THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NEW YORK By

Home , Brooklyn Bridge, History of New York City, Lower Manhattan, Pearl Street (Manhattan), Schermerhorn Row Block, South Street (Manhattan)

AN EVALUATION OF PUBLIC SPACE REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE ACCESS AND RESILIENCY: THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NEW YORK

NATALIA ANDREA NEIRA

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2016

To Laura and Liliana

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All my gratitude and appreciation goes to my Chair, Dr. Joseli Macedo. Thank you for all the guidance you gave me as your assistant to become a better researcher and to learn the art of multiple hat-wearing. Dr. Kathryn Frank, thank you for being my first planning faculty, your experience and expertise encouraged me to begin my planning studies.

To my family, thank you for all the good energy sent from Florida, New York, and

Colombia. Thank you for teaching me work hard, be resourceful, to continue my education, and to help others as I climb. Laura, thank you for being my muse.

Last, to all my friends and people I have met throughout these years. I am happy to have worked with people who will contribute to city planning in all corners of the world. Go Gators!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 4

LIST OF TABLES ...... 7

LIST OF FIGURES ...... 8

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... 9

ABSTRACT ...... 11

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 13

Problem Statement ...... 13 Why the South Street Seaport? ...... 14 Research Questions ...... 15 Organization ...... 15

2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 17

History of the South Street Seaport ...... 17 Historic Designation ...... 21 Design and Administration of Public Space in the Seaport ...... 21

3 METHODOLOGY ...... 26

4 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ...... 28

Background ...... 28 History of the Seaport ...... 29 Timeline of infrastructure additions in New York City ...... 34 Current Administration of the South Street Seaport ...... 35 Design Elements of the South Street Seaport ...... 35 Public Space Administration and Private Stake ...... 37 Historic Designation as a tool ...... 39 Demographical Data for 2010 Census ...... 40 Superstorm Sandy Aftermath on Lower Manhattan and Recovery Tools ...... 40

5 DISCUSSION ...... 42

6 CONCLUSION ...... 44

APPENDIX: POPULATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE, NEW YORK CITY MSA, NEW YORK COUNTY, SOUTH STREET SEAPORT STUDY AREA ...... 47

LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 48 5

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 51

LIST OF TABLES

4-1 Population Percentage: Manhattan Borough vs. New York City ...... 28

4-2 Population Percentage: Census Tract 15.01 vs. Lower Manhattan ...... 29

LIST OF FIGURES Figure page

4-1 Study Area, South Street Seaport, New York, NY ...... 29

4-2. Schermerhorn Row to the right and Fulton Market (Under construction) on the right. Outdoor commercial activity on the pedestrian road...... 33

4-3 South Street Seaport Historic District. NYCLPC...... 38

4-4 Population Count by block (2010) of Study Area, 2010 US Census...... 40

4-5 Footprint by height and age...... 41

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BID Business Improvement District

CEO Center for Economic Opportunity

CERT Community Emergency Response Team

DCP New York City Department of City Planning

DDC New York City Department of Design and Constructions

DOB New York City Department of Buildings

DOT New York City Department of Transportation

DPR New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

EPA US Environmental Protection Agency

FIRM Flood Insurance Rate Map

HHC Howard Hughes Corporation

HPD New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

HUD US Department of Housing and Urban Development

LPC New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

MWA Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance

NRHP National Register of Historic Places

NFIP National Flood Insurance Program

NPCC New York City Panel in Climate Change

NPS National Parks Service

NYCEDC New York City Economic Development Corporation

NYSDOT New York State Department of Transportation

ORR Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency

SSS South Street Seaport

SSSM South Street Seaport Museum

UDC Urban Development Corporation

Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Urban and Regional Planning

AN EVALUATION OF PUBLIC SPACE REDEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE ACCESS AND RESILIENCY: THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, NEW YORK

Natalia Andrea Neira

August 2016

Chair: Joseli Macedo Cochair: Kathryn Frank Major: Urban and Regional Planning

Urban redevelopment in lower Manhattan has experienced great transformation in the last half century, mainly through facilitation of private development, maximizing land benefits from the local authorities, and entrepreneurship. This thesis recognizes the momentum of Redevelopment in lower Manhattan in the second half of the 20th century, the initiatives to make New York City attractive to domestic and foreign investment, and competitiveness with other global cities. Regeneration of public spaces in a historic neighborhood such as the South Street Seaport gives an opportunity for locals and tourists to see “yesterday meeting tomorrow”, what daily life looked like in the city and of a neighborhood that dates back to the 17th Century, and also allows to promote access to places that were once vibrant and eventually lost their popularity showcasing assets available to a community in a new way.

The last wave of public space redevelopment allowed New York City to identify weaknesses and threats in the design, access, and resiliency methods when

Superstorm Sandy impacted, resiliency defined by city reports as the “capacity of the

11 city to withstand disruptive events, whether physical, economic, or social” (OneNYC,

2015). The research analyzes the programs developed from lessons learned after

Superstorm Sandy impacted lower Manhattan to make this area resilient to both economic downturn and climate events, focusing on the historic district study area.

Local government and public agencies continue planning, creating, and strengthening partnerships with private stakeholders and community organizations to manage public spaces and improve accessibility.

The research includes literature on the history of New York City focused on the lower Manhattan and South Street Seaport areas, programs developed during the last redevelopment wave of the seaport, census data, and observational information based on visits to the study area by the researcher. Findings were used to identify timeframes and development patterns of the South Street Seaport, and how private development and public programs came together to create a new version of the seaport. This research has a special focus on adaptation methods implemented in the design of the south street seaport after Superstorm Sandy, which jeopardized the historic streets and buildings in this area.

The thesis’ findings reflect the design and partnerships used in the New York City as a case study for local governments to implement in urban areas, as most medium and large cities in the US are turning into their city centers for creative ways to promote private investment, and regenerate or revitalize public spaces, allowing equal access and promoting sustainable neighborhoods.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

New York City is a model for business, design, culture, innovation, and tourism.

