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Last October, Super storm Sandy swept through our neighborhoods flooding reaching far beyond the anticipated 100-year flood maps.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
Post-Sandy, Working Harbor Committee has designed a new series of tours that focus on potential ideas and solutions from government agencies, private industry, think tanks and universities and experts from a variety of disciplines.
On Tuesday 21 May, we launch our inaugural Beyond Sandy Hidden Harbor Tour® that will cruise our harbor from Hoboken to the Verrazano Bridge and includes the Brooklyn waterfront, Staten Island’s Kill Van Kull, New Jersey, Liberty & Ellis Islands and more.
High Seas on the Inner Harbor: From Wall Street to Snug Harbor
*Click for Tickets*
Tuesday – 21 May: High Seas on the Inner Harbor:
From Wall Street to Snug Harbor
Our expert speakers will discuss proposals for massive sea gates and beach dunes to hold back surge waters. Wetlands restoration and oyster reefs could help to soften the hard edges of our shorelines to combat sea-level rise. Learn what zone modifications are being implemented for flood resistance and what methods are being devised for better clean-up of contaminants in a flood.
Special Guest Speakers:
Photo: Via Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
Lucy Ambrosino
Manager of Outreach for the Port Commerce Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Photo: Via PhilipOrton.com
Philip Orton
Research Scientist, Stevens Institute of Technology
Photo: Via CoroNY
Jill Eisenhard
Founder & Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
Working Harbor Committee’s Official photographer Mitch Waxman caught wind of a special happening on the harbor last week. The Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Co. would be moving one of their dry docks down the East River to their operation on Staten Island’s Kill Van Kull.
He grabbed his rig and headed for the waterfront to capture the event for posterity.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
From NewtownPentacle.com: The Doris Moran and the James Turecamo- towing a floating dry dock past midtown. The Caddell company’s gargantuan… dare I say cyclopean… equipment is an amazing maritime structure. A floating dry dock will submerge itself, whereupon a boat will be floated into position over it, and the structure will rise up and capture the vessel. The dry dock will fully resurface and lift the ship into the air, allowing repairs and maintenance to be performed.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Co. was founded in 1903 and initially operated out of Erie Basin in Red Hook section of Brooklyn. It relocated to the Kill Van Kull in 1916 where it has stood in continuous operation for almost a hundred years.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
AP Photo via The Telegraph
Last October, we were hit hard by Super Storm Sandy, which affected many vulnerable spots all around the harbor. Working Harbor Committee ahas developed a new series of narrated Hidden Harbor Tours® that focus on climate change and protective measures from sea-level rise being discussed by government, private institutions and citizens.
Presenting Beyond Sandy, Keeping The Conversation Alive- a series of special Hidden Harbor Tours® exploring the many issues and plans arising from Super Storm Sandy, from the Working Harbor Committee. Select expert speakers from government agencies, private industry, think tanks and universities, will discuss ideas like massive sea gates, building beach dunes, wetlands restoration, modification of flood zones, re-imagining our infrastructure, updated flood mapping and much more.
Tour 1
- May 21, June 18 , July 16, August 6, September 3
Tour 1: High Seas on the Inner Harbor: From Wall Street to Snug Harbor
This tour is from the Verrazano Bridge to Hoboken, including Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Jersey, The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. See where giant sea gates are proposed.
Tour 2
- May 28, June 25, July 23, August 20, September 17
Tour 2 – Fire, Floods and Floating Containers: East River – Hell Gate to Governors Island
This tour traverses the East River from Queens to Governors Island, including the East Side of Manhattan, Newtown Creek & Brooklyn Navy Yard. See the site of the giant electric sub-station explosion.
Tour 3: Tuesday – 4 June
- June 4, July 2, July 30, August 27, September 24
Tour 3 – Protecting Our Ports: From Red Hook to Newark Bay
How the working harbor fared & helped. This tour traverses Kill van Kull to Newark Bay, including container terminals, oil docks, tug yards, & rail yards. Learn how close we came to a goods delivery crisis.
From PRWEB: Starting May 21, 2013 through September, every Tuesday, tri-state area residents and visitors are in for a true adventure this summer as they embark and enjoy Hidden Harbor Tours® aboard the luxury yacht Zephyr, and are taken behind the scenes to see the inner workings of the bustling New York Harbor. New for the 2013 summer season is the tour series: “Beyond Sandy, Keeping The Conversation Alive” featuring three different areas of interest each week with noted speakers and charities onboard (see website for full list). The exciting and educational tours are presented by the Working Harbor Committee (non-profit) in partnership with the New York Water Taxi/Circle Line Downtown.Tuesday sailings depart at 6:30pm from Pier 16 South Street Seaport, New York, New York (Fulton Street and South Street).
