CIVITAS Reimagine The Waterfront: Design-Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade and Upcoming Events in the Community

Reimagine the East River Waterfront: Design-Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade

CIVITAS is pleased to announce the Reimagining the Waterfront Design-Ideas Competition for the East River Esplanade, East 60th to East 125th Street. We are launching the competition this month to create a vision for the future of this potentially world-class park. We are calling architects, landscape architects, urban planners and professional designers to develop dramatic and original concepts for the waterfront between 60th and 125th Streets. Our goal is to jump-start a process that aspires to the transformation of the entire East River Esplanade experience. Stay tuned to the CIVITAS website and watch your email for announcements of upcoming public events for Reimagining the Waterfront Design-Ideas Competition.

Submissions from professional designers will be judged by the competition jury, including:

Al Butzel, Principal, Albert K. Butzel Law Offices

Warren James, Principal, Warren A. James Architects + Planners

Hon. William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation

Signe Nielsen, FASLA Principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects

Rob Rogers, FAIA, Partner, Rogers Marvel Architects

Jack Travis, FAIA, Principal, Jack Travis Architects

Billie Tsien, AIA, Principal, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

Adam Yarinsky, FAIA LEED AP, Principal & Co-Founder, Architecture Research Office (ARO)

Visit the competition website www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com for information about the competition including guidelines, prizes, and helpful resources. Registration will begin on September 15. Competition winners will be announced winter 2012.

PROUDLY ORGANIZED BY CIVITAS

WITH:

U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin

NYC Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito

CO-SPONSORED BY:

U.S. Congressman Charles B. Rangel

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer

NYS Senator Liz Krueger

NYS Senator Jose M. Serrano

NYS Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner

NYS Assemblyman Robert J. Rodriguez

NYC Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick

The competition is made possible through a grant from NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin and the generous support of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

In the News

East River Esplanade

Check out the August 11 issue of Our Town which profiles work that is underway to improve the crumbling infrastructure along many sections of the East River Esplanade in the article "Esplanade Emergency".

You can also read about the Esplanade in CIVITAS' Spring 2011 newsletter, "East River Esplanade: A Gaping Hole in NYC's Waterfront".

Upcoming CIVITAS Events

Discussion and Drinks Meetup at The Lexington Social

Join CIVITAS members for a casual get-together at The Lexington Social.

Come introduce yourself and tell us what urban planning and quality of life issues interest you.

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

6:30 – 8:00 pm

Lexington Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets

RSVP by email: info@civitasnyc.org or phone: 212.996.0745 or through our Meetup Group: http://www.meetup.com/CIVITAS/.

Join the Meetup to find out about upcoming events.

2011 openhousenewyork Walking Tour

For the second year, CIVITAS will participate in openhousenewyork weekend with a walking tour Shaping Urban Design & Policy: The East 96th Street Corridor. The tour will focus on the way zoning and land use policy shape the physical landscape of New York, and how city policies and neighborhood advocacy have affected the built environment of the Upper East Side and East Harlem.

The event will take place on October 15, 2011. Stay tuned for more details and registration instructions.

Upcoming Community Events

Department of Transportation Community Presentation on First and Second Avenue Bike Lanes

Presentation to Community Board 8

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

6:30 pm

NY Blood Center, 310 East 67th St (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Visit the CB8 website for the most up to date details.

Community Forum On Parks & Waterfront Access On The East Side

Hosted By:

NYS Senator Liz Krueger

NYS Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh

NYC Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick

And Community Boards 6 and 8

Thursday, September 8

4:00-7:00 pm

Sutton Place Synagogue

225 East 51st Street (between Second and Third Aves.)

Please visit www.eastsideopenspace.com for more information.

Recycling Events

Third Avenue Street Fair/Recycle- O-Rama

Saturday, September 10

Visit the first "Green Block" - Third Avenue between 83rd-84th Streets - to recycle electronics,

paper items for shredding, textiles, and more. For a full list, visit: http://thisweekatthemarket.wordpress.com/

Electronics Recycling

Tuesday, September 20

11 am to 7 pm

Church of the Heavenly Rest

Rally To Save Ruppert Playground

Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011 at 2:00p.m.