Lower Manhattan is a side of New York City constantly known for evolution and change, however it evolved as a city “planned exclusively for profit and built to that pattern by its businessmen with the city easing the way” (Lindgren, 2014). All the old has been replaced with new, low-rises for high rises, narrow roads for carriages and pedestrians for wide streets and highways. The land that contains the blocks of the South Street

Seaport dates back to the 19th century when the port of New York was the most important trading port in America. The south street seaport was the original world trade center, where merchants from different corners of the world went to do business.

Throughout the growth of New York City, lower Manhattan and the seaport saw success and decline, especially after the industrial revolution. The seaport remained a port that resembled the pre-industrial times, but the neighborhood has remained commercial to a different extent. Shipping and trading warehouses, fish markets, and wholesale markets of imports have now become upscale restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, along with local entrepreneurs, smaller businesses, and pop-up stores scheduled during the summer months. Tenements have become expensive apartments with iconic views of the city, seen from the lower rise buildings in the seaport.

Problem Statement

The South Street Seaport district carries layers of history and symbols of New

York City throughout its foundation and growth as global metropolis. In the process of preservation by a community-based organization in the 1960s, the seaport was left without public funding to support its redevelopment as an open air museum. Although

13 the SSSM was able to fund the purchase of a large majority of buildings in the district, the pressure to make it as economically prosperous as its surrounding corporate skyscrapers, the seaport transformed from a public museum to a commercial space.

The seaport district land owned by the museum was eventually sold to the city

Why the South Street Seaport?

The South Street Seaport is a pocket of historic New York neighborhood made up of 12 blocks of preserved buildings and streets dating back to the early 19th century, as well with newer construction that conforms to the height and use of the district. The neighborhood is surrounded by large scale buildings for office and commercial use, the

Brooklyn Bridge entrance, and the East River waterfront. The South Street Seaport is surrounded by the Alliance for Downtown Manhattan BID, which is also contained within

Lower Manhattan, the second largest CBD in New York City after Midtown Manhattan

(NYCEDC).

New York City’s development has its earliest starts in the lower part of

Manhattan, and the seaport is a preserved sample of what the working city resembled before the skyscrapers and mega block developments became a part of urban design in the mid-20th century.

The South Street Seaport is a case study of complex partnerships that have failed and succeeded at promoting redevelopment and regeneration of public space;

The seaport recently faced economic downturn from the great recession in 2007, and later was impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which stalled the start and delayed the expected completion time of redevelopment projects by the private investor controlling the evolution of the seaport.

Research Questions

Partnerships with public and private stakeholders have characteristics of successful engagement and ultimately urban design outcomes that promote sustainable communities, economic returns, and higher standard of living that gives a positive image of the city. New York City, especially the lower Manhattan area has faced challenges and opportunities from all aspects possible that have shaped its urban fabric: economic, environmental, and political. Regardless of the history that shaped the lower Manhattan, the South Street Seaport still remains a traditionally designed neighborhood that displays traditional pre-industrial and pre-skyscraper New York along with public spaces to allow access to landmarks and enjoyment of the waterfront.

With all the efforts and initiatives to preserve this neighborhood while making it financially prosperous, can the South Street Seaport be a case study for partnerships and urban design for other historic neighborhood in dense urban areas? Can public policy, private investment, and/or public-private partnerships be accredited for the success of this neighborhood? What guidelines are most effective for the redevelopment and economic success of the seaport? Last, how is accessible and resilient public space important to the seaport and other communities that are vulnerable to disruptive events?

Organization

The work is presented in six chapters. Chapter 2 provides a literature review relative to the history of south street seaport, design changes in the city grid, policy implementation through plans in the 20th century, and planning projects in the 21st century. It also provides a conceptual framework of design and administration of public

15 spaces, as well as urban design theoretical framework that supports the projects planned and executed in the South Street Seaport. Major themes include the political and economic challenges that initially changed the neighborhood in the second half of the 20th century, the lack of economic resources that the seaport has faced throughout the entire preservation effort, consequentially allowing developers to push for profitable land use, and environmental factors that pushed public government and federal agencies to retrofit the neighborhood and the entire shoreline for resiliency in case of another superstorm like Sandy.

Chapter 3 explains the methodology used in the analysis of the research, administration and design literature, data used to analyze the population and economic trends and changes, and city planning documents to understand the vision and design of the seaport. Chapter 4 is a narrative of the study area, theoretical and conceptual framework of the design and administration of public spaces, and techniques of design used in New York City. Chapter 5 discusses the implications of the analysis of the seaport on planning policy for coastal urban areas, and the future of public space redevelopment, as well as further questions, research challenges and other topics important to look into during this research. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes with thoughts about the overall planning of lower Manhattan and its effects on the seaport, current investment and capital projects throughout the seaport, and reviews the potential consequences of another climate event in the area considering the environmental trends of the last decade. In addition, recommendations for infill design and preservation are made for currently vacant lots and current proposals of waterfront development that could affect the historic character of the South Street Seaport.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

The review of literature for this thesis allows a better understanding of the symbol the South Street Seaport s to New York City, as well as the many layers of history involved in the development of lower Manhattan. The literature also reveals the administration programs implemented in the seaport district, both to designate it a historic area and later to administer the redevelopment of public spaces through partnerships with local government and private entities. Some of these initiatives are also applied in other cities around the world and will mention the similarities with the seaport and management of public spaces in New York City. The last part of the literature serves to understand the efforts of the metropolitan government to make this neighborhood as well as the entire lower Manhattan more resilient to environmental setbacks that affected the city’s economy and population to later discuss the possible future of the South Street Seaport, its privatization of public spaces, and lessons learned from designing spaces with the new need to consider environmental changes.

