has undergone many transformations—a coal ash dumping ground, two World’s Fairs and one of the top 10 biggest parks in NYC,” said Rebecca Pryor, the Executive Director of Guardians of Flushing Bay (GoFB). “GoFB is eager to play a role to envision the park’s next stage of transformation: as a climate resilient hub for the surrounding environmental justice communities who depend upon it. We are looking forward to collaborating with Waterfront Alliance and our local partners in this process, and we are sincerely thankful to Congressmember Grace Meng for making the project possible.” 

“I am delighted that Federal funding has been awarded to support community-based resiliency planning and education in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” said Kizzy Charles-Guzman, Executive Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice. “Together, communities and governments can build a more just vision for the future as we fight against climate change.” 

“NYC Parks is committed to improving Flushing Meadows Corona Park and ensuring this iconic park is resilient for decades to come. To that end, more than $350 million has already been invested in recent and upcoming park renovations, including projects that increase resiliency and improve stormwater management,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “We’re grateful for the Waterfront Alliance’s partnership to raise awareness and engage the community around these important issues.”

About: Waterfront Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a strong track record of providing technical planning and project development services, developing community-based plans, and convening individuals and groups across New York City and the region to inform different public and private waterfront projects. Specifically, the organization has been engaged by NYC Department of City Planning, NYC Economic Development Corporation and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, among other government agencies and organizations, to either develop waterfront plans, convene community engagements on major projects and plans, and/or provide technical advice on critical coastal and waterfront projects. 

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Events Featured News

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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Featured News

Stringer and Constantinides Propose Bold Efforts Against Climate Change at Waterfront Conference

The specter of Hurricane Sandy hung heavy over the 2019 Waterfront Conference, “Rising Seas, Rising Risks.” The Waterfront Alliance hosted the conference on a boat in Hudson River Park, a reminder of what’s at stake for the city. In 50 years, one presenter warned, high tides or lunar cycles could flood the park. By 2100, it could disappear completely. The conference was packed with civil servants, nonprofits, scientists, engineers, and corporate sponsors. Two voices led the way with bold ideas: NYC Council Member Costa Constantinides and City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer responds to a question from Marketplace's Janet Babin
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer responds to a question from Marketplace’s Janet Babin

Constantinides presented a bill to create a Department of Sustainability for New York City. It would be the first of its kind in the country and would ensure climate change remain a focus through changing administrations. The bill, which he says he will propose soon, would put the DoS in charge of a five-borough “resiliency plan.” The plan would outline how each borough would adapt to and resist the effects of climate change. “The time is not for us to be timid in our goals,” he told his audience, “but to be bold and to move ourselves forward.”

Stringer proposed divesting the city’s pension plan from fossil fuel companies. The city has billions of dollars tied up with some of the worst carbon culprits, and the project could take years. If the plan works, it would pressure energy companies to become greener, something he says the city has failed to do in the past. “None of these energy companies will push to save the planet unless we push them into the ocean,” he said, “Negotiation is over.”

His mission, he says, is part of his duty as comptroller. Green investments are the future. The city will also have to be above water to collect those investments and pay pensions. “If I do not begin a process of divestment and study fossil fuel, I am not doing my job of protecting the retirees of our pension fund.” Time is crucial. He is looking for support. “As a society,” he says, “we have to make a decision now.”

Norwegian Consul General in New York Harriet Berg was in the audience listening. She believes that Norway and New York City face similar challenges when it comes to climate change. They might also find some of the same solutions. While she knows not every politician in America is as motivated about climate change, she says Stringer’s and Constantinides’s ambition gives her hope. “It makes me believe that there’s a political will (to fight climate change).”

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Uncategorized

City of Water Day is Tomorrow, July 14, Around the Region

In Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge Beach to Open and Host Activities for One Day

On Saturday, July 14, 2018, 10am to 4pm, the Waterfront Alliance presents City of Water Day, the annual free family festival that welcomes people to the waters that surround us.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Kick-off celebration aboard the tall ship Wavertree at Pier 16 in the Seaport District (9:30am-10am; media welcome).
  • Free PortNYC Boat Tours throughout the day on ferries, sailing ships, motor yachts, and a fireboat.
  • One-day opening of Brooklyn Bridge Beach. Directly under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side, this small, sandy beach will be the venue for the annual Con Edison Cardboard Kayak Race and will host free public kayak lessons throughout the day.
  • 15 teams competing in the Con Edison Cardboard Kayak Race at 11am at Brooklyn Bridge Beach in Manhattan (teams receive their supplies at 8:30am and build at the beach until 10:30am. Heats commence at 11am).
  • Free children’s activities sponsored by Disney at Pier 17.
  • Food, music, dance, and art throughout the day.
  • Free paddling, rowing and sailing at locations throughout the New York Harbor.

