BIOPHILIC CITIES JOURNAL / FEATURE five boroughs—the waterfront Based on a robust community engaged while building resources remains marked by warehouses visioning process and an and momentum during the and brownfields (figure 2). There independent financial review multiyear campaign for the is a bike and pedestrian path of both plans by Pratt Institute, People’s Plan. along the waterfront, but LES the People’s Plan would offer residents must brave notoriously amenities such as open- The story of the P2P42 project dangerous underpasses beneath space parks, greenways, public illustrates an innovative approach FDR Drive to reach it. restrooms, a community center, an to community-driven urban change in a very strong market economy, where the speed of development is often too fast for residents to contribute. It also sheds light on the challenges and opportunities of implementing biophilic urbanism in lower- income communities.

Mapping the

Figure 1: Rest Stop, by Interboro Partners Photo Credit: Hester Street Collaborative As with many neighborhoods, the boundaries of the LES can be fluid and overlapping. For the Paths to Pier 42: purposes of the P2P42 project, the LES includes the East Village, The Challenges of Making Biophilia Equitable in Chinatown, Little Italy, and By Barbara Brown Wilson the (figure 3). The LES is home to more than 75,000 people, 18 percent of whom are We’ve been totally ignored. If you walk to [ (Waterfront Park) ], it looks like a piece of junkyard. Figure 2: Pier 42 Location Map under the age of 20. Almost 40 They did fix it a little bit and they put some exercise bars and things like that, but still, nothing compared to Photo Credit: Kevan Klosterwill percent of residents are Latino, when you see what residents have on the West side. My neighbors go to the West side to use the parks there, but 25 percent Asian, 22 percent they have to pay for the bus. And so, when they did the People’s Plan for the Waterfront they started Beginning in 2005, LES residents inlet and river pool, and space white, and 9 percent black, talking about ways to stop the flooding naturally while also giving us access to the water. And I said, “Okay, now sought to influence the for environmental education and according to census data. Roughly we’re talking.” redevelopment of the waterfront community gardens. The City was a third of families live below the through a combination of receptive to the People’s Plan but poverty line and pay less than —Aixa Torres, President of Alfred E. Smith Resident Association grassroots organizing and social noted that it would take years $500 per month in rent. Almost practice art in a temporary park. to raise the money and political a third are foreign born. Within The Lower East Side (LES) of Historic Preservation designated Across the East River from The effort began in response to support necessary to fully walking distance of the Pier, the is known for its rich, the LES one of America’s Most the LES, a waterfront-redevelopment plan implement it. population is approximately 40 cultural fabric and beautiful, Endangered Places in 2008. boasts a roller-skating rink, an put forth by the NYC Economic percent Asian and more than 40 historic streetscapes. It includes educational center, a swimming Development Corporation (EDC), In the interim, a network of percent foreign born. distinctive enclaves, such as Despite the development pool, and a barge-music venue, which featured high-end lofts community organizations joined the East Village, Alphabet City, interests pressing upon it, the among other amenities. These and shops that would not suit with arts and design-focused These residents live in an Chinatown, the Bowery, and Little LES waterfront continues to beautiful parks serve as physical the needs of existing residents. groups to create the Paths environment shaped by a legacy Italy. But this vibrant community, lag behind most of Manhattan reminders of the lack of services Feeling completely ignored by to Pier 42 (P2P42) project—a of displacement. Originally which is home to many in terms of public amenities. In throughout the LES. the EDC plan, a coalition of LES temporary park with art and occupied by the Lenape tribe, immigrants and lower-income Battery Park, a wealthy enclave community organizers, residents, design installations created by the seventeenth century, the households, has become a target across Manhattan to the west, Near Pier 42 on the LES—which and designers came up with a by commissioned artists, in LES was home to several farms, of real estate developers. The you’ll find beautiful flower also happens to be where the “People’s Plan” for the East River collaboration with community later subdivided to form the stressors of gentrification are so gardens, countless sculptures, largest percentage of public Waterfront. residents. The project was neighborhood’s major street strong that the National Trust for and an aquatic-themed carousel. housing abuts a waterfront in all developed to keep residents 16 BIOPHILIC CITIES JOURNAL | MARCH 2019 | 17 The brownfield site was flooded about local recovery needs. could be built, and the influx of large-scale efforts, including and became even less welcoming new, outside interests hoping to signage, shading, plant life, and than before. LES residents As federal, state, and private contribute to the future vision for reclaimed water sources. They suffered great hardship: In the funding flowed into Manhattan Manhattan’s waterfront put the included the Rest Stop project, high-rise public housing across after Sandy, many alternative community-driven plan at risk of designed and built by Interboro the street from the Pier, power redevelopment agendas for appropriation. Partners, which created custom was off for weeks after a flooded the area emerged. LES Ready! planter/benches from recycled substation exploded. Residents, community organizers worked The temporary park project lumber to temporarily hold many with limited mobility, in collaboration, and with spanned three years and included saplings that replaced those lost lived without air conditioning renewed momentum, to maintain a series of temporary, creative during Superstorm Sandy (figure or functional elevators. And the community’s vision of the installations. Year one focused 1). The trees were later replanted local small businesses, including waterfront. But the People’s on turning the patches of uneven at nearby public housing community grocers, also closed— Plan for the park still required concrete into a usable park. These properties. some never to return—resulting significant fundraising before it early installations tended to be in a long-term amenity loss, as well as profound short-term difficulty.