History of the South Street Seaport

The Fordham University history summary of the seaport (2010) accounts history from the 1624 when New York City was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam. The area that is now the South Street Seaport did not exist at the time, as it was filled until

South Street was created in 1815, the rise of the seaport as one of the most important ones in America at the time, and the decline of it as the industrial created the need for deeper channels, more space for infrastructure, and less need for shipping jobs. This summary is split into four parts, with the last being the preservation efforts after the

1960s, and all the efforts and initiatives taken to preserve the seaport, the creation of the “open air museum”.

Lindgren’s Saving South Street Seaport focuses on the history of the South

Street Museum as the intended catalyst of Urban Renewal for the entire 12-block neighborhood. Downtown was fast changing before the Lower Manhattan Plan of 1966 was issued. The seaport preservation was a response ignited by the demolition of

Pennsylvania Station in 1963. Local activists argued that these older roads and buildings deserved protection for their symbolism to the city’s first commercial district in the 19th century and were not to be razed on the notion of “historic meant old, old meant decrepit, and decrepit meant you should tear it down.” Lindgren narrates the different actors and events that lead to preserve the Seaport Museum and the entire neighborhood, starting with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965, empowering them to make the seaport neighborhood designated by the NYC LPC and the NRHP to protect specific buildings and ships like the Peking and the Ambrose, both shipping vessels used in the 18th and 19th centuries. Other vessels were ultimately sold and are no longer part of the maritime museum. Lindgren explains the changes in ownership and management of the seaport from the Seaport Museum as owner of land to the Museum of the City of New York, to finally the Howard Hughes Corporation as the manager of the land and developer of the commercial section of the seaport neighborhood.

The Lower Manhattan Plan of 1966 is a comprehensive document that documents the history, physical condition, demographics, and patterns for the entire lower Manhattan area in the early 1960s. It supports the narrative from Lindgren’s and

Fordham’s historic recount of the creation and growth of New York through the Seaport.

The report details the different zones within lower Manhattan that needed aggressive renewal. Transportation projects would affect the city of New York and the entire region including New Jersey, as streets would be created or eliminated, transportation would be reconfigured for pedestrians and mass transit, land would be made available for public space, and residential neighborhoods would be established. The population estimates were 10,000-15,000 in each neighborhood, adding up to almost 100,000 people in lower Manhattan. The 1966 plan report had great influence on future planning and was used in later administrations. Many of the goals of the 60s reflected into the end of the 20th and begin of the 21st century planners and visionaries. Carol Willis’s introduction in the Lower Manhattan plan summarizes the challenges facing New York

City, specifically lower Manhattan throughout history. Destruction due to fires (1776,

1835, and 1845), constant change to make way for newer, bigger buildings to accommodate the growing population happened. Halfway through the 20th century and as a response to the development of offices and corporate headquarters in Manhattan’s midtown, the ideal of urban renewal and financial influence gave way to projects like the

World Trade Center and other large scale projects that eliminated traditional, small scale neighborhoods for superblocks with skyscrapers. These same skyscrapers encroached all the way east to the edge of Water Street, where currently people can see and feel the sharp break from one side of the street to the next. Willis also makes the point that along with the high rises, spaces like Battery Park City were created for residential use and availability of open spaces. Ann Buttenweiser also summarizes the history of lower Manhattan and what made the 1966 plan so important. She briefly

19 explains the rise of the shipping industry and the exodus of homes by the river northward to Union Square and through Midtown. Development of tall office buildings happened quickly along Broadway and towards Midtown.

Cibriwsky (1999), Defilippis (1997), Sanders (1998), and Metzger (2001) continue detailing the history of the seaport and the issues of redevelopment that came throughout the years, the impact from the 1966 plan on future redevelopment efforts, actors involved in revitalization of the seaport and with different policies developed before 9/11. Defilippis recounts the history of the seaport, and shows the transition in the 1960s from a public space and open air museum to a privately developed public space, but experimenting with different programs to promote economic growth, which

New York City strategically focuses on when creating spaces.

The most current history, explaining the design, stakeholders, and political environment of the time (Audant, 2014; Foster, 2013; Kalinoski, 2014; Lindgren, 2014.

Preservationists in the seaport explain at the beginning of the redevelopment efforts in the seaport that the SSSM was not given any public funding for redevelopment.

Although the museum managed to fund much of the initial purchase of land, buildings, and shipping vessels, it was not fast enough to consider it economically feasible to maintain as a museum. The NYCEDC took over the South Street esplanade project, which was contracted to Howard Hughes Corporation for redevelopment and commercial leasing. The parties involved (City of New York and HHC) signed a 99 year lease to start redevelopment in 2012. This explains the application of Urban

Development Corporation to regenerate this neighborhood through private investment while the city still owns the land and can guarantee public access to the waterfront.

Historic Designation

Dominant narrative of planning tools used in the 1960s reveal the impact of land use planning tools in the seaport today. The New York City Landmarks Preservation

Committee and National Register of Historic Places document the designation of the neighborhood into the LPC in 1977. The earliest action taken towards preservation was in 1968 when the Schermehorn Row block was designated as a landmark. Other landmark documentation includes the shipping vessels that the South Street Seaport

Museum owns, maintains, and displays in pier 15. South Street Seaport historic district was extended by a block on the northwest end of the district.

Current articles reveal the vulnerability of the seaport as a historic district due to the push of private developers throughout the decades and the vision of a compatible design that resembles the financial district’s modern architecture and commercial use skyscrapers that maximize revenue for the city. The latest design from HHC reveals a

50-story building, which is being presented as the source of funding for the reconstruction of the piers and the wood decks. This building created controversy and different community organizations and local government groups, such as Community

Board 1 issued guidelines to promote adaptive reuse of the existing buildings, and support of a sustainable business model that respects the historic character of the seaport.

Design and Administration of Public Space in the Seaport

Several articles and books were used to analyze the creation of public space.

Carmona’s Public Spaces Urban Places uses references to Kevin Lynch’s the image of the city, as well as Carmona’s Public Space: The Management Dimension. Many

21 examples throughout New York City are shown, and how have they managed to succeed. The trend throughout all the administration of space and redevelopment is the implementation of Urban Development Corporations and Regional Development

Agencies. These originated in the UK in the 1960s to make redevelopment facilitated at the private level. In New York, such agencies translate to the Lower Manhattan

Development Corporation (LMDC) and the New York City Economic Development

Corporation (NYCEDC.)

