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.