The P2P42 network responded Figure 3: Pier 42 Project Map Photo Credit: Kevan Klosterwill by using project events as a platform for local groups to grids. The area around Rutgers creation of the People’s Plan for share information and produce Farm and other areas adjacent to the East River waterfront became community-based art that the East River became the site of the foundation for the P2P42 helped residents to process their much waterfront and industrial project network (figure 4). emotions at each stage of the development, including piers, recovery process. The community slips, warehouses, and factories. After the People’s Plan organizing legacy of the LES This set the LES on a trajectory was released, the coalition provided a civic infrastructure of urban development that successfully advocated to transfer on which it could rely during continues today. control of Pier 42 to the NYC the Sandy recovery process. Parks Department, and the These social networks helped The LES has a strong civic project was awarded $14 million LES residents increase their infrastructure, with long-standing from the Lower Manhattan adaptive capacity to post-storm community organizations and Development Corporation to stressors, and the community tenant associations that take on jumpstart reconstruction. But, demonstrated a greater ability to new forms as new challenges as Hester Street Collaborative’s mobilize broadly and collectively emerge. These include the former design director Dylan around resilience needs in Settlement and the House explained: “$14 million Sandy’s aftermath. For instance, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent is just the tip of the iceberg in the neighborhood quickly formed Association, which have been terms of the overall budget of the Lower East Side Long Term present in the community since what a capital project for the Recovery Group (LES Ready!) after the late 1800s. This strong civic waterfront would be. It’s more Sandy, an open coalition meant infrastructure can be seen in the like a $90 million project. So how to “cooperatively coordinate P2P42 network, and also in the do we keep people involved, raise response, resources, preparedness People’s Plan that inspired P2P42. awareness about this site and planning and training in response build community ownership of it?” to Superstorm Sandy and in the A Temporary Park with Long-Term event of future disasters.” This Goals With these questions in mind, the group of organizations used P2P42 project was launched, but P2P42 as a venue to educate The relationships that drove the just weeks before Superstorm the neighborhood on available Figure 4: Paths to Pier 42 Network Map Sandy hit the New York region. services, as well as to gather data Photo Credit: Kevan Klosterwill 18 BIOPHILIC CITIES JOURNAL | MARCH 2019 | 19 As the temporary park made the Placemaking adaptive reuse of seemingly asking what the design should first three-year project, the city http://lesready.org. space more hospitable, there or Placekeeping? uninviting infrastructure, to the look like, I wish we’d asked, ‘What asked the Good Old Lower East were additional opportunities experimental closure of portions can we do for you?’ People have Side (GOLES), the community Litvak, Ed (Aug. 10, 2015). “Who Lives on the Lower East Side? This Data to engage the community in Placemaking, community- of Times Square’s vehicular bigger problems than design.” In organizing partner on the project Might Surprise You,” The Lo-Down: News artistic projects. One of the most engaged design, and tactical areas for pedestrian plazas. But Washington, D.C., the 11th Street team, to keep the programming from the Lower East Side. http://www. beloved projects was the People’s urbanism are all tools meant these examples are all driven Bridge Park Project has formed on the Pier alive while they thelodownny.com/leslog/2015/08/who- Poster Project, facilitated by to assert alternative visions for by top-down and often white, a community-engaged coalition continued to fund-raise and get lives-on-the-lower-east-side-this-data- Harlem-based artist Sonia Louise what an urban space could be. upper-income design-friendly in order to ensure they do not the remediation plans in order. might-surprise-you.html. Davis. The project gave residents These ideas, which share an conceptions of a place. Designers make the same mistakes. The The “rusty shed” was demolished Pratt Center for Community Develop- the opportunity to express emphasis on manifesting the of such spaces, among them 11th Street Bridge Park team first in fall of 2018, with Phase 1 ment (Dec. 2013). “Preserving Affordabil- themselves individually and unique spirit of the community, creative placemaking advocates, focused their fundraising efforts design installations coming