The Management Dimension (2008) highlights the issues of public space management, including neglect, poor design, and exclusion. Using theory about public spaces, as well as historical information and design theory, they explain the daily management of these spaces, and the measures local governments have taken to step back and privatize the redevelopment process in order to allow time and economic efficiency. The book mentions several administration methods such as Business

Improvement Districts and Urban Development Corporations. Public Space: The

Administration Dimension explains the pressure from the business sector to improve the image of the public spaces surrounding their buildings and the ultimate vision for public spaces. Chapter 9 details the example of Times Square in New York and Leicester

Square in London, much different from the south street seaport, they rebranded their image but maintained its attachment to local history, symbols, and ultimately brought a certain use to these spaces. The book also utilizes Kevin Lynch’s legibility code to explain how public spaces are designed and how these spaces intend to create a sensory experience for visitors.

Past administration of the seaport is explained in the redevelopment history after the 1960’s when community groups were established to make the seaport an open-air museum and historic landmark. The Seaport Museum purchased much of the buildings in the seaport and was in charge of redevelopment, however with limited funding, sold the land and buildings back to the city. The seaport was under trials of several programs to make the neighborhood economically prosperous while using heritage for urban revitalization. Articles (Defilippis, 1997) describe the effort to make the SSSM by creating a festival marketplace that promotes commercial activity in the neighborhood, and the adaptive reuse of its buildings.

The museum side of the SSS is operated by the MCNY since 2011, to promote support to the Seaport Museum, Foster (2013) proposes the idea that preservation is an important part of future cityscape and carries common ideas with the urban growth supporters regarding the use of heritage as part of New York’s development. Foster also details the policy adapted in order to plan and deploy the development of lower

Manhattan after the Lower Manhattan Plan of 1966 was presented to the City of New

York. South Street Seaport was marked for demolition and development of luxury housing for around 10,000 people, but ultimately designers saw value in keeping the seaport’s special character and incorporated it into the new construction.

To understand the current development and administration of the seaport, current reports from different local government agencies and press releases from the

NYCEDC reveal the City of New York gave the NYCEDC the project to revitalize public space in the south street seaport, which ultimately was contracted to the Howard

Hughes Corporation. HHC has proposed and executed many waterfront design,

23 including a new mall on Pier 17 and reconstruction of the rotten wood decks. They also lease much of the seaport neighborhood from the City of New York, which they have progressively regenerated and converted into commercial space for retail, restaurants, and office space.

A case study in Shanghai’s Xintiandi neighborhood (He and Wu, 2005) shows the public and private aspects that led to the redevelopment of this neighborhood. The momentum that property-led development in China is currently undergoing is the same as in New York City and lower Manhattan for the past half century. Their privatization of urban policy is attributed to Urban Development Corporations, which focused in waterfront sites and city centers (He and Wu, 2005). Property- led redevelopment is defined as the “Assembly of finance, land, building, material, and labor to produce or improve buildings for occupation and investment purposes” (Turok, 1992). The program in Xintiandi is explained in Adair et. al (2000) as the shift from strictly property-led regeneration to a broader-based partnership plan that will direct focus to community interest and promotion of effective partnerships between public and private sectors, as well as input from residents and community groups. Adair et al. had focus groups from stakeholders involved in the development process of cities in Great Britain. Because the political system and policy is different in China, I will not be considering the specific characteristics of the success and limitations of the Xintiandi redevelopment.

Post Sandy Planning: OneNYC and Open Space Redesign

OneNYC was developed in 2014 as a follow up to previous reports (Vision 2020 and PlaNYC) to answer the questions of maintaining a global city status while addressing the weaknesses identified in infrastructure and services resulting from

Sandy’s rebuilding cost. Although previous reports also planned for economic growth, sustainability, and resiliency, OneNYC also looks to address social equity challenges and builds on the ongoing plans, it sets the start of an action plan to prepare NYC for the future. OneNYC is divided into four themes: growth, equity, sustainability, and resiliency. For the purposes of this research, I have focused on the Resiliency Chapter, which explains the efforts to ensure neighborhoods, services, and the economy “are ready to withstand and emerge stronger from the impacts of climate change and other

21st century threats” (OneNYC, 2015.) In this Chapter, the report shows climate projections through the rest of the century, and what this can cause to the city.

The New York City parks and recreation department website details the process of creating a park or public space project in the city. The parks detailed in the analysis are from land owned by the city, and the process the different areas underwent.

Pictures of the current state of the neighborhood supplement the narrative of the progress described by their website; these were taken between August 2013 and

October 2015. Digital imagery from google earth, google maps, and maps from New

York City support the progress and condition of the area before 2013.

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

Background research for this research relied upon historic documents and literature of the settling and development of New York City and lower Manhattan since its foundation in the 17th century to events related to the aftermath and recovery of infrastructure after hurricane sandy. The second part of the research included plans from the city dating back to the 1960s and beyond, when the most development and physical changes were happening to the city. Other literature pertaining to transportation projects like FDR was used to understand the effects on downtown and the entire east shore of Manhattan.

Once this historic information was gathered, an analysis of planning documents in the mid-20th century was researched to understand the planning of the 1960s versus what actually happened once these plans were revised as more development happened throughout downtown and the rest of New York City later into the 1990s, after 9/11 and when Sandy affected New York. Other stakeholders and members of the community were researched to understand the level of community-based planning and Public-

Private Partnerships created in the seaport.

As a theoretical framework to justify the models of public space management,

Carmona et al.’s Public Space: the management dimension and Urban Places, Public

Spaces (2008) provide design and management theories to explain contemporary issues, models of public space management, conceptualizations of urban space design, and study areas in new York city and all over the world to understand their approaches compared to the Seaport public officials and facilitation for private ownership and management.

