Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance ANNUAL REPORT 2013-2014 217 Water Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10038 212-935-9831 waterfrontalliance.org CONTENTS The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance works to protect, transform, and revitalize our harbor and waterfront. A Message from the Chairman and the President MWA PROGRAMS & EVENTS Legions take to the streets of Manhattan Our programs and events have a vast audi- • Open Waters Initiative to deliver a clarion call that our planet is ence. Harbor Camp has opened the eyes Community Eco Docks and DockNYC 4 changing at an alarming pace. Those of of more than 12,000 young people to the Ferry Transit Program 6 us who live, work, and play where the majesty and opportunity of the waterways. water meets the land see these changes City of Water Day festivities expand each • Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines 8 clearly, and are faced with the challenge summer, reaching more than 25,000 annu- of making our coastal city a place that ally, and the Waterfront Conference contin- can better manage the risk of the rising ues to grow in influence and attendance. • City of Water Day 10 tide and at the same time allow people to use and enjoy our magnificent harbor. Each of these efforts is incremental, but • Harbor Camp 12 collectively they are a revolution. And a We at the Metropolitan Waterfront revolution is what we need; indeed, we • Waterfront Conference 14 Alliance are committed to meeting this demand it! There is no quick, single solu- dual task of resilience and engagement tion to the complicated challenge of living with innovative programs. The newly in a coastal city. An inspirational march is 2014 HEROES OF THE HARBOR 16 released Waterfront Edge Design one step in a much larger journey. The Guidelines (WEDG) will provide clear marathon that MWA has undertaken is direction for the stakeholders who control harbor-wide in scope and generational in FINANCIAL SUMMARY 18 our waterfront to create resilient, ecologi- span. It is audacious. If we succeed–and cally beneficial, and accessible shore- we will succeed–we will change the way CONTRIBUTORS 20 lines, whether a park, marina, industrial our region looks and functions in the face facility, or residential development. of the rising sea. We will do it waterfront plan by waterfront plan, dock by dock, BOARD OF TRUSTEES 23 With smart, effective ferry and dock advo- ferry route by ferry route, and, most cacy, our Open Waters Initiative contin- important, child by child. Photo credits: Cover: A. Simko. Page 2: A. Simko. Page 3, A. Simko, R. Simko. Page 5: Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, ues to create access for neighborhoods Jennifer Colon, Teri Brennan. Page 6: Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. Page 9: Etienne Frossard. Page 10: R. Simko. Page 11: Bernard Ente, Ian Douglas, A. Simko. Page 12: Noelle Thurlow. Page 13: A. Simko. Page 15: Evan Simko-Bednarski. too long separated from the water. From Christopher O. Ward Page 16: R. Simko. Page 17: Courtesy Sims Metal Management, Jhoneen Preece-Doswell. the South Bronx to Sunset Park, commu- Chairman of the Board of Trustees nities are now asking for the environmen- tal, economic, and transportation bene- Roland Lewis Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance fits that waterborne transit will bring. President and Chief Executive Officer 217 Water Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10038 212-935-9831 waterfrontalliance.org MWA PROGRAMS Open Waters Initiative COMMUNITY ECO DOCKS Despite hundreds of miles of coastline, New York and New Jersey remain largely unwelcoming to many types of vessels, offering too few opportunities for communities to enjoy and use the waterways for recreation and education. This can and will be fixed. Community Eco Docks are tools for environmental science and biology classes changing that equation, by opening up for aquatic habitat research, water quality the region’s waterfront to historic ships, testing, and tidal monitoring. kayaks, canoes, and other boats, and serving as outdoor classrooms for hands- This year, MWA also worked with NY State on environmental science lessons. Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and Alliance Partners Long In October 2013, MWA worked with NYC Island City Community Boathouse and Parks to open the first full-scale HarborLAB, to open the docks in Gantry Community Eco Dock in Bay Ridge, Plaza State Park in Long Island City, Brooklyn, a neighborhood long cut off from Queens, for free on-water programming. the waterways despite its broad expanse of waterfront. Since then, through the gen- DOCKNYC erous support of New York City Council DockNYC, a partnership between the NYC Member Vincent Gentile, MWA has organ- Economic Development Corporation, ized free public programming, including Billybey Marina Services, and MWA, is a visits by Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, project to improve public access to the Pioneer and Lettie G. Howard from the waterways by activating six berthing sites South Street Seaport Museum, historic across the city. Vessels invited to call at fireboat John J. Harvey, tug Pegasus, these sites include charters and dinner schooner A.J. Meerwald, yacht Ventura, cruises, ferry service, and historic and cul- and American Princess. tural ships. MWA has held public meet- ings to connect the maritime community MWA is also working with Alliance with the neighborhoods served by the ABOVE: Lettie G. Howard kicks off the 2014 season at the Bay Ridge Eco Dock. LEFT: Brooklyn youths Partners, faculty at area schools, and edu- program, bringing together diverse groups get instructions from Clearwater’s crew to safely guide her back to Bay Ridge. RIGHT: Wade Moody of cators to program the Eco Dock for use by of stakeholders to share their ideas. John Dewey High School teaches a group of students at the Eco Dock about oysters. 