Events

Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Panel Discussion: Missing Links Along the East River

Access to the East River has long been a greater challenge than in other parts of the city because of the presence of waterfront highways, the preponderance of privately owned land, and in some cases heavy industry along its banks. On the Hudson River, the concept of a contiguous greenway has been in development for well over a decade from New York City all the way to Albany. However, on the East River, Greenways are only started to be realized in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. Some are farther along than others. The goal of this program is to examine some of these "missing links" in each borough, discuss what is happening now to open up this big blue space to the more than 2 million New Yorkers living along its banks, and build consensus towards what needs to happen to ensure that waterfront access is created in all communities, and stewarded for future generations.

By Aaron Donovan

5:37 PM EST on November 29, 2006

Access to the East River has long been a greater challenge than in other parts of the city because of the presence of waterfront highways, the preponderance of privately owned land, and in some cases heavy industry along its banks. On the Hudson River, the concept of a contiguous greenway has been in development for well over a decade from New York City all the way to Albany. However, on the East River, Greenways are only started to be realized in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. Some are farther along than others. The goal of this program is to examine some of these “missing links” in each borough, discuss what is happening now to open up this big blue space to the more than 2 million New Yorkers living along its banks, and build consensus towards what needs to happen to ensure that waterfront access is created in all communities, and stewarded for future generations.

Following an introduction by Hon. Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President, there will be a series of presentations on the South Bronx Greenway, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, Con Ed / East River Realty site and United Nations area (Manhattan) and Long Island City – Astoria Greenway. Confirmed panelists include:

Carter Craft, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
Joshua Laird, NYC Parks
Menaka Mohan, Sustainable South Bronx
Milton Puryear, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative
Ed Rubin and John West, Manhattan Community Board #6
Rob Pirani, Regional Plan Association

Aaron Donovan

Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.

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