Other resources included personal visits to the study area in 2013, 2014, and

2015 where progress of reconstruction, preservation, and redevelopment was visible through new infrastructure, events, commercial activity, and visitor programs in the seaport. Archival photography from multiple online resources was used to document the condition of streets, buildings and spaces that were once blighted, especially after its historic designation in the late 1960s and its progress through the decades with the construction of FDR drive, the redevelopment as an open-air museum, the removal of important commercial establishments like the Fulton market, and the development after

9/11 and Sandy’s destruction of the region.

This research is bound to a study area of 12 blocks bordered by South, Dover,

Pearl, and Fulton Streets on the southeast of New York County, NY according to literature and design of the neighborhood. Census block and tract (15.01) limits are also considered for data collection purposes. The US Census blocks for the south street seaport are 3002, 3003, 3005, 3006, 3008, 3009, 3010, 3011, 3012, 3013, 3014, and

3015 (US Census. I gathered US Census data for the census tract and census blocks containing the seaport district to understand population numbers, housing units, and economic data. Web-based, parcel data is used to look at the current age of the buildings, as some structures were preserved and date back to the 19th century. Other structures are reconstructed versions of original buildings, and the newer construction is from post 9/11 and post-Sandy. Older maps were also gathered to observe the early landfill that gave way to the creation of the seaport and later additions of the FDR expressway and rehabilitation of piers.

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Background

New York City is home to five boroughs and over 8.17 million people (Census

2010) and estimated to be 8.5 for 2015. Within New York City, Manhattan Borough’s population is 1.58 million for 2010 and estimated 1.64 million people for 2015. The land area in Manhattan County is 22.83 square miles, creating a population density of

69,467.5 people per square mile (2010 Census). As population serves as the driving force behind future facility needs and land requirements, population is taken into consideration to accommodate growth and development, and to ensure public facilities are available current with the impact of development.

The South Street seaport is located in the east side of lower Manhattan; bordered by the east river, Brooklyn Bridge, Fulton Street on the south, and Pearl Street on the west boundary. The seaport represents a “preserved or reconstructed remnant of the entire shoreline of lower Manhattan in the later 18th and 19th centuries” (Fordham

University) and its development traces back to the early Dutch settlers in the 1600s.

Table 4-1. Population Percentage: Manhattan Borough vs. New York City

Population Percentage: Population Percentage: Race Manhattan New York City White 47.7% 33.1% African American 12.9% 22.7% Asian 11.2% 12.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1% 0.2% Hispanic or Latino 25.6% 28.7% Two or more racial categories 2.0% 1.6% Retrieved from US Census Bureau (2016) and Population Division- New York City Department of City Planning. 2009-2013 American Community Survey demographic profile data.

Table 4-2. Population Percentage: Census Tract 15.01 vs. Lower Manhattan

Population Percentage: Population Percentage: Race Census Tract 15.01 Lower Manhattan White 59.8% 64.4% African American 3.9% 3.0% Asian 27.7% 20.2% American Indian and Alaska Native 0.0% 0.1% Hispanic or Latino 7.7% 9.6% Two or more racial categories 0.9% 2.5% Retrieved from US Census Bureau (2016) and Population Division- New York City Department of City Planning. 2009-2013 American Community Survey demographic profile data.

Figure 4-1. Study Area, South Street Seaport, New York, NY. Source: ESRI History of the Seaport

Fordham University’s historic recount of the South Street Seaport counts back to

the early 1600s, when New Amsterdam was founded as a Dutch settlement, after failing

to find a northeast route to Asia in 1624. The Dutch settled in the southern tip of

Manhattan, after allegedly purchasing the land from local Native Americans. Fordham

University reports this information as a legend. The Dutch also started another

settlement in Brooklyn, at the same time the English took over Manhattan. Manhattan

did not go past present-day Wall Street. Half a mile north of the original settlement was

29 the wharf, which was in expansion. Shipping boats had to anchor offshore and smaller ships transported goods back into the shore.

The Dutch left a legacy in Manhattan that the English preserved in the new colony, this legacy later became the South Street Seaport. The Dutch settled in

Manhattan to trade and make profits, something that gave Manhattan a different character from other English colonies which were started for political or religious reasons. “Manhattan was established by the Dutch West India Colony to facilitate trade on the North American continent as well as with Europe” (Fordham). Manhattan was born a commercial city. The Dutch also did not enforce religious beliefs on settlers, so it created a sense of diversity to the point that trading partners lived in the Dutch settlement in order to facilitate business. Trading with the “mother country” was also not a requirement, unlike other new colonies, which opened the East river to anyone navigating or trading. New Amsterdam quickly became a cosmopolitan settlement, where people spoke multiple languages and practiced different religions. Because of this spirit of tolerance and openness, New York’s port continued to flourish even after the Dutch lost the colony to the British. After years of war with between the English and

Dutch, the English took over and renamed the colony New York in 1664.

Although the English now governed over New York, the “articles of capitulation” signed in 1664 allowed unrestricted trade with both Netherlands and England, among other rights and terms that did not affect the trade in the port. The increasing trade and economic opportunity brought more settlers into the colony, and with that, more physical development of the shoreline and land. Slaves came into New Amsterdam through the

30 port, they worked on that same port creating a landfill. This landfill created Water, Front, and South streets to lower Manhattan’s shore by 1815.

Development in lower Manhattan exploded under the British rule, developing land through what is now the south street seaport and SoHo. The New York port started its first wave of decline as a result of war and pirates. Who were seamen who left their jobs to intercept enemy vessels, but eventually were looting any vessel? Piracy impacted the ports economy. Another wave of decline came with the American

Revolution, impressment of sailors into the British army was a deterrent for other sailors to work for trading vessels, which was detrimental to the port as trade was the main activity at this time. Later in the 18th century, shipping regulations and taxes caused the colony to boycott all international trade, which crashed the maritime economy in New

York.