Between 92nd & 93rd Sts and Second & Third Avenues

East River Esplanade: A Gaping Hole in NYC's Waterfront

By Sharon E. Pope

Prepared for the CIVITAS Spring 2011 Newsletter

Photo by Anton Brookes, www.mockturtlemoon.com

New York City’s waterfront is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, heightened by new public and private investment and interest to enhance, repair and improve its vast waterfront. The NYC Department of City Planning has recently released its Comprehensive Waterfront Plan and several waterfront advocacy groups and water-dependent businesses have undertaken renewed efforts to bring attention to the city’s waterfront. With over 500 miles of shoreline, these initiatives comprise a massive effort to redesign the waterfront to accommodate a wide range of recreational and commercial activities; to reconnect it with adjoining upland areas; and to provide direct access to New York’s “Sixth Borough” (i.e., the waters of our bays, inlets, rivers and ocean).

The East River Esplanade on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem stretches from 60th to 125th Street. For these communities it is the portal to the river and their “living room” on the water, providing serene and stunning views of the East River, Roosevelt Island and the Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) and Hell Gate Bridges. Residents visit the Esplanade to pause and reflect as well as to fish. It also serves as a significant recreational resource used by strollers, joggers, and bicyclists.New York City’s waterfront is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, heightened by new public and private investment and interest to enhance, repair and improve its vast waterfront. The NYC Department of City Planning has recently released its Comprehensive Waterfront Plan and several waterfront advocacy groups and water-dependent businesses have undertaken renewed efforts to bring attention to the city’s waterfront. With over 500 miles of shoreline, these initiatives comprise a massive effort to redesign the waterfront to accommodate a wide range of recreational and commercial activities; to reconnect it with adjoining upland areas; and to provide direct access to New York’s “Sixth Borough” (i.e., the waters of our bays, inlets, rivers and ocean).

The East River Esplanade on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem stretches from 60th to 125th Street. For these communities it is the portal to the river and their “living room” on the water, providing serene and stunning views of the East River, Roosevelt Island and the Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) and Hell Gate Bridges. Residents visit the Esplanade to pause and reflect as well as to fish. It also serves as a significant recreational resource used by strollers, joggers, and bicyclists.

CIVITAS has had a long history of advocacy for an improved East River Esplanade. In February and March 2011, members of CIVITAS walked the length of the Esplanade to assess and document its existing condition; to identify areas of infrastructure distress; to note areas of limited or impeded access; and to highlight related critical needs.

They documented a shockingly deteriorated Esplanade that included breaches of the bulkhead, crumbling infrastructure, unsupported rails and sidewalk sink holes, buckling or bulging sidewalks, and piers and platforms in need of such dire repair as to necessitate fencing to protect the public.

The worst sections were found north of East 110th Street. To rescue the East River Esplanade much has to be done. As a start:

• Document, evaluate and repair the Esplanade’s pedestrian walkways.
• Repair sinkholes at 110th and 111th Streets, 114th and 115th, and at 124th Street. These are not the only sinkholes; however, they are the ones that could impact public safety. They require immediate repair.
• Increase signage at pedestrian entrances. Many entrances do not have any signage indicating access to the Esplanade.
• Enhance the 60th and 96th Street Esplanade entrances. These entrances serve as major access points and should be welcoming, safe and easily accessible.
• Install noise attenuation barriers to reduce automobile traffic sounds and exhaust pollution.
• Add sufficient quantity and variety of seating along barren stretches of the Esplanade.
• Replace trees in existing empty tree pits.

Despite its degraded condition, the Esplanade is still actively used by the public. Accordingly, its rescue and restoration are of critical importance. To restore the Esplanade will require the combined resources and efforts of Community Boards 8 and 11, community-based organizations, local businesses, adjoining institutions and elected officials. Funding will have to come from city, state and federal agencies, and possibly from the private sector. Only then will the Esplanade be able to fulfill its promise of park space for the communities of the Upper East Side and East Harlem, as well as a destination for visitors and tourists.

Since its founding as a Dutch trading post, New York City’s shoreline contributed substantially to the growth of the city with significant maritime trade. Although New York remains a premier port city, its traditional shoreline uses have been declining due, in part, to changes in shipping operations and an overall decline in the city’s manufacturing and industrial base. With waning traditional waterfront use (abandoned piers) its infrastructure fell into disrepair and subsequent physical decay. In 1992, the Manhattan Borough President unveiled a grand vision for Manhattan’s waterfront: a near continuous, publicly accessible esplanade around the entire island. It is this grand vision that many have today for Manhattan’s shoreline.

