Certain Future of Greenpoint-Williamsbourg Water Front

(resume)

 

Greenpoint and Williamsburg developed more than 100 years ago during BrooklynÕs great industrial age, when both sides of the East River were dominated by large factories, oil refineries, and shipyards. The neighborhoods adjoining the waterfront housed the workers and, within these areas, homes and factories intermingled, setting a pattern of mixed use that still shapes the neighborhoods today.

 

Over the years, these neighborhoods have grown and adapted to changing economic conditions. The refineries and shipbuilders have gone, and new generations of businesses, entrepreneurs, artists, and residents have emerged. Today, Greenpoint-Williamsburg is once again a vibrant community, from the bustling commerce of Manhattan and Bedford Avenues to the many distinctive side streets. The waterfront, however, remains largely derelict, dominated by empty lots and crumbling structures, and almost entirely inaccessible to the public.

 

Building on the Community 197-a Plans

The Greenpoint and Williamsburg Waterfront 197-a Plans, sponsored by Community Board 1 and officially adopted in January 2002, were the result of years of community effort and collaboration with the Department of City Planning. The plans articulated a number of principles that have guided the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan, including:

¥ Achieving waterfront access. Both plans place the highest priority on new and improved public spaces along their waterfronts.

¥ Facilitating housing and local commercial development. Recognizing the need for new housing to serve diverse income levels, both plans propose new development on vacant and underused land, at a scale compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.

¥ Pursuing rezoning actions. Both the Greenpoint and Williamsburg 197-a Plans encourage expeditious rezoning actions to address these issues and opportunities     

 

 

 

 

 

Building upon these principles, the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan seeks to accomplish the following objectives:

 

¥ Reflect changing conditions. Enact comprehensive zoning changes to address the dramatic changes that have taken place in recent decades, and to prepare the communities for the twenty-first century.

¥ Promote housing opportunities. Capitalize on vacant and underused land for new housing development, addressing both local and citywide needs.

¥ Fulfill the cityÕs commitment to affordable housing. Under the MayorÕs housing plan, New York City is committed to investment in affordable housing, particularly in areas rezoned for residential use.

¥ Address neighborhood context. New development should fit in with its surroundings, building on the strong character of the existing neighborhoods.

¥ Protect important concentrations of industrial activity. While industry in the area has been declining sharply for decades, manufacturing zones should be retained where important concentrations of industrial activity and employment exist.

¥ Create a continuous waterfront walkway and maximize public access to the waterfront. Establish a blueprint for a revitalized, publicly accessible East River waterfront.

¥ Facilitate development that will reconnect the neighborhood to the waterfront. Taking into account the difficulties of waterfront redevelopment, shape new development so that it connects the inland neighborhoods to the waterfront.

 

 

 

Waterfront Zoning: Public Access Requirements

 

Article VI, Chapter 2 of the New York City Zoning Resolution, commonly known as waterfront zoning, includes requirements for public access upon residential or commercial development of a waterfront parcel. Under these rules, residential or commercial redevelopment of individual parcels would require developers to build and maintain specified public access areas, including a waterfront walkway and pedestrian connections to public streets or parks. A more detailed description of waterfront zoningÕs public access requirements is available.

 

 

Waterfront Zoning: Public Access Requirements

 

Article VI, Chapter 2 of the New York City Zoning Resolution, commonly known as waterfront zoning, includes requirements for public access upon residential or commercial development of a waterfront parcel. Under these rules, residential or commercial redevelopment of individual parcels would require developers to build and maintain specified public access areas:

 

    Shore public walkways.

    A continuous walkway must be provided along the shoreline of a development site. This area typically contains one or more pedestrian paths as well as buffer areas. In medium and higher density districts, the minimum width for a shore public walkway is 40 feet.

 

    Upland connections.

    Paths connecting the shore public walkway to streets and sidewalks or parks are required at specified intervals. In medium and higher density districts, the minimum width for an upland connection is 30 feet. Upland connection requirements can also be satisfied within a private street by building sidewalks at least 12 feet wide.

 

    Visual corridors.

    Unobstructed views to the water are required at specified intervals. Where visual corridors are extensions of streets, they must be as wide as the street; elsewhere, visual corridors must be at least 50 feet wide.

 

    Public access on piers.

    Piers that are part of a waterfront lot must be accessible to the public. Public access is required on both sides of piers for their entire length.

 

    Supplemental public access areas.

    Waterfront developments are required to provide a minimum of 15 to 20 percent of their lot area for public access. (In R6 districts, this minimum is 15 percent; in R8 districts, it is 20 percent). If the sum of other public access requirements is less than this percentage, the development must provide one or more supplemental public access areas, which can be parks, plazas, or sitting areas. Like other public access areas, these areas are subject to design guidelines. Maintenance and access. Under waterfront zoning, public access areas must be open to the public between dawn and dusk. Public access requirements are recorded in a restrictive declaration against the property, and are maintained by the property owner under a maintenance and operation agreement signed with the Department of Parks and Recreation.

 

    Design guidelines.

    Section 62-60 of the Zoning Resolution contains a detailed set of design standards for waterfront public access areas and visual corridors. It includes parameters for their location and configuration, as well as requirements for paving, planting, seating, lighting, signage, fences and guardrails.

 

 

 

 

more curiosities:

 

¥Mapped parkland including the proposed Olympic site. As part of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning, the waterfront blocks between N. 9th Street and the northern edge of Bushwick Inlet would be mapped as parkland. Together with the state park, the proposed mapped park would accommodate venues for Olympic events such as beach volleyball and archery, as identified within NYC2012's Olympic bid. (The city is actively opposing a proposed power plant at the southern edge of Bushwick Inlet.)

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.newyorkgames.org/news/archives/000076.html

http://www.newyorkgames.org/news/archives/week_2003_08_10.html

 

http://community-2.webtv.net/bargeparkpals/NewtownCreek/page3.html

 

 

 

á      Accommodate water-based transportation. Water taxi service should be accommodated along the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront to supplement the existing transportation network.