Manhattan trade continued to reign. Following the American Revolution,

American merchants in New York began trade with China. The first American ship to china was managed in what eventually became the SSS. The NY port gained recognition, even as the financial backers were located in Boston and Philadelphia. All trade with china passed through the NY port, making it the most important port and gateway to America by the beginning of the 19th century. The seaport was one of the most important ports in New York’s harbor in the first half of the 19th century, and the landfill completed in 1815 to create South Street laid the foundation for the South Street

Seaport neighborhood. The seaport docks and piers were not unique infrastructure or architecture at that time, but was rather the look of the shoreline throughout the New

York harbor.

With the war of 1812 came British blocks to the east coast for trading extending from Georgia to Maine. The ships leaving New York were both trading with Britain and

France, countries in tension at the time. Laws, trading blocks, and political tension impacted the commerce in New York, creating losses in goods, money, trade and high prices on all goods. The end of the war brought unrestrained development to the south street seaport, including the construction of the Erie Canal. The seaport became the most important port in America until the time of the civil war.

Over time, the shipping industry moved to the west side of Manhattan and into

New Jersey, therefore the seaport lost all the commercial activity that made it flourish throughout the 19th century.

The South Street Seaport preservation movement evolved from the demolition of the old Pennsylvania station building, a group of preservationists joined efforts in 1967 to preserve the architecture from the pre-industrial seaport. These efforts along with the use of planning tools like the historic preservation act of 1966 avoided the demolition of the neighborhood to blend with the similar development to the financial district and world trade center. In the 1970’s the South Street Seaport was declared an open air museum.

The 1980s marked another wave of economic change in New York City. The recession changed the business dynamics in New York City, as 3.5 million jobs in 1950-

1960 reduced to 3 million by 1977. It took until 1987 to bounce back up to 3.6 million jobs. The city lost manufacturing jobs, however replacing them with finance and producer services jobs. These same manufacturing jobs decreased from one million to

350,000 between 1950 and 1987. Two main reasons caused this shift, outsourcing of

32 manufacturing overseas which moved and closed factories in New York City, and New

York lost the headquarter locations of many industrial companies. In 1950, one out of three jobs was in manufacturing and one out of seven was in service. By 1980, figures reversed (Sassen, 2001.)

The destruction of the World Trade Center created a before and after in the history of New York City and the United States. Following the destruction in New York

City, lower Manhattan was specially undergoing a phase of rebuilding and redevelopment. The events of 9/11 impacted the seaport because of the loss of financial support. The seaport still continued its restoration efforts, with Schemerhorn

Row reopening to the public in 2003. The cost of the restoration was $20 million,

Figure 4-2. Schermerhorn Row to the right and Fulton Market (Under construction) on the right. Outdoor commercial activity on the pedestrian road. 2015. Photo by Author.

33 however it provided 30 thousand square feet of public space. This was the jumpstart for retail store to start moving into the district.

In August 2012, a press release was published announcing the agreement between the Howard Hughes Corporation and the NYCEDC to revitalize the south

Street seaport. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the plan for the pier

17 building to convert it into a commercial space with an open rooftop. This structure would be used for outdoor entertainment, retail and observation deck of the Brooklyn

Bridge and the lower Manhattan skyline. The original plan was to start in 2013 and finish in 2015, however Superstorm Sandy was not in the schedule. Sandy hit the New York

City region October 29, 2012.

Timeline of infrastructure additions in New York City

Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 and was the longest suspension bridge at the time. Brooklyn Bridge is a landmark in both the NRHP and NYCLPC. Brooklyn bridge serves as a pedestrian and vehicular link between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is the oldest bridge to cross the East River.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt runs along the eastern border of Manhattan and it serves as one of New York City’s main perimeter arterial roads and runs as an elevated highway. FDR drive was built atop of landfill from houses destroyed during WWII (NYC

Parks) and runs 9.4 miles from the Battery on the south tip of Manhattan to the

Triborough Bridge. It was originally built in 1955 and later in 1966 for reconstruction of non-limited access sections. Buses can use the FDR, however, it is closed for commercial traffic. Original planning of the FDR started as a result of the Great

Depression and occupation from homeless families along the east side vacant lots at

34 the time. At this time, Robert Moses was the arterial coordinator and parks commissioner for the City of New York. He established the view for the East River Drive

(also known as FDR Drive) with wide lanes, long viaducts, and parks between the parkway and river. Original FDR construction happened in segments, starting with the northernmost segment between E 92nd St and E 125th St, where it ends. The following segments were from Battery Park to E 42nd St and E 49th St to E 92nd St. FDR currently meets with Brooklyn Bridge through a ramp that runs along Dover Street by the South

Street Seaport. Both FDR Drive and Brooklyn Bridge are undergoing maintenance and reconstruction of

Current Administration of the South Street Seaport

Urban Development Corporations were created in the UK in the 1960s to promote private investment as both property redevelopment and public space regeneration. In the case of Xintiandi, similar to the SSS, the city owns the land while the private sector agency in charge of redevelopment signs a lease to control and maintain the land. In the case of Xintiandi, it was 50 years. The City of New York signed a 99 year lease with the Howard Hughes Corporation to control and maintain much of the South Street Seaport historic district, namely the waterfront and commercial space that dominates the district.

Design Elements of the South Street Seaport

Based on the administration and design analysis from Public Space: The

Management Dimension (2008), the experience of place at the south street seaport is different from the rest of lower Manhattan. When one visits the seaport in its edge with the high rises and the wider streets, one can feel a fear of being lost in the shadow of

35 surrounding buildings. This is the case as well for seeing the seaport from across the

East River in Brooklyn. The seaport is only noticeable by the large vessels that are part of the museum, and before the demolition of the pier 17 building, a warehouse with big lettering visible from across the river. In the study area, the buildings are lower than 10 stories, most of them maintaining their 19th and early 20th century facades. Stone streets were restored from the preservation efforts in the neighborhood, and the smaller blocks have a different sensory perception than walking towards the Financial District area.

