PANEL UPDATE: December 4 and EXHIBITION OPENING: December 10

Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning Panel Discussion

Wednesday, December 4, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members. Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-Peter Gluck - Principal, GLUCK+
-Matthew Washington - Chair, Community Board 11 and Advisory Member of CIVITAS
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE

For tickets, call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

SAVE THE DATE: Esplanade Exhibition Opening at City Swiggers on December 10th

Join CIVITAS for a opening reception celebrating the new Reimagining the Waterfront exhibition location at City Swiggers.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013
City Swiggers
320 East 86th Street
(between First and Second Avenues)
In the evening, exact time TBD

Reimagining the Waterfront is a CIVITAS-sponsored initiative to improve the East River Esplanade between East 63rd and 125th Streets. The exhibition features the eight winning proposals from the 2012 design-ideas competition, as well as historic images of the East River Esplanade and photographs of the site today.

Reimagining the Waterfront: Manhattan’s East River Esplanade was organized by the Museum of the City of New York. It was curated by Andrea Renner, the Museum’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, and was on view at the Museum from June 6 through October 28, 2012.

For more information on the project, please visit:www.reimaginethewaterfront-civitas.com or call CIVITAS at (212) 996-0745.

RSVP Now: Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning

New Panelist: CIVITAS Advisory Committee Member Matthew Washington

Wednesday, December 4
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members. Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-Matthew Washington - Chair, Community Board 11, Advisory Member of CIVITAS
-Peggy Shepard - Co-founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

RSVP Now: Upcoming Lectures Sponsored by CIVITAS

Guide To NYC Urban Landscapes: A Book Talk

The Arsenal, Third Floor Gallery 
830 Fifth Avenue, 
In Central Park at 64th Street

$15 for CIVITAS members, $20 non-members. Find out how to become a member. Tickets may be purchased here.

Join us for an illustrated lecture on places and landscape design, from 19th century cemeteries to the Upper East Side's Conservatory Garden, with stops in-between.

New York City is easily recognized worldwide by its skyscrapers and densely-populated urban environment. Robin Lynnand Francis Morrone, in their newly-published Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes, point to the less obvious but equally beautiful aspects to our city's fabric - the city's low-scale open spaces, as inspiring as those found in nature.

Morrone provides an exciting insider's look at New York City's outstanding and surprising urban oases. Take a look at Morrone's blog on New York City parks to learn more about our city's valuable green spaces! http://bit.ly/UrbanLandscapes

This event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Historic House Trust.

Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning Discussion

RSVP Now

Wednesday, December 4, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members. Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-Peggy Shepard - Co-founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback
- A representative from Community Board 11

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

Save The Date: Transportation and the Second Avenue Subway Discussion

Wednesday, January 8, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

CIVITAS's discussion series concludes with a panel on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway and transportation infrastructure. How can urban design and public art transform street-level spaces to be more functional and beautify below-ground levels on a grand scale?

Moderator:
-James S. Russell - Architecture columnist,Bloomberg News

Panelists:
-Sandra Bloodworth - Director, MTA Arts for Transit
-Mitchell Joachim - Ph.D., Co-founder and Director of Research, Terreform ONE
-Cesar Pelli - NA, architect

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

CIVITAS I Three Upcoming Events Examine Our Urban Communities

Guide To NYC Urban Landscapes: A Book Talk

Wednesday, November 20th at 6:30 pm
The Arsenal, Third Floor Gallery
830 Fifth Avenue, in Central Park at 64th Street 

$15 for CIVITAS members, $20 non-members

New York City is easily-recognized worldwide by its skyscrapers and densely-populated urban environment. Robin Lynn and Francis Morrone in their newly-published Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes point to the less obvious-the city's low-scale open spaces, as inspiring as those found in nature. Join us for an illustrated lecture on places and landscape design, from 19th century cemeteries to the Upper East Side's Conservatory Garden, with stops in-between. Morrone provides an exciting insider's look at New York City's outstanding and surprising urban oases.

