Roosevelt Island: Yesterday and Tomorrow

"It is called Roosevelt Island. It is not yet a name on everyone's lips. But soon it will be."

Advertisement for Roosevelt Island in New York Post, Monday, December 23, 1974

Join CIVITAS in the first of a series of evening walking tours on Roosevelt Island led by urbanist Sharon Pope. Ride the iconic Roosevelt Island Tram across the East River for spectacular views of the river, Manhattan and Queens. The tour will explore the first residential buildings as envisioned by Mayor John Lindsay and architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, as well as Goldwater Hospital, site of the proposed Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute.

Event Details:

Tuesday, July 24 at 6:30 pm

Tour begins at Riverwalk Bar & Grill

425 Main Street, Roosevelt Island

Space is limited

RSVP by email at info@civitasnyc.org 

or phone at 212-996-0745

Suggestion Donation:

$10.00

Use Twitter? Follow @civitasnyc and find updates about the walk at #CIVITASnyc

Photo Credit: Konrad Fiedler/New York Sun

What Do You Want the Future of East Harlem to Look Like?

Join Community Board 11, CIVITAS, and land use consultants Insight Associates and George M. Janes & Associates to discuss

Land Use and Zoning in East Harlem

Learn how zoning can be used to create affordable housing, promote economic development, and control building sizes and heights. 

Area Considered:

Madison to Lexington Avenues and 115^th to 132^nd Streets

(excluding 125^th Street Corridor)

CIVITAS and Community Board 11’s Zoning Task Force have been working together to plan for the future of the neighborhood and take advantage of new zoning policies. CIVITAS and Community Board 11 have collaborated in the past, including the 2003 rezoning of 99th to 122nd Streets, Third to Pleasant Avenues that brought up-to-date zoning to East Harlem and was one of the first major rezonings of the Bloomberg Administration. 


The discussion will be led by Ethel Sheffer and George Janes, principals of their respective firms, and CB11 Zoning Task Force Chair, Lashawn Henry. 

Monday, July 9^th at 5:30 pm

The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College

Second Floor Auditorium

2180 Third Avenue (at 119^th Street)

RSVP to the Community Board 11 Office by calling 212-831-8929


To learn more about the changes the 2003 rezoning brought to East Harlem,  please watch the 2010 video of an East Harlem walking tour led by land use planner Richard Bass.



East Harlem Walking Tour from Civitas Citizen on Vimeo.

Special Admission Discount for Friends of CIVITAS at the Museum of the City of New York

Panel Discussion Featuring Competition Judges

East River Esplanade: Judging from the Waterfront
Tuesday, June 26 at 6:30 PM

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
Register here or call 917-492-3395*.  Use the Discount Code "CIVITAS626" to receive the $6 admission rate.

Reimagining the Waterfront is a CIVITAS-sponsored program to solicit design ideas for the East River Esplanade between East 60th and 125th Streets. The exhibition, curated by Andrea Renner, the Museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Post Doctoral Curatorial Fellow, features the eight winning proposals as well as historic images of the East River Esplanade and photographs of the site today.  Join members of the selection jury including Signe Nielsen, Principal at Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, lawyer and Upper East Sider Albert K. Butzel, veteran of the battle over Westway, Warren James, Principal at Warren A. James Architects + Planners, and Adam Yarinsky, Principal at Architecture Research Office (ARO) to hear about the winners they chose from 91 proposals.  Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade and in partnership with CIVITAS.
 
*A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

Family Programs

Reimagining the Waterfront
Friday, July 13 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
and Saturday, July 21 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

FREE. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

Register at www.boxoffice.mcny.org or call 917-492-3395

Learn about the East River waterfront in a family-friendly walking tour and exploration of the exhibition Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade. After discussing the relationship between the river, FDR Drive, and adjacent neighborhoods, participants will create their own proposals for the redesign of the waterfront.  Recommended for ages 7 to 12.

Gallery Tours with the Curator

Reimagining the Waterfront: Gallery Tour

Saturday, July 14 at 3:00 PM

and Tuesday, August 7 at 3:00 PM 

FREE WITH MUSEUM ADMISSION.  RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. 

Register at www.boxoffice.mcny.org or call 917-492-3395

Join exhibition curator Andrea Renner for a tour of the eight winning designs from CIVITAS's ideas competition for redesigning and revitalizing the East River Esplanade as it snakes its way from the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge at 60th Street to the RFK-Triborough Bridge at 125th Street. The tour will include an investigation of the visions for the future, as well as photographs of this often-underutilized waterfront site through history.  Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade. 

What do you think about the winning designs?