Legibility was also analyzed through personal observation and using Kevin

Lynch’s code from The Image of the City. The elements of the seaport were classified as follows: the titanic memorial and the south street esplanade were identified as the nodes, or places where flows of people can connect with the rest of the district. Both of these nodes are pedestrian in use, but are adjacent to Pearl Street and South Street respectively. The landmarks are the Fulton Market and the Schermerhorn Row block.

These are the most signature buildings in the district and where most of the commercial activity took place in the 19th century and in present time. The district is the blocks identified by the LPC as the South Street Seaport Historic District, including the piers, boats, and new construction on the waterfront. Hard edges that determine the end of the district are the Brooklyn Bridge, the East River, and Pearl Street. Pearl Street was widened to support more traffic, so the streets transform from two travel lane in a stone or brick street, to a more contemporary 60’ road with two travel lanes, bicycle lanes, turn lanes, and bus stop areas. Finally for the path component, all the streets within the seaport are included, both the exclusively pedestrian and the vehicle ones. Some other paths were identified in blocks where buildings can connect to each other and serve as

36 commercial spaces on the ground floor. These commercial spaces allow visitors to move within the block without having to exit from one front door to the next.

Peck Slip and Fishbridge Park are the only existing parks within the current limits of the SSS Neighborhood owned and managed by the New York City department of

Parks and Recreation. Peck Slip is still under design procedures and is estimated to be completed at the end of 2017 based on procedural timelines from the city. Fishbridge

Park is a long and narrow strip of land covering the northern part of the neighborhood, with access from Water, Dover, and Pearl Streets. The park is both a pet park and a community garden with limited hours of operation and open to the public. A playground for children is located at the John Street limit of the seaport, which connects with the

South Street Esplanade and the rest of the neighborhood, as well as serving as a buffer betwe4en the smaller scale of the historic seaport buildings and the corporate office skyscrapers.

Public Space Administration and Private Stake

Administrating the redevelopment and operation of a public space is not an easy task for local governments. Privatization of public space administration was the result of budget cuts to public sector budgets, and the idea of government to step back to allow economic efficiency through partnerships with private entities. Cities have disengaged from certain responsibilities under the assumption these partnerships would allow for private sector to take care of these public spaces. These partnerships are also the result of pressure from the private sector with interest to improve its image, which has created in the case of lower Manhattan a disparity about the control of the public space.

Different programs were developed after the 1960s to accomplish these goals,

one of them being through the creation of Urban Development Corporations.

In redeveloping these public spaces, the south street seaport is not creating a

new image but rather using the layers of history that exist in the seaport and the

symbols it has for New York City and what the seaport meant to the region in the 19th

century. The seaport also demonstrates an attachment of civic and citizen space, and

reiterates the city’s longstanding stats of a multicultural and socially diverse space.

These characteristics tie in with the historical background of the seaport. The

rebranding of the seaport by the private developers and managers has brought a certain

use to the district. Commercial use has evolved from shipping to wholesale commercial,

Figure 4-3. South Street Seaport Historic District. NYCLPC

38 to retail commercial.

One block of the South Street Seaport study area is of special attention, where a privately owned parking lot is currently functioning. In 2003, the city rezoned this property, along with several blocks from high-density to “medium-density, contextual commercial” zoning. The owner of this block of land, Peck Slip Associates, LLC was denied several applications to construct a high-rise, mixed use building on grounds of historic preservation and rejection for high-density development in the area since 1972.

The block is under the NYC Landmarks Commission’s map as part of the South Street

Seaport historic district, and the South Street Seaport district was designated in 1977.

This is the only parking lot in the area for many blocks, and it provides parking to neighborhood residents, and employees of the area, including the financial district.

Historic Designation as a tool

The seaport obtained its historic designation in parts. The first landmark was

Schemerhorn Row in 1968. The South Street Seaport was designated a Historic District by the LPC in 1977, after identifying most buildings dated back to the turn of the 20th century, and cobblestone streets were to be preserved to maintain the character of the neighborhood.In 1989, the district was extended to the corner block surrounded by Peck

Slip, Dover, Water, and Pearl Streets. The designation documents support the history of the Seaport, allowing the preservation of the middle third 19th century timeframe.

The South Street Seaport is a protected neighborhood by the New York landmark preservation commission. The two vessels, now part of the South Street

Seaport Museum, Peking and Ambrose, are in the National Register of Historic Places.

They are currently located on Pier 17, along with the Pier 17 visitor center,

Demographical Data for 2010 Census

Figure 4-4. Population Count by block (2010) of Study Area, 2010 US Census. The South Street Seaport neighborhood population is of 728 people as of 2010 based on block data (US Census,) the census tract reflects 5518 people. The current number of buildings is 84 without the new planned building on the pier. Land use in the study area is varied between commercial retail, food, residential, and public facilities such as water plants and transportation.

Superstorm Sandy Aftermath on Lower Manhattan and Recovery Tools

Superstorm Sandy made landfall north of Atlantic City, NJ on the evening of

October 29, 2012 with 80 miles per hour winds. Although not considered a hurricane, the wind span of Sandy extended 1,000 miles Sandy revealed vulnerabilities in New

York City’s infrastructure and buildings. Sandy displaced entire communities throughout the US Northeast, and destroyed people’s homes, damaged transportation stations and networks, and utility services were disrupted for weeks.

The New York City Department of buildings reported 1462 new building permits and 148,678 work permits in 2012, with 46% on Manhattan alone. According to their reports, Manhattan has the largest and most complex projects of all the five boroughs, with 72% of potential income coming from Manhattan (NYCDOB, 2013).

Figure 4-5. Footprint by height and age. Data source: City of New York, ESRI.

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION

This section presents a discussion based on the literature review and background, as well as the analysis of the approaches used throughout the most recent phase of the South Street Seaport redevelopment process and how they do or do not correspond with the PlaNYC initiatives and goals.

Literature on the history of the seaport neighborhood shows what drove the seaport to prosper and decay. The 19th century marks the official morphological inception of the South Street Seaport, as the landfill created South Street. The landfill was created as a result of economic prosperity and growth from trade.