Tickets may be purchased here.

This event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Historic House Trust.

Urban Revitalization and East Harlem Rezoning Discussion

Wednesday, December 4, 6:30 - 8:00 pm

Admission is FREE for CIVITAS members.  Find out how to become a member.

CIVITAS's discussion series continues this December with an investigation of Urban revitalization through the lens of East Harlem rezoning and updated land use policies. This panel of neighborhood leaders and experts will look specifically at projects currently under way in East Harlem, including the renovation of the former P.S. 109 into affordable live-work space for artists, and the transformation of La Marqueta, a marketplace under the Metro North railway tracks between East 111th and East 116th Streets that was once the economic and social center of the neighborhood.

Moderator:
-Karrie Jacobs - Contributing Editor, Metropolis; founding editor-in-chief, Dwell

Panelists:
-A representative from Community Board 11
-Peggy Shepard - Co-founder and Executive Director, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
-Gus Rosado - Executive Director, El Barrio's Operation Fightback

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy
1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

Save The Date: Transportation and the Second Avenue Subway Panel Discussion

Wednesday, January 8, 2013
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

CIVITAS's discussion series concludes with a panel on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway and transportation infrastructure. How can urban design and public art transform street-level spaces to be more functional and beautify below-ground levels on a grand scale?

Moderator: 

-James S. Russell - Architecture columnist,Bloomberg News

Panelists:
-Sandra Bloodworth - Director, MTA Arts for Transit
-Mitchell Joachim - Ph.D., Co-founder and Director of Research, Terreform ONE
-Cesar Pelli - NA, architect

All discussions in the series will take place at the National Academy 

1083 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street. map

Admission:
CIVITAS members: FREE
General Admission: $15
Seniors and Students: $10

For tickets, visit the National Academy online or call (212) 369-4880 x 201.
CIVITAS members can RSVP by calling the museum at the above number.

New Board Member Sharon Pope

Gorman T. Reilly

CIVITAS welcomes new board member, Sharon Pope. Sharon is a long time resident of Roosevelt Island who served for 12 years as a full board member of Community Board 8 where she chaired its Housing Committee and represented the Community Board on the Advisory Council of Metropolitan Hospital Center. She now serves as a public member of Community Board 8. 

A graduate of Morgan State University, Sharon aptly describes herself as a committed urbanist. She is a former environmental planner with the Department of City Planning. She is also a former President of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association, representing the interests of some 10,000 residents and 20 different building councils. Her passion is community-based planning. For CIVITAS members she has led several informative tours of Roosevelt Island and the newly opened Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. 

What attracted Sharon to CIVITAS? Her quick response – “CIVITAS is an effective organization.” She values its commitment and tenacity in promoting lively and liveable neighborhoods. Among many compelling issues now engaging CIVITAS, she plans to devote her considerable talents as an urban planner to continuing to draw attention to the waterfront. The East River Esplanade, she explains, “can be made into a jewel of a park where residents of the Upper East Side and of East Harlem can relax and enjoy themselves.” 

To read the complete fall 2013 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

CIVITAS in action: The East River Esplanade

Hunter F. Armstrong 

With the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy approaching on October 29, the Upper East Side and East Harlem waterfront is in regular political discussion. CIVITAS is helping plan for the East River Esplanade’s future, and is responding to citywide policies and institutional plans. We are pushing for a larger plan for this natural and recreational resource. Otherwise, the community will be stuck with a patchwork of different proposals for the park. With so much energy and attention being focused on the East River, with the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station and other proposals, now is the time to plan smartly for the long term, and to prepare for future storms. Below is an overview of factors currently at play in our communities’ waterfront. 