first, ity & Authenticity—Recommendations collectively through a series of are increasingly popular across are eager to showcase how their on wealth generation and home and full completion of the park to the Chinatown Working Group.” black and white posters featuring the United States. New York lofty designs can strengthen ownership strategies to help scheduled for 2020. http://www.chinatownworkinggroup. org/2014-01-01%20Pratt%20Re- portraits of residents with City has seen many efforts that grassroots efforts. residents resist displacement port%20to%20CWG.pdf. artifacts that held significance for reflect these trends, resulting in pressures as the adaptive reuse them. More experimental art, like an urban environment where a But few placemaking creatives of this bridge attracts speculative Resources: The Bowery Boogie (Oct. 4th, 2018). the Inked Garden—where plants variety of both sanctioned and understand how urban development capital. “The Rusty Shed at Pier 42 is Now were brought in and dipped in informal interventions often meld revitalization projects that Abrams, Karen (2017). “Hijinks in Har- Gone.” https://www.boweryboogie. com/2018/10/the-rusty-shed-at-pier- Chinese ink to show the flora’s in the constant remaking of the alter the civic urban fabric of At P2P42, this tension was lem: The Whiteness of ‘Place’.” The Avery Review. 24: 1-7. http://www.averyreview. 42-is-now-gone. resilience as it grew new green cityscape. lower income communities resolved through a myriad sprouts—were not always popular can be paired with anti- com/content/3-issues/24-24/1-hijinks- of different approaches to in-harlem/abrams-hijinks-in-harlem.pdf. Wright, Andrew (June 18, 2018). “Can the with residents, but they provoked Placemaking is not new to displacement strategies that the work. First, a community- 11th Street Bridge Park Slow Gentrifi- rich conversations (figure 5). New York City. Under Mayor allow people to stay through driven decision-making body Bishop, Claire (2012). Artificial Hells: cation in DC?” ASLA The Dirt. https:// dirt.asla.org/2018/06/18/can-the-11th- Residents engaged with the art in Bloomberg, the City of New York positive neighborhood change. chose every project and linked Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. New York: Verso street-bridge-park-slow-gentrification. a variety of ways, depending on hosted a variety of projects that For instance, founder each artist with appropriate the piece’s medium and approach, pushed placemaking in new Robert Hammond regrets his Books. https://www.versobooks.com/ community partners. Second, the books/958-artificial-hells. (For more but all the art was filtered directions that redefined public myopic focus on improving This exerpt is adapted from built worlds are all ephemeral on the conceptual frame for social Chapter 4 in Wilson’s recent book, through a robust community space, using methods also known urban infrastructure without practice art, which centers engagement in nature, so there are no Resilience for All: Striving for discourse during P2P42 public as tactical urbanism. Projects considering how it might harm permanent changes that would and relationships between artist and community). Equity through Community- events. ranged from the High Line, a their neighbors: “Instead of exacerbate market pressures. prominent example of Driven Design Third, these temporary projects Bliss, Laura (Feb. 7, 2017). “The (Island Press, 2018) served to intentionally hold High Line’s Next Balancing Act.” space for the People’s Plan to CityLab. https://www.citylab.com/ gain the financial momentum solutions/2017/02/the-high-lines- next-balancing-act-fair-and-affordable- it needs for implementation. development/515391. Fourth, the focus on community- led events to build social capital Hester Street. “Paths to Pier 42.” https:// provided a social and physical hesterstreet.org/projects/paths-pier-42. space for LES Ready! to convene Koh, Annette (April 3, 2017). “Placemak- as it sought to connect residents ing when Black Lives Matter.” Progres- with recovery assistance and sive City. http://www.progressivecity. to process trauma just after net/single-post/2017/04/03/PLACE- Superstorm Sandy. MAKING-WHEN-BLACK-LIVES-MATTER.

Krucoff, Rebecca (2012). “The Lower Through community-engaged East Side.” New York Public Library. artistic and design practices, https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/ P2P42 re-connected residents lowereastsideguide-final.pdf. with their waterfront, with each Figure 5: Inked Garden, by Jennifer Wen Ma other, and with a future vision for LES Ready! Long Term Recovery Group Photo Credit: Hester Street Collaborative of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. a People’s Waterfront. After the

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