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
“Beyond Sandy” tours provide three themed sailings as follows:
- Tour 1: High Seas on the Inner Harbor: From Wall Street to Snug Harbor;
- Tour 2: Fire, Floods and Floating Containers: East River – Hell Gate to Governors Island;
- Tour 3: Protecting Our Ports: From Red Hook to Newark Bay.
Additionally, Hidden Harbor Tours will feature its popular Newark Bay Tour and North River Tour on select Tuesday sailings as well. Pricing: Adults $39, Seniors $32, Children ages 3-12 $25, Under age 3 are free. Ticket information and full tour schedule visit: https://www.circlelinedowntown.com/tours/hidden-harbors, 212-742-1969 by phone or http://www.workingharbor.org. Zephyr, a luxury yacht, features two fully enclosed decks, plus an open-air roof deck – all decks boast panoramic views. A portion of the ticket price goes to the Working Harbor Committee to support its programming.
Featured Speakers: Captain John Doswell, Working Harbor Committee; Chris Ward, Executive Vice President, Dragados USA; formerly with The Port Authority New York & New Jersey; Helena Durst, President, New York Water Taxi; Lucy Ambrosino, Outreach Manager of Port Commerce, The Port Authority New York & New Jersey; Dr. Philip Orton, legendary research scientist, Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey; and Jill Eisenhard, Executive Director, Red Hook Initiative. Read more here…
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Bayonne Bridge. Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has awarded a $743.3 million contract to Skanska Koch, Inc. and Kiewit Infrastructure Co. as part of a $1.29 billion program to raise the Bayonne Bridge. The Panama Canal widening project will be completed in 2015 and will result in larger ships. Raising the roadway will give larger post-Panamax vessels the needed clearance to access our port terminals in NY and NJ.
Port Authority of NY/NJ Press Release Number: 39-2013: Apr 24, 2013. The Port Authority Board of Commissioners Awards Contract to Raise the Roadway of the Bayonne Bridge. Construction of engineering marvel expected to begin later this year
Image: Port Authority of NY/NJ
As part of the Port Authority’s bridge construction program, the Board of Commissioners today awarded a $743.3 million contract to Skanska Koch, Inc. / Kiewit Infrastructure Co. (JV) team as part of a $1.29 billion program to increase the navigational clearance of the Bayonne Bridge. The project will raise the deck by 64 feet and provide drivers with a new, modern roadway with safer 12-foot lanes, shoulders, a median divider and a 12-foot bike and pedestrian walkway. It also will provide the capability for future mass transit options across the span.
The Bayonne Bridge project is the first time in agency history that engineers will construct a bridge roadway deck above the existing roadway, while traffic continues to flow on the deck below. Work will start later this year with deck removal scheduled for late 2015. One lane of traffic will operate in each direction throughout the life of the project, with overnight and limited weekend closures.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
The widening of the Panama Canal, scheduled for completion in 2015, will result in larger, more modern ships calling on the Port. Raising the roadway of the 81-year-old Bayonne Bridge’s main deck by 64 feet will allow cleaner, more efficient post-Panamax ships to pass under the structure to access port terminals in New York and New Jersey. The project is critical to maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the New York and New Jersey ports…
…“The Board’s approval of the Bayonne Bridge project is a critical step toward preserving the Port of New York and New Jersey’s standing as the premier hub port and gateway for the East Coast,” said Port Authority Chairman David Samson. “This investment of $1.29 billion to raise the roadway is a clear example of the agency’s strong commitment to improve its aging facilities and continue to serve as the key economic engine in the region.”
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
“With today’s announcement, it is clear that the Port Authority is focused on fulfilling its mission-centric work of rebuilding and maintaining critical transportation infrastructure in the New York and New Jersey region,” said Port Authority Vice-Chair Scott Rechler. “Our bridge revitalization program will boost the economy, create jobs, dramatically improve our transportation infrastructure and benefit those who live and work in the bistate region.”
The Port Authority anticipates work beginning later this year on the Bayonne Bridge navigational clearance program, pending completion of the environmental review and permitting process. Read more here…
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Google glass? Touch-screen windows? Augmented reality? The developers of the New York Wheel are looking to entice branding sponsors by offering new branding and social media technologies for the attraction. With 4.5 million visitors anticipated annually, which amounts to a whole boat-load of “eyeball impressions”– the marketing term coined for the number of people seeing or interacting with a brand.