Engineering Study 
In June, the NYC Parks Department and consultants presented their engineering evaluation of the wooden piles that support the Esplanade between 60th and 125th Streets. Marine borers have gradually chewed away the piles and destabilized the platform. Most potholes that resulted and pocked the Esplanade have been filled, but the overall study was critical to determine where future holes may occur. The Parks Department study stated the piles will need to be replaced by concrete piers and determined this will cost approximately $110 million over a 10-year period to maintain the Esplanade in its current, narrow footprint. If the city defers maintenance and piles are not replaced this decade, the Parks Department consultants estimated costs will balloon to exceed $400 million. 

Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Initiative for Resiliency and Rebuilding 
The Mayor created this initiative after the devastation Sandy reaped on New York. Released in June, much of the 400-page report understandably focused on neighborhoods devastated by the storm. That said, it does have major implications for our community. The plan proposes a “deployable floodwall” between 90th and 125th Street, where the storm surge gushed as far upland as Second Avenue. CIVITAS has met with the Mayor’s staff to discuss the proposal’s feasibility in a future administration, and how the community can help shape the plan. 

A rendering of the “deployable floodwall” system proposed for the waterfront between East 90th Street and East 125th Street. Rendering from the Mayor’s Resiliency Plan.

Rockefeller University 
Farther south, Rockefeller University is planning to expand with a four-block platform over the FDR Drive between 64th and 68th Streets. CIVITAS, the community board and neighbors have met with university officials and their designers to determine implications of this major expansion, which will fill in the only remaining gap over the FDR between 61st and 71st Streets. The two-story building will be over 150,000 square feet. As part of the plan, which went into the official city land use review process in September, the university proposes upgrading four Esplanade blocks with new plantings and trees, irrigation, new seating and separate areas for cyclists, walkers and benches. The redesign will keep the 1930s-era metal railing and asphalt pavers that are used throughout our city’s waterfront. CIVITAS and neighbors raised concerns about the impact on Esplanade users due to increased traffic noise and exhaust fumes that will result from capping over the highway. We also asked for better access to the waterfront via the gated campus and for additional information about the platform’s impact on the Esplanade’s underlying infrastructure. 

The proposed Rockefeller University expansion. Rendering by Rafael Vinoly Architects. 

Other Projects 
With no comprehensive community waterfront plan, smaller projects continue to occur in a piecemeal way. To mitigate impacts of their 1 million square foot facility between East 73rd and East 74th Streets, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Hunter College-CUNY will invest the funds needed to replace the deteriorated piles at Andrew Haswell Green Park, over a half-mile away. CIVITAS and other groups objected to the distance between the park improvements and the 450-foot building’s 8,500 daily visitors. CIVITAS also recently learned that sections of the Con Ed property near 73rd Street will be partially opened and returned to park land. Unfortunately, the building will remain in place mere feet from the FDR and maintain a narrow, dangerous pinchpoint for Esplanade users. 


Next Steps for Reimagining the Waterfront 
In addition to work cited in this article and keeping the community informed, CIVITAS is also keeping our award-winning 2012 exhibition from the Museum of the City of New York on public view. In September, CIVITAS installed the exhibition at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House and is working with their staff and the museum to create programming for Lenox Hill’s many daily visitors. We are also developing more programs to educate park users and neighbors. The Esplanade was the first topic in our public panel series with the National Academy, which is discussed on Page 1. We feel strongly that more funding and attention is needed to address our densely built neighborhood’s park-space deficits, and we will continue to work toward improving the Esplanade. Threats like future storm surges have focused more attention on preparing for the catastrophic while planning for day to day enjoyment. 

To read the complete fall 2013 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/

Four Freedoms Park: A Story of Determination

Matt Jupin

An aerial view of the FDR Memorial, 
looking north. Photo by Steve Amiaga, 
FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy. 

 The opening ceremony of Four Freedoms Park last October was a moment of triumph for those who had been involved in its 39-year saga. Speakers included former President Bill Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, Ambassador William vanden Heuvel, and Tom Brokaw was the Master of Ceremonies. Their comments reflected on President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom the memorial commemorates, the great difficulties in completing the project, and the site’s meaning for today and future generations. The Four Freedoms outlined in President Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union speech are incorporated in the architecture and perspective of the new memorial: freedom of speech and expression, of worship, from want, and from fear. 

