STUDIO 2_PARSONS

EAST RIVER WATERFRONT

ELENA VENETI ID STUDIO 2 PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN

| LOCATION |

| HISTORY | The East River waterfront has developed over the past 350 years as a central place in the city’s maritime history. The city began here, and as it grew and developed, the island expanded into the river. As population expanded, the city promoted the infill of waterfront lots to serve the growing demand for land in Lower Manhattan. As a result, the current shoreline is more than three city blocks from the original shore. The present location of Pearl Street is in fact the original East River shoreline of Lower Manhattan. As the city’s position as the premier port for trade on the east coast grew, so did the need for new piers to service the vessels coming and going out of the port.

At its peak in the 1950’s there were over 40 piers along this two-mile stretch of waterfront; today there are fewer than 10 remaining.

With the decline in maritime activity over the past 40 years, various master plans have been developed for this waterfront. The Water Street Access Plan in the 1970’s envisioned Water Street as a commercial spine for modern office buildings and the expansion of the financial core. In the 1980’s, the plan for East River Landing, inspired by Battery Park City, proposed new office development on the waterfront south of Fulton Street. In the 1990’s, a new outpost for the Guggenheim Museum was proposed on the waterfront at the present location of piers 13 and 14 at the foot of Wall Street. Aside from some components of the Water Street Access Plan, none of these waterfront schemes have been realized to date.

| AREA |

| YEAR 1995 : THE CITY PLANS TO...| •CONNECT THE ISLANDS AROUND MANHATTAN •EXPANDED FERRY OPERATIONS •RECREATIONAL BOATING PROGRAMS •PROTECTION OF CRITICAL MARINE HABITATS AND PROTECT AGAINST POTENTIAL FLOODING •CONTINUE OPERATION OF THE FULTON FISH MARKET AT ITS PRESENT LOCATION •ACTIVE SHIPPING YARD AND LATER BECAME HOME TO MANY OF THE CITY’S POOREST IMMIGRANTS

East River Park, part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, is 57.5-acre (20 ha) public park located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The park stretches along the East River from Montgomery Street up to 12th Street on the east side of the FDR Drive. The southern entrance boasts good views of the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge.

WATER ACTIVITIES

23

SWIMMING

BEFORE

PUBLIC BATHS AROUND MANHATTAN

2013 SWIM RACING AND SAILING

NOW

http://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/pools

23

FISHING

“But the fish may not be as safe as local fishermen would like to think, due to residual pollutants from rampant industrial dumping in the 1970s. Signs along the river caution children under the age of 15 and pregnant women from consuming anything caught there.”

BEFORE

NOW

“Anglers should be mindful of the general statewide advisory that recommends eating no more than one meal of fish per week from the state’s freshwaters,” said Lori Sevino, a press officer for New York’s Department for Environmental Conservation, in an e-mail. “on the East River Esplanade, the focus was on the fun of fishing rather than health concerns”

http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com

3

MARITIME

“ACTIVE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES ALONG EAST RIVER MOVE TO SOUTH TO DEEPER WATERS” http://www.eastriverblueway.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/pdfs/East%20River%20Blueway_HistoricalContext_download.pdf

BEFORE

NOW

EAST RIVER PORT

BROOKLYN

VIEW

SHIPPING

UN

BIODIVERSITY

WATER

ENVIRONMENT

DISEASES

MAFIA THEN PUBLIC BATHS

FULTON FISH MARKET

EDUCATION

NOW RACING

SWIMMING

FISHING

POLLUTION

PREGNATS AND CHILDREN UNDER 15 YEARS OLD ARE NOT ALLOWED TO EAT THESE FISH

BIODIVERSITY

ENVIRONMENT

EDUCATION

MARITIME

EAST RIVER WATERFRONT

HARBORS

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK GOVERNONR’S ISLAND

JOBS

SHIPPING