We want to hear from you!  Share your thoughts on the Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade competition designs, and your visions for a re-imagined East River Esplanade.  You can do this by filling in comment cards at the exhibit. Or by contacting us at info@civitasnyc.org or 212.996.0745. 

Reimagining the Waterfront Exhibition Now Open

Winning designs for Reimagining the Waterfront are on display at the Museum of the City of New York June 6 through October 28, 2012.

Competition winners from across the world attended the June 5 opening reception.  Architects and landscape architects traveled from as far as Spain, Canada and Puerto Rico to be recognized.
Read recent press about the competition and exhibition in NY Daily News.

Reimagining the Waterfront is a CIVITAS-sponsored program to solicit design ideas for the East River Esplanade between East 60th and 125th Streets.  The exhibition, curated by Andrea Renner, the Museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Post Doctoral Curatorial Fellow, features the eight winning proposals as well as historic images of the East River Esplanade and photographs of the site today.

The museum is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue (at 103rd Street) and "suggested admission" is $10.
Click here for details about the exhibit and visiting the Museum of the City of New York.

We hope you'll visit the exhibition and tell us what you think.  See below for details.

Upcoming Public Programs for Reimagining the Waterfront at the Museum of the City of New York

EAST RIVER ESPLANADE: JUDGING FROM THE WATERFRONT
Tuesday, June 26 at 6:30 PM

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.
Register at www.boxoffice.mcny.org or call 917-492-3395*. Use the Discount Code "CIVITAS626" to receive the $6 admission rate.

Reimagining the Waterfront is a CIVITAS-sponsored program to solicit design ideas for the East River Esplanade between East 60th and 125th Streets. The exhibition, curated by Andrea Renner, the Museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Post Doctoral Curatorial Fellow, features the eight winning proposals as well as historic images of the East River Esplanade and photographs of the site today. Join members of the selection jury including Signe Nielsen, Principal at Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, lawyer and Upper East Sider Albert K. Butzel, veteran of the battle over Westway, Warren James, Principal at Warren A. James Architects + Planners, and Adam Yarinksky, Principal at Architecture Research Office (ARO) to hear about the winners they chose from 91 proposals. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade and in partnership with CIVITAS.

*A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

REIMAGINING THE WATERFRONT: FAMILY PROGRAM

Friday, July 13 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

and Saturday, July 21 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM 

FREE. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.
Register at www.boxoffice.mcny.org or call 917-492-3395

Learn about the East River waterfront in a family-friendly walking tour and exploration of the exhibition Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade. After discussing the relationship between the river, FDR Drive, and adjacent neighborhoods, participants will create their own proposals for the redesign of the waterfront.  Recommended for ages 7 to 12.

REIMAGINING THE WATERFRONT: GALLERY TOUR

Saturday, July 14 at 3:00 PM

and Tuesday, August 7 at 3:00 PM

FREE WITH MUSEUM ADMISSION. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.

Register at www.boxoffice.mcny.org or call 917-492-3395

Join exhibition curator Andrea Renner for a tour of the eight winning designs from CIVITAS's ideas competition for redesigning and revitalizing the East River Esplanade as it snakes its way from the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge at 60th Street to the RFK-Triborough Bridge at 125th Street. The tour will include an investigation of the visions for the future, as well as photographs of this often-underutilized waterfront site through history.  Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Reimagining the Waterfront.  FREE with Museum admission. 

What do you think about the winning designs?

We want to hear from you!  Share your thoughts on the competition designs, and your visions for a re-imagined East River Esplanade.  You can do this by filling in comment cards at the exhibit. Or by contacting us at info@civitasnyc.org or 212.996.0745. 

Reimagining the Waterfront at the Museum of the City of New York

Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan's East River Esplanade

In 2011, CIVITAS launched Reimagining the Waterfront, an ideas competition to generate dramatic and original concepts for the East River Esplanade between East 60th to 125th Streets. A major success, the international competition received over 90 submissions from designers representing 25 countries. The competition and this exhibition are intended to jumpstart the transformation of the East River waterfront.

About the Exhibition:

The exhibition, curated by Andrea Renner, the Museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Post Doctoral Curatorial Fellow, will feature the eight winning proposals as well as historic images of the East River Esplanade and photographs of the site today.  It will be on view between June 5 and September 2012.

The competition is sponsored by CIVITAS with U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn  Maloney, NYC Council Members Jessica Lappin and Melissa Mark-Viverito and Co-Sponsors U.S. Congressman Charles. B. Rangel, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, New York State Senator Liz Krueger, New York State Senator Jose M. Serrano, New York State Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner, New York State Assembly Member Robert J. Rodriguez, and New York City Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick.