The East River Esplanade as a public open space has the promise of a vibrant gathering point for residents and visitors alike. With the renewed focus on the city’s waterfront and its adjoining “Sixth Borough,” we have an opportunity now to ensure that this promise is fulfilled.

CIVITAS in the News & Discount for Lecture at the Museum of the City of NY

CIVITAS in the News

Read about CIVITAS' efforts to improve newsrack box enforcement throughout New York City in the following July 2011 media coverage:

The 1,200 Learning Annex boxes that have been empty—and in violation—for much of summer 2011:
“Group Blasts Learning Annex Boxes as a Sidewalk Blight” - DNAinfo

Columnist Ralph Gardner's humorous take on the campaign:
“Much Ado About boxes” - Wall Street Journal and CIVITAS’ Letter to the Editor of the Wall Street Journal

And efforts on the Upper West Side to improve neighborhood streetscapes:
"Upper West Siders Fight to Rid Streets of Dirty Newspaper Boxes" National Public Radio WFUV

“Upper West Siders Join Battle Against Grimy Newspaper Boxes” - DNAinfo

Please sign and circulate our online petition urging NYC Council Transportation Committee chair James Vacca to schedule an oversight hearing to address the current legislation and improve regulations for newsrack placement and maintenance: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks/

Learn more at www.civitasnyc.org/newsrack-enforcement

CIVITAS Initiatives in the News

Air Quality
Read about the co-op 910 Park Avenue's decision to convert their No. 6 heating boiler to a dual burner that uses cleaner burning No. 2 heating oil or natural gas in the July 22, 2011 New York Times article: "Going Green in New York: One Co-op’s Story"

In April 2011, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection passed a rule that will require many buildings that burn air pollutant No. 6 heating oil to convert to a less polluting heating oil by 2015. Learn more about the legislation updates at http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?ContentID=11722 and about CIVITAS' advocacy towards cleaner air on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem at http://civitasnyc.org/heatingoil/

East River Esplanade
The New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger writes about the newly opened Esplanade park near Wall Street in his piece "On the East River Waterfront Esplanade" from July 22, 2011.

CIVITAS applauds this positive step towards an improved waterfront park and looks forward to similar public space enhancements along Upper East Side and East Harlem section of the East River Esplanade. Stay tuned for exciting news about CIVITAS' upcoming design-ideas competition to reimagine the waterfront.

Upcoming Community Events

Friends of CIVITAS are invited to this upcoming Museum of the City of New York lecture. Mention "CIVITAS" when ordering your ticket and receive a discount.

Whose Park Is It? Financing and Administering New York's New Parks
Tuesday, August 9 at 6:30 PM
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue

In the past 20 years New York City has added over 20,000 acres of parkland to its acclaimed public park system. Recent additions, such as the Hudson River Park, the Highline, and Brooklyn Bridge Park represent a new generation of park design as well as financing and administration. In an era of budget cuts and declining revenues, how is the city paying for its new parks? How does new park administration differ from the past? What role does private funding play in the administration of the city's parks? What makes a successful park in today's New York? Parks commissioner Adrian Benepe; Alexander Garvin, professor of urban planning, Yale University; and Catherine Nagel, Executive Director of the City Parks Alliance, discuss the past, present, and future of New York's public parks.

Presented as part of the ongoing Urban Forum series New York Infrastructure. Co-sponsored by the Central Park Conservancy, the City Parks Foundation, CIVITAS, Friends of the Hudson River Park, Friends of the Upper East Side, Hudson River Park and the Prospect Park Alliance.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
To receive the Museum Member rate of $6, enter CVTS0809 when purchasing tickets on-line https://boxoffice.mcny.org/public/default.asp (https://boxoffice.mcny.org/public/default.asp) or mention CIVITAS when ordering by phone at 917-492-3395. *A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

Sharing the Road on Manhattan’s East Side

By Elizabeth Manus

Prepared for the CIVITAS Spring 2011 Newsletter

Protected bike lanes on Columbus Avenue

Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told an audience of design-minded people in midtown Manhattan that now is the time “to build more choices” into “underperforming” streets that were engineered for car travel. Thus, she stated, bicycle lanes represent an important part of DOT’s overall strategy. Indeed, over the past four years approximately 250 miles of bike lanes have been introduced into the 6,000 miles of city streets.