The memorial’s history dates back to the late 1960’s, when Mayor Lindsay, with the New York State Urban Development Corporation, proposed redeveloping the narrow island in the East River, then called Welfare Island, into a residential community. In 1970, the Four Freedoms Foundation began talks with the city and state about a memorial for FDR . A New York Times editorial promoted the proposed name and location: “A plaza promenade and statue could be created at the southern end of Franklin D. Roosevelt island. It would face the sea he loved, the Atlantic he bridged, the Europe he helped to save, and the United Nations he inspired.” 

Three years later, Mayor Lindsay presided over the island’s renaming ceremony at the park’s future location. Louis Kahn was introduced as architect for the project and presented a model of the design. Funding was to come in equal parts from the state, city and private funding. Kahn described his design for the park as “a Room and a Garden.” The Room would be a large space at the southern tip of the island, partially enclosed by massive granite blocks that focused a view south. Kahn began the memorial with a 100-foot wide staircase, creating a hill at the northern end of the monument from which visitors would decend as they proceeded through the garden to the room. 

A perfect storm of events led to the shelving of the Four Freedoms Park project for three decades. Governor Nelson Rockefeller, a key supporter, left office to become Vice President under the Ford Administration. Louis Kahn died of a heart attack in Penn Station while carrying the completed designs. Finally, New York City’s near-bankruptcy knocked out political support of the project. 

The Four Freedoms Foundation and other key supporters never gave up on the idea. Kahn’s designs were kept with Mitchell/ Giurgola Architects. A video produced in 1980 and narrated by Orson Welles served to keep the vision alive. A bipartisan commission established by Governor Mario Cuomo unanimously recommended the project be built in 1985, but it took another six years before earth was moved. Between 1991- 1994, the seawall was stabilized and the ground was cleared, compacted and shaped as specified in Kahn’s designs. 

Kahn’s design uses the triangular shape of the park’s site to 
draw focus to the Roosevelt statue at entrance of the ‘Room.’ 

Political support would again diminish with power shifts in Albany, freezing progress to the site for another 16 years, but enthusiastic supporters kept the project alive. A 2003 documentary by Kahn’s son, Nathaniel, helped to reinvigorate interest in the project. Two years later, Cooper Union held an exhibition on the history of Four Freedoms Park; Ambassador William vanden Heuvel committed his Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute to fundraising. The next year, seed money from Alphawood Foundation Chicago funded office operations. The executive director, Gina Pollara, worked on scoping drawings and obtaining the many permits required to build. Ambassador vanden Heuvel continued looking for funding in the private sector, along with Sally Minard, who came to the project in 2005. She recalls those crucial years of numerous applications for permits as very difficult for the Four Freedoms Park Conservancy. “The reason there aren’t many shovel-ready projects is because most developers rarely want to invest money upfront until they know the permits will be given,” Minard said in a phone interview. Mayor Bloomberg advised that the project be split into three phases. The first would build the Room, the second the Promenade, and last phase would build the grand stair and fill in the lawn and trees. 

Actually building the memorial was also daunting. 7,700 tons of granite were quarried in North Carolina, as specified by Kahn. The monumental stones were too heavy to be trucked over the single bridge to the island, so were floated to the site by barge. Five different types of cranes and 100 stone setters were needed to set the stones in place. 

The park was built for $44 million, but fundraising is not over. The Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, a 501c3 NY State Corporation is responsible for funding and maintenance with a full operations staff. The estimated budget is $2 million annually. Free public tours are given each week. The park recently hosted events such as yoga in the park, a kite-making workshop and has others planned. Revenue streams include souvenirs, and a food vendor operation is currently being tested. 

Matt Jupin is a East Harlem Resident and CIVITAS volunteer. 

To read the complete fall 2013 issue of CIVITAS News, visit http://civitasnyc.org/civitas-newsletters/