The competition and exhibition were made possible through grants to CIVITAS from NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Council Members Jessica Lappin and Melissa Mark-Viverito, the William and Mary Greve Foundation and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

The Museum of the City of New York is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. Updates on the competition are available at: www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com. 

East River Esplanade Tree Stewardship

If you are having trouble viewing the image, click here 

Learn about tree stewardship and advocacy while mulching, weeding and cleaning up tree bed soil along the East River waterfront. 

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

From 6-7:30 pm

East River Esplanade, 107th Street Pier

(Enter the Esplanade at 111th Street and walk south)

Space is limited. RSVP by contacting info@civitasnyc.org or (212) 996-0745.

Presented in partnership with Trees New York

To learn more about CIVITAS's Tree Stewardship Initiative, visit www.civitasnyc.org/trees

And the Competition Winners Are...

Congratulations to the Reimagining the Waterfront Competition Winners!

The international competition received over 90 entries representing 25 countries:

Prize Winners: 
First - Joseph Wood, New Jersey, USA
Second – Takuma Ono and Darina Zlateva, New York City, USA
Third – Matteo Rossetti, Italy

Honorable Mentions:
Gerard Cadger, Canada
David Elzer, Virginia, USA
Nestor Lebron Gonzalez, Puerto Rico
Jorge Manuel Lopez Lopez, Spain
Vincenzo Marcella, Italy

Read about the winning designs in the April 18 edition of The Architect's Newspaper:  "Up the River"

Mark your Calendar...

Winning designs for Reimagining the Waterfront will be exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York June through September, 2012.  The museum is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue (at 103rd Street).

Reimagining the Waterfront is a CIVITAS-sponsored initiative to solicit design ideas for the East River Esplanade between East 60th and 125th Streets.  In many locations along of its 65-block length, the Esplanade is a subpar park in a world-class location.   A major success, the international competition received over 90 submissions from designers representing 25 countries.  Stay tuned for details about the exhibition and upcoming public programming.  Information about sponsors and updates are on www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com.  

Other Community Events

Saturday, April 28, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Recycle-O-Rama

St. Catherine’s Park, First Avenue (between 67th and 68th Streets)

Upper Green Side and Council Member Jessica Lappin are organizing a recycling day.  

Accepted items include:  

• Electronics: Computers (laptops & desktops, servers, mainframes), monitors, printers, scanners, fax-machines, copiers, network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.), peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.), components (hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, power supplies, etc.), TVs, VCRs, & DVD Players, video-games and audio visual equipment, cell phones, pagers, PDAs, telecommunication (phones, answering machines, etc.)

• Paper: Please remove paper clips and spiral bindings, paperback books

• Clothes:  Including hats, belts, fabric of all kinds and shoes in any condition, eye glasses

For more information visit http://thisweekatthemarket.wordpress.com/

Saturday, May 5th, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Bike Share Open House: Grand Central Library

135 East 46th Street (between Lexington & Third Avenues) 

Visit NYC Department of Transportation staff to check out the bike share bikes at the Grand Central Library. Come see the bike share bikes in person, ask questions and pick up free bicycle giveaways. In cooperation with Grand Central Library.  Bike share is coming to NYC in July 2012.  Click here to learn more. 

Saturday, May 5, 2:30 – 4:00 PM

An Accessible Waterfront for East Harlem:  Jane Jacobs Walk – Harlem River Park, Manhattan

Starts at the M1 bus stop at the Northeast corner of East 135th Street and Fifth Avenue

RSVP required

In honor of international Jane Jacobs Walk Weekend, Transportation Alternatives, Friends of Harlem River Walk and Greenway, and Harlem River Park Task Force are hosting "An Accessible Waterfront for East Harlem".  

Riverfront scenery, greenery and beautiful murals make Harlem River Park a wonderful place to walk, bike and play, and a crucial link in the greenway on Manhattan’s East Side. Take in the park’s innovative, environmentally-friendly edge, the decorative pavings that line the esplanade and the pedestrian crossing improvements that make safe access to the riverfront possible. And hear about how the community-based vision for this unique park became a reality. Click here for more information

Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19

2012 Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Waterfront Conference

http://waterfrontalliance.org/conference2012

Join the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA) in 2012 to galvanize support for the New York-New Jersey Harbor Coalition and to explore the economic benefits of harbor revitalization. The conference will feature regional harbor champions, waterfront leaders, advocates, and policy experts from the region and nationwide.  For more information please contact Cortney Worrall at cworrall@waterfrontalliance.org.

Save the date:  Saturday, May 19

It's My Park Day

Location and event details to follow