The implementation of Select Bus Service (SBS) along First and Second Avenues has afforded DOT an opportunity to redesign a part of Manhattan’s East Side streetscape to provide a place for bicycle travel. Accordingly, DOT planners are in the process of considering various bike lane designs along these corridors.

Essentially, there are four types of bike lanes DOT can choose from. Along a physically protected bike lane, cyclists travel a green strip running between the sidewalk on one side and a white painted area, flanked most often by a parked-car lane, on the other. In a buffered lane, cyclists have the parking lane on one side and a parallel dashed-line painted buffer on the other; the barrier is visual, not physical. The conventional bike lane, designated by pavement striping, is the most common type of lane. Finally, the shared lane is a route cyclists share with motor vehicles. All bikeways feature the symbol of a helmeted rider perched on a bicycle, and a shared lane is marked additionally by chevrons.

Currently, on the First and Second Avenue SBS routes cyclists enjoy access to protected lanes below 34th Street, a situation which provides maximum protection. When protected lanes are laid, “injury crashes for all road users (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists), typically drop by 40 percent and by more than 50 percent in some locations,” according to a March 21, 2011 memo by Howard Wolfson, Deputy Mayor for Government Affairs and Communications. For this reason, bike advocacy groups are urging that protected lanes be extended north to 59th Street and in East Harlem.

In considering which type of bike lane to make part of the roadway, DOT designers, planners and engineers will be analyzing everything from bicycle volume to parking needs, pedestrian crossing distances and store loading plans. Many cyclists stress that to travel on a physically unprotected lane, even under optimal pavement conditions, is to travel unsafely.

Find more about NYC bicycling routes and regulations for riding at:

www.bit.ly/NYCDOTbike

Street Tree Stewardship Workshop, May 26

Thanks to the Tree Enthusiasts who attended CIVITAS’ Street Tree Stewardship workshop at the Central Park Arsenal. We are thrilled that many attendees signed up to Adopt a Tree. Mission accomplished! We would like to thank our presenters, Morgan Monaco of MillionTreesNYC, Susan Gooberman of Trees New York and especially the Honorable Liam Kavanagh, First Deputy Commissioner, and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation for their hospitality.

We hope to see a continued growth of tree stewardship efforts citywide. Send your wish list for new tree plantings around your neighborhood, and find more information about CIVITAS Tree Stewardship initiatives on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem at www.civitasnyc.org/trees
If you would like to make a donation to CIVITAS to help fund future events, visit: www.civitasnyc.org/get-involved or let us know if you would like to become involved in CIVITAS’ tree stewardship efforts as a volunteer.

You can find more information about the topics and programs discussed last night at:

MillionTreesNYC

MillionTreesNYC Stewardship Corps
Adopt-a-Tree Program and Map

New Yorkers For Parks - Daffodil Project

Trees New York
*Upcoming Event*
East Side Street Tree Stewardship Event
Saturday, June 18, 2011
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Meet at the Southwest corner of 102nd Street and Lexington Avenue
RSVP 212-227-1887 or sam@treesny.org

To report dead or sick trees or request a new tree, contact 311...
By phone:
• Dial 311, request the Parks Department
• State the location - if possible, the street address
• Describe the state of the damaged tree
• Record a confirmation number to follow up
• Follow up on the status your request
Online:
www.bit.ly/ReportTrees

CIVITAS News & Events: May 13, 2011

CIVITAS Presents...

STREET TREE STEWARDSHIP WORKSHOP
Thursday, May 26, 2011
6-8pm
On the rooftop terrace of The Arsenal, Central Park (Fifth Avenue at 64th Street)
RSVP Required: info@civitasnyc.org or 212-996-0745

Presentation by Trees New York

Learn how to report and care for sick trees, maintain healthy trees, and other resources for tree advocacy. Attend this event to tell us where you would like to see new trees planted, and sign up to “Adopt a Tree”.

Special Thanks to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation


Community Events:

It’s My Park Day – East River Esplanade
Saturday, May 21
9am-4pm
Volunteers should enter at the East 60th Street Greenway entrance - gardens near dog run.
It’s My Park Day is an opportunity to improve parks throughout the city. Join Carl Schurz Park Conservancy, East River C.R.E.W., Inc., Upper Green Side, and Friends of the Esplanade in cleaning and painting the East River Esplanade. Volunteers are welcome to join for any length of time. For more information, visit: http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/05/21/its-my-park-day-at-east-river-esplanade


CIVITAS discount admission for Museum of the City of New York program:
How Hugh Carey Saved the City (Who Will Save New York?)
Wednesday, June 1 at 5:30 pm
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue
Reservations required: 917-492-3395 or e-mail programs@mcny.org
$25 for priority seating, $20 for non-members. $15 when you mention CIVITAS.