     WHERE

    The City of Water Day festival hub is presented by The Howard Hughes Corporation at Piers 16 and 17 in the Seaport District, and at dozens of In Your Neighborhood sites in all five boroughs, Yonkers, and New Jersey.

 

The Waterfront Alliance works to protect, transform, and revitalize our harbor and waterfront.

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News

Waterfront Alliance Rallies for Clean Water and Open Harbors

New Yorkers and coast-dwellers are rallying for safer, cleaner and more open waterfront and harbors.

Yesterday, June 1, the first day of hurricane season, at 11 a.m. the Waterfront Alliance hosted a rally and press conference in conjunction with the release of the Harbor Scorecard. The “Rally for Our Waterfronts” took place on the steps of City Hall in Downtown Manhattan.

The Harbor Scorecard is a new tool designed to set a standard for a healthier waterfront. The scorecard uses a neighborhood-by-neighborhood evaluation to provide a wide array of data. The information is clear and user-friendly, so anyone from individuals to businesses to community organizations can assess waterfronts based on cleanliness, quality and access.

“This scorecard is a blueprint and brings accountability,” said New York City Council member Donovan Richards. “More importantly, it says to our city, and state, and federal partner that there is more we have to do, that we must do – to ensure that our harbor is clean, has access and is actually serving as a costal defense.”

Richards fears the repercussions of another storm like 2012’s Hurricane Sandy could be detrimental.

“We are scared that if another storm comes, that we are going to be right back where we were just in 2011, 2012,” he added. “But not only are we scared of that, we’re scared we won’t be able to pick the pieces up to rebuild our lives right after and as we still rebuild.”

It’s been almost five years since Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey with floods, and the Waterfront Alliance is seeking for stronger preparations in the event of another storm. More than 400,000 New York residents are faced with a 50 percent chance of major flooding before the year 2060, according the the Harbor Scorecard. Of those, 40 percent are at social or economic risk as well.

“As climate change continues to be a reality the threat of another superstorm hitting our city remains,” Council member Ben Kallos has said. “The Waterfront Alliance Harbor Scorecard will serve as a useful tool for New Yorkers to stay informed of the conditions our coastal communities are in so we are ready when the next Sandy arrives.”

For more information about the Waterfront Alliance and its partners, visit their website, Twitter page or Facebook. 

Photos courtesy of Waterfront Alliance 

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Events News

One Harbor, Two Mayors: A Multitude of Waterfronts

Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District

Wednesday morning, Downtown had the pleasure of attending one of the most important conversations for our city, 2017’s Waterfront Conference hosted by the Waterfront Alliance. The Alliance works to protect, transform, and revitalize our harbor and waterfront.

New York City’s 109th mayor, Bill de Blasio

 This year’s Waterfront Conference — Measuring Our Harbor: Strong, Healthy, and Open — featured the Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, and the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Ras J. Baraka, leading an all-star lineup of participants and panelists discussing waterfront issues and opportunities of the two states that share New York Harbor. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez opened up the conference and shared her passion and admiration for the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway and her concerns for the future of our waterfront infrastructure.

With nearly 600 waterfront advocates, policy-makers, and professionals in attendance, the Waterfront Conference is and has been a staple in not only prevention of additional devastation of our waterfront by rising sea levels and planet warming but also the economic importance of our beautiful waterways.

“NYC Ferry is already bringing thousands more New Yorkers back to the water,” said Mayor de Blasio. “We believe every New Yorker has a right to experience their waterfront, and that’s why we’re investing in affordable ferry transit, in new greenways and esplanades, and in resiliency measures to keep our waterfront communities strong. We are excited to join our friends at the Waterfront Conference to celebrate this extraordinary progress.”

Bill de Blasio addressing concerns of the future of the waterfront aboard the Hornblower Infinity

“The City of Newark is pleased to join the dialogue on our shared waterfront at the Waterfront Conference,” said Mayor Baraka. “Just like the three-mile-long strait that connects the waters of Newark Bay with the Upper New York Bay, those of us in leadership in this region are irrevocably joined in matters which affect the environment and its effects on our citizens. I believe that a discourse on the value that our waterfront brings to the economic viability and health and well-being of our communities is both critical and necessary.”

The Waterfront Conference was held aboard the Hornblower Infinity, dockside at Hudson River Park, Pier 40, in the morning, and cruised the New York Harbor throughout the afternoon.

Photography by Ian Douglas/Waterfront Alliance