The South Street Seaport public projects and private development are not yet finished and will not be completed by the end of this research. The analysis shows that not only lower Manhattan, but overall the city of New York continues a cycle of redevelopment and evolution into bigger, better things for the city.

Many new developments, public projects, and infrastructure retrofitting is under construction. Many of the projects started after 9/11 due to the overall reconstruction in lower Manhattan. Recent projects were also approved to start around the time the economic recession began in the US, and before the time Sandy flooded much of the

New York region, therefore delaying the completion of projects and start of others in order to create retrofitting plans to ensure city infrastructure is adapted for environmental events and changes.

The historic information and LPC documents that verify the historic district designation of the SSS also show that the neighborhood emerged as a commercial area of the city, therefore keeping its commercial character in the same style, scale, and

42 materials from its landfill and inception in the 19th century. The seaport was born as a trading site, with warehouses, shipping docks, and piers. It eventually had some commercial sites like Fulton Market, as well as hotels, boarding houses, and bars for merchants, seamen, and immigrants that arrived in the area during the mid-19th century.

Any residential development did not come in until late in the 19th century, along with tenements starting in the 20th century. Because the lower Manhattan shoreline was in such deterioration in the first half of the 20th century, the seaport neighborhood was also suffering the consequences of underuse and blight. Only until the second half of the 20th century the seaport found itself with options to either change its development pattern to high rises and larger blocks, or to be preserved as a historic section of NYC and evolve from a wholesale commercial and shipping warehouse district to a smaller-scale retail and open air museum. We can see throughout history that the seaport went through waves of decline and eventual revitalization, mostly due to economic prosperity and physical renovations.

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION

New York City has one of the longest and richest histories of any city in the

United States dating back to the earliest settlers from Europe. That history is preserved through its architecture, landmarks, and people. The South Street Seaport neighborhood does not portray the same image that comes to mind when anyone thinks of the image of New York City of the 21st century. The seaport has managed to maintain the character of a trading port and traditional commercial neighborhood from the early

19th century, and the lower scale of New York City residential and mixed use buildings while surrounded by some of the tallest office buildings in the US and the world.

We cannot study the South Street Seaport without taking into account the rest of lower Manhattan. New York City was born out of its port, which started in the south end of the island when the Dutch founded New Amsterdam. The recurring idea when thinking about Manhattan in to understand it was founded as a commercial city, for economic prosperity, and has evolved as technology, transportation and industry develops. The industrial and shipping sectors have moved to other boroughs, as well as

New Jersey.

Some challenges found were the extensive history of the seaport. The different views on the approaches taken for preservation, redevelopment, and renewal of the seaport neighborhood. The research’s main goal is to focus on the planning and design background, approaches to revitalization while preserving the character of the neighborhood, and identify the strategies from the local government standpoint to track when any neighborhood is being planned for redevelopment.

Many of the findings revealed that the redevelopment process in the seaport was and continues to be political and controversial for local associations and preservation advocates. The seaport also has many new buildings that are at the same scale as the historic buildings, but have changed the character of the general perception of a

“historic district” because they are not similar in architecture. Preservation of roads was essential to maintain the character of the neighborhood, which the seaport neighborhood accomplished along with closure of some roads for pedestrian exclusive access. These pedestrian-exclusive roads allowed investors and developers to bring attractions for locals and visitors. The seaport has accommodated commercial activity while redeveloping, renovating, or restoring its current buildings and streets.

Observations in person from the past three years show the lessees have used temporary structures and outdoor events as a way to attract visitors and locals to enjoy the planned activities and the neighborhood. As different buildings are completed both on the piers and within the district, commercial activity will become permanent, welcoming a new version of the commercial district that the seaport once was.

As a recommendation for the vacant lot surrounded by Pearl St, Fulton St, Water

St, and Peck Slip, a mixed use building could be considered to infill the area and make it a transition piece between the residential and office towers surrounding the seaport.

The area currently has a building height limit of 350 ft. (Kalinoski, 2014), which allows up to a 25-story building. This block is also 1.1 acres in area, which allows the height if transitioned between the height of the buildings and architecture of the SSS. Because of the history of landfill associated with the seaport development, an underground garage may or may not be feasible. A garage lined by commercial use in the bottom floors can

45 provide a limited number of parking spots. Given the history of promoting high density development in the area, it is possible that underground space may be available, as buildings need to excavate to build foundations. A building this height could provide over 500 housing units and provide a steady and regular market for the current businesses in the neighborhood.

Environmental effects are unavoidable, which lower Manhattan experienced with

Superstorm Sandy. Local government continues to use resources to estimate the impact of any environmental event and what measures to take in order to adapt the city for situations like Sandy or rising sea levels. Small scale retrofits were and continue to be implemented in order to manage storm water all over the city though rain gardens, however they do not absorb the same amount of water a storm like Sandy could produce.

APPENDIX POPULATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE, NEW YORK CITY MSA, NEW YORK COUNTY, SOUTH STREET SEAPORT STUDY AREA

Population Category New York New York Census Census City County Tract 15.01 Blocks SSS Population (2010) 8,175,133 1,583,873 5518 728 Male 4,292,589 744,303 3037 Female 3,882,544 839,042 2841 Population (2014 est) 8,268,999 1,618,398 5581 Male 3,935,848 762,733 2534 45.4% Female 4,333,151 855,665 3047 54.6% Total Housing units 3,371,062 847,090 3,089

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Natalia Neira was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1989, where she grew up until the age of 14, when she and her family moved to Miami, FL. She attended the University of

Florida, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in family, youth and community sciences, with minors in urban and regional planning and communication studies.

Natalia started her master’s degree in 2012 and participated in the

FIPSE/CAPES exchange program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the spring 2013 semester.

After returning to Gainesville, she served as the 2014-2015 president of the Student

Planning Association and graduate research assistant, where she was involved with local events through the San Felasco chapter of the American Planning Association.

She hopes to contribute to the planning profession both in the US and abroad.