FALL 2011 SHERMAN CREEK Waterfront Esplanade Master Plan 1 Prepared for New York City Economic Development Corporation TABLE OF Prepared by WXY architecture + urban design CONTENTS Consultant Team Civitas, Inc. eDesign Dynamics Halcrow GRB Environmental Services, Inc. Philip Habib & Associates, Planners and Engineers FOREWORD 5 VJ Associates ETM Associates, L.L.C. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 This plan was funded jointly by the New York State Department BACKGROUND 8 of State, Division of Coastal Resources, with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund, and by SITE 10 the New York City Industrial Development Agency. 1. Context 2. Issues 3. Opportunities COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS 18 VISION 20 GUIDING PRINCIPLES 22 1. Continuity 2. Community-Centric Programs 3. Coexistence 4. Sustainability CONCEPTUAL DESIGN 28 1. Academy Street 2. Pebble Beach Park 3. Riverwalk 4. North Cove 5. Upland Connections and Streets MAKING IT HAPPEN 44 1. Implementation Strategy 2. Maintenance Strategy Printed on Mohawk® Options: 100% post consumer recycled fibers and manufactured with Green-e certified wind power. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Green Seal™ Certified. FOREWORD Dear Friend, On behalf of the many stakeholders who were involved in the development of this document, it is a great pleasure to present the Sherman Creek Waterfront Esplanade Master Plan. The document is the result of a two-year planning process during which New York City Economic Development Corporation worked closely with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, other City and State agencies, and a number of interested parties, including Manhattan Community Board 12, local elected officials, neighborhood residents, not-for-profit organizations, businesses, and property owners. The master plan follows other City efforts to chart the future of this part of Upper Manhattan, dating back to 2003. One top priority identified through those earlier efforts was the reclamantion of the Harlem River waterfront, between Sherman Creek Inlet and West 208th Street, with new parks and open spaces for recreation. The City’s open space investments in the area since 2003 have begun to address that concern. The Sherman Creek Waterfront Esplanade Master Plan represents yet another step forward. The proposed esplanade would enhance the neighborhood’s access to its waterfront and complement and support the active commercial, institutional, and industrial uses that are such an important part of this area. This master plan is thus aligned with the City-wide goal of achieving publicly accessible waterfronts, as set forth in the Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES) introduced by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn earlier this year. Funding must now be secured to advance this master plan and realize its vision of a revitalized Harlem River Waterfront in Sherman Creek. We look forward to the continued commitment and coordinated effort of all interested parties to move this plan into implementation. Sincerely, Seth W. Pinsky President, NYCEDC EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Sherman Creek Waterfront Esplanade Master Plan (the “Master Plan”) establishes a planning and design framework for an open space amenity (the “Esplanade”) to revitalize a section of the Harlem River waterfront that has been derelict and inaccessible to the public for decades. The Esplanade would connect certain City investments along the water’s edge, bring new recreational uses to the area, restore the natural habitat, and provide the upland neighborhoods with safe, unimpeded access to their waterfront. The Esplanade would complement and support the industrial, commercial, and institutional uses that are an integral part of the area’s vibrant fabric. The active participation of local stakeholders during a 20-month outreach process was critically important to complete the plan. Their desires and concerns shaped the vision of the Esplanade and its accompanying conceptual design. The Master Plan recommends a phased development of the Esplanade, given a reality of limited resources, the cost of developing, operating, and maintaining each Esplanade section, and the challenges and opportunities particular to each such section. Phase 1 would include the Esplanade sections at Academy Street, the North Cove, and Pebble Beach Park, which could be developed as successive sub-phases. Phase 2 would include the Esplanade section between West 204th Street and the area under the University Heights Bridge. The Esplanade at Academy Street has the most potential to become the first project of the Master Plan, provided there were funding in place to develop, operate, and maintain the project. This Esplanade section would be constructed on City-owned property that could be made available for the project in the nearer term. In addition, this investment would yield a richer variety of programs than other Esplanade sections as well as significant neighborhood connections. The remaining Fig. 1: View of the proposed Sherman