In 1975 New York City stood on the brink of bankruptcy. But insolvency never came, thanks to the leadership of Governor Hugh Carey. What steps did Carey take to solve the fiscal crisis? Given the perennial budget problems in Albany, are there parallels at the state level today? Does New York State need saving?

Sam Roberts of The New York Times moderates a discussion with Stephen Berger, former executive director of the Emergency Financial Control Board under Governor Carey; Ester R. Fuchs, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science, Columbia University; Peter Goldmark, former New York State Director of Budget under Carey; Richard Ravitch, former chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation; and Felix G. Rohatyn, former chairman of the Municipal Assistance Corporation of the State of New York, on the current budgetary woes of New York through the lens of the fiscal crisis of 1975.

Co-sponsored by the Citizens Budget Commission, the Fiscal Policy Institute, and the Drum Major Institute and presented as part of the ongoing Urban Forum series Power and Politics, New York Style.


Recycle-O-Rama
Sunday, June 26
9am–3pm
92nd Street Greenmarket (on First Avenue between 92nd-93rd)
Accepted recycling materials include:
Electronics (computer equipment and accessories, network devices, TV and audio-visual equipment, cell phones and telecommunication devices), paper and usual recycling. Appliances will not be accepted.
For more information, visit http://uppergreenside.org/blog/

CIVITAS News and Events: May 6, 2011

Street Tree Stewardship

On Thursday, May 26, CIVITAS presents a Street Tree Stewardship workshop. The event will take place at The Arsenal in Central Park (Fifth Avenue at 64th Street) at 6pm.
RSVP Required: info@civitasnyc.org <mailto:info@civitasnyc.org> or 212-996-0745.
Learn how to report and care for sick street trees, maintain healthy trees, and how to advocate for new trees on your block. Attend this event to tell us where you would like to see new trees planted, and sign up to “Adopt a Tree.”

CIVITAS has been responsible for planting street trees on East 86th Street, and other locations on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem. We have also reported more than one hundred dead or injured street trees and empty tree pits for urgent attention to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Find more information and event updates at: http://civitasnyc.org/live/trees/ <http://civitasnyc.org/live/trees/>


Newsrack Box Enforcement
Please take a minute to sign the electronic petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks/ <http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newsracks/> and spread the word by forwarding this link. CIVITAS has been working for several years to clean up the plastic and metal newsrack boxes cluttering the sidewalks in our neighborhood. We are pleased to report that as a result of CIVITAS and partnering efforts, the A1 News boxes, which were long neglected and did not contain newspapers for over two years, have been removed. More boxes that are broken, vandalized, or filled with garbage, still clutter NYC streets, and the current law does not require sufficient maintenance. You can learn more about the Newsrack Box Enforcement initiative and view recent press at http://civitasnyc.org/newsrack-enforcement/ <http://civitasnyc.org/newsrack-enforcement/>


Community Events:

It’s My Park Day – East River Esplanade
Saturday, May 21
9am-4pm
Volunteers should enter at the East 60th Street Greenway entrance - gardens near dog run.
It’s My Park Day is an opportunity to improve parks throughout the city. Join Carl Schurz Park Conservancy, East River C.R.E.W., Inc., Upper Green Side, and Friends of the Esplanade in cleaning and painting the East River Esplanade. Volunteers are welcome to join for any length of time. For more information, visit: http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/05/21/its-my-park-day-at-east-river-esplanade <http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2011/05/21/its-my-park-day-at-east-river-esplanade>


Recycle-O-Rama
Sunday, June 26
9am–3pm
92nd Street Greenmarket (on First Avenue between 92nd-93rd)
Accepted recycling materials include:
Electronics (computer equipment and accessories, network devices, TV and audio-visual equipment, cell phones and telecommunication devices), paper and usual recycling. Appliances will not be accepted.
For more information, visit http://uppergreenside.org/blog/ <http://uppergreenside.org/blog/>