4 5 MWA PROGRAMS AND EVENTS PROGRAMS Open Waters Initiative Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Annual Report 2013-2014 FERRY TRANSIT PROGRAM MWA is the leading voice for an affordable, extensive, and ABOVE: MWA President Roland frequent region-wide commuter ferry system that is fully Lewis addresses a rally at City Hall to save the Rockaway integrated into the public transportation network. Ferry. RIGHT: MWA’s proposed Waterborne transit plays an increasingly inform the city's water mass transit policy. changes to improve connec- important role in moving commuters and MWA has also conducted research to tions to the East River Ferry in sightseers throughout New York and New identify potential policy reforms to Long Island City. Jersey, providing a critical backstop for improve connections between ferries and public transportation during systemwide upland destinations and services, issuing BELOW: Commuters boarding a ferry at Pier 11 in lower outages. One standout success story is a policy paper that proposes 15 actionable Manhattan. the city’s East River Ferry service, which, steps. Ship to Shore: Integrating after three years of exceeding ridership New York Harbor Ferries with Upland projections, was extended through 2019. Communities includes the following However, the regional ferry system recommendations: remains a hodge-podge of private and public operators, and our “blue high- • Extend bus routes to ferry landings ways” are still largely underused. MWA • Add ferry stops and routes to public addresses these issues through commu- transit maps nity organizing and policy advocacy to • Add MTA neighborhood maps and NYC- government leaders. DOT wayfinding signs at ferry terminals • Integrate MTA and ferry fares MWA has established Ferry Advisory • Allow MetroCards for ferry payment and Committees, local groups committed to free or discounted transfers between fer- ensuring that ferry service is responsive to ries and NYC Transit community needs, in the Bronx and in • Install MetroCard machines at ferry landings Brooklyn. The Bronx Ferry Alliance, dedi- • Synchronize ferry, bus, and rail schedules cated to bringing commuter ferry service • Improve bicycle and pedestrian access to the southeast Bronx, has held five pub- to ferry landings via bike route exten- lic meetings, sparking a grassroots move- sions, traffic calming, and streetscape ment and gathering valuable feedback to improvements 6 7 MWA PROGRAMS AND EVENTS Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Annual Report 2013-2014 PROGRAMS Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines “Brooklyn Bridge Park’s innovative design [below] has created an activated waterfront while also providing features for resiliency and ecological benefit, strategies very much aligned with the core Waterfront Edge Design values of MWA’s WEDG program,” said Regina Myer, President of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. Guidelines (WEDG) LEED® for the waterfront: Design for access, resiliency, and ecology at the water’s edge The waterfront is a place where improved tivized ratings system similar to the U.S. quality of life, access to the water, and Green Building Council’s LEED® program. even protection from the water is only WEDG will include guidelines for three made possible through innovative, types of development: residential/com- interdisciplinary waterfront design. In an mercial, industrial/maritime, and parks/ effort to catalyze longterm, sustainable, open space. The guidelines are organized and effective waterfront transformation, according to the following categories: MWA is developing the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines (WEDG) program to • Site Selection and Planning influence urban waterfront development • Public Access and Interaction in New York City and the surrounding • Edge Resiliency region and beyond. • Ecology and Habitat • Materials and Resources MWA assembled a multi-disciplinary task • Operations, Maintenance, and Monitoring force of regulators, consultants, civic • Innovation organizations, and Alliance Partners to help guide and implement WEDG. With MWA will begin Version 2.0 of WEDG support of all major regulators and input immediately following the release of from the task force, WEDG will be a tool Version 1.0, and outreach will continue. for real waterfront change, used by deci- Version 1.0 describes the “what” of “At the water's edge, we have taken an impermeable landscape and made it porous,” Ms.