Creek waterfront esplanade Esplanade sections would follow, building on the momentum and success of this project. The Master Plan considers potential management models for the Esplanade. The success of any model (i.e. the adequate stewardship of the Esplanade in the long term) will depend, ultimately, on the effective deployment of resources to the operation and maintenance of the Esplanade. When realized, the Esplanade will enable uninterrupted pedestrian access to and along the water’s edge, furthering a key goal of the City’s Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES). The Esplanade will also restore Sherman Creek’s role as a significant natural habitat and a hub for water- based recreation. More importantly, the Esplanade will improve quality of life in the neighborhood, embracing its existing vitality and complementing it with much-needed recreational opportunities. 6 7 BACKGROUND The impetus for this Master Plan grew out of a City–driven planning study of the section of Inwood traditionally known as Sherman Creek (Fig. 2) in 2003–2004. THE The study identified several community recommendations regarding waterfront BRONX access, parks, and recreation. New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”) and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (“NYCDPR”) have worked together over the past few years to implement some of those recommendations. Key achievements include: MANHATTAN • The clean-up of the upland area just south of the Sherman Creek Inlet and the Highbridge Park QUEENS creation of a pedestrian trail (the “Nature Trail”), in partnership with New York Restoration Project (“NYRP”), a local non-profit; and Swindler Cove in P.S.5 Ellen Lurie • The development of five parks (the “Street–End Parks”) at the Harlem River Sherman Creek Park nd th BROOKLYN ends of West 202 to West 206 Streets. 1 Sherman Creek Academy St. Monsignor During the 2003-2004 study, the local community recommended the creation Inlet Kett Playground of a riverside esplanade to reclaim Sherman Creek for public recreation after 201st St. decades of neglect. This Master Plan begins to address this request. 204th St. Fig. 2: Sherman Creek location In October 2009, NYCEDC began to explore the feasibility of creating an Esplanade that could connect the Street–End Parks and revitalize the riverfront. 1 The effort focused on the area (the “Esplanade Site”) bounded to the south by Sherman Creek Inlet, to the north by a tidal wetland at the end of West 208th Street (the “North Cove”), to the east by the Harlem River, and to the west by the Univ. Heights Bridge lots adjoining the riverfront (Fig. 3). North Cove The planning process began with an analysis of site constraints and Harlem River opportunities and continued with an ambitious community outreach effort. Numerous local stakeholders participated in discussions that shaped a shared, Fig. 3: Master Plan study area Esplanade Site 1 Subway Station Nature Trail Street-End Parks broad-based vision for an Esplanade. NYCEDC worked closely with several agencies throughout the planning process, including NYCDPR and the New York City Department of Transportation (“NYCDOT”). This Master Plan establishes a planning and design framework for a waterfront asset to achieve the following goals: • Connect the Street–End Parks; • Provide continuous waterfront access to the upland neighborhoods; • Complement and support the commercial, industrial, and institutional uses that give vibrancy to the area; • Restore the Esplanade Site’s natural habitat; and • Revitalize with new recreational uses a section of the Harlem River waterfront that has been inaccessible and derelict for decades. The plan articulates a shared vision of the Esplanade and presents a feasible conceptual design and complementary planning recommendations, their corresponding cost estimates, an implementation strategy, and a long-term maintenance strategy. 8 9 A (Opposite Page) SITE Fig 5: Neighborhood context Esplanade Site Blocks Street-End Parks Nature Trail 207th Street Yard 1. CONTEXT Baker Field SBS The Esplanade Site is relatively fl at, measures approximately W 208th Street Harlem River Harlem F 3,400 linear feet at the water’s edge, and has an approxi- o r t mate area of 3.84 acres. W a s Inwood Hill Park Isham h i Park n The Esplanade Site touches a planned network of green- g t o n W 207th Street ways and bike paths that would integrate the area’s low P 1 a r lying neighborhoods to its great open spaces, which are at k University Heights Bridge higher elevations (Fig. 4). Today, however, the network is Street-End Parks discontinuous at the waterfront, north of Dyckman Street. th There are two Broadway – 7 Avenue Local (1 line) subway W 206th Street stations relatively close to the Esplanade Site, at Dyckman th th Street and Nagle Avenue, and West 207 Street and 10 H R a th M . r C a l Avenue (Fig. 5). Further inland is an 8 Avenue (A/C line) n e h l m at e th t m a subway stop at Broadway and West 207 Street. In addition, R Hudson River Greenway n e i n Fort W v e t W 205th Street the BX12 select bus service connects the area to the Bronx.