Image: New York Wheel
From Ad Age: The New York Wheel could usher in a new era in outdoor advertising when it joins other iconic structures along the New York harbor in 2016. The Ferris wheel, which will be erected in Staten Island near the ferry terminal, is expected to attract up to 4.5 million visitors per year, according to developers. If current plans materialize, the wheel will be bigger than the London Eye and the world’s largest, Singapore Flyer.
Sponsors will get more than just their name slapped on the New York Wheel, said David Taggart, managing partner at M4 Media & Marketing, which is assisting in selling the naming rights. The 625-foot structure is being designed as a social experience that extends beyond the actual 38-minute ride.
Image: New York Wheel
“The old sponsorship model, where a brand’s name is just associated with a structure, is disappearing,” he said. “The wheel is a hybrid play beyond just an outdoor-naming opportunity.”
Technology and social media are playing a crucial role in the design of the wheel. Developers are in talks with Google to use its technology, like Google Glasses, to offer riders an augmented-reality experience. Carts will feature touch-screen glass to add to the multimedia experience, which could incorporate brand messaging. A New York Wheel app will provide information on the structure, as well as on the metropolitan area, and could serve as another advertising platform.
Image: New York Wheel
But developers are most focused on the social aspects of the New York Wheel. The site will be wired and equipped with all forms of technology, including cameras and tablets. “By allowing riders to share their experience, we are extending the reach globally,” Mr. Taggart said.
He expects the wheel to generate billions of impressions annually for its sponsors. New York Wheel is in talks with potential naming partners in the financial services, beverages, telco, airline and consumer-electronics/technology sectors for what would be a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal, though the seller would not be specific on prices. Most prospective partners are household brand names, Mr. Taggart said.
The wheel will run on renewable energy, also presenting opportunities for partnerships with sustainable-energy companies, he said.
Image: New York Wheel
Aside from the wheel, the project will also include an exhibit hall and flight deck where riders will wait to board — another area for branding opportunities — plus retail and display space throughout the nine-acre site.
Mr. Taggart expects to have some committed sponsors by the beginning of the third quarter. Construction of the wheel is slated to start in mid-2014 with a target opening of mid-2016.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
The Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a public information session about scheduled dredging and blasting an area along the north side of the Kill Van Kull. The session will be held at the Bayonne Senior Center, 16 W. Fourth St., Bayonne – Monday, April 29, 2013, from 6 to 8 p.m. Ask questions and get information directly from representatives of the Army Corps and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company.
Image: Dredging Today
From Dredging Today: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are improving the main shipping channels in the Port by deepening them to a depth of 50 feet, allowing more efficient access to the world’s largest oceangoing ships.
The Army Corps will hold a public information session (Monday, April 29, 2013) to advise the public about dredging and blasting to take place in a localized approximately two acre area off Collins Park, Bayonne, New Jersey along the north side of the Kill Van Kull Federal Navigation Channel.
Photo: Mitch Waxman
This work will be performed for the purposes of enhanced navigational safety by easing a bend in the channel. To remove underlying bedrock in the channel, this contract involves precision controlled underwater staggered detonations to fracture the rock in order for it to be dredged.
Blasting in a localized area is expected to begin no earlier than mid-May 2013 for approximately two weeks.
Residents of Bayonne, particularly those south of 3rd Street between Humphrey and Ingham Avenues, and those near Richmond Terrace between Port Richmond and Heberton Avenues, Staten Island, New York, are encouraged to attend to learn greater details of this project. Read more here…
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Postcards 9/11 Memorial, St. George, Staten Island.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
The “Postcards” 9/11 memorial in St. George has been vandalized for the 3rd time since it was dedicated in 2004. 5 of the 274 granite plaques with the silhouettes and names of Staten Islanders who died in the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center were either removed or damaged sometime in the past two weeks.
From the Staten Island Advance: “It’s disheartening,” said Borough President James P. Molinaro, whose office funded the $2.5 million memorial. “This is a cemetery for the families.” Molinaro said that the damage occurred over the last two weeks. One plaque was entirely removed or destroyed, while four others were partially damaged. He said some written graffiti that had been found on the memorial had already been cleaned.
Postcards 9/11 Memorial plaques, St. George, Staten Island.
Photo: ©Mai Armstrong
Molinaro said the city Economic Development Corp., which manages the memorial, had been alerted and that new plaques would be constructed from existing molds. It’s the third time that the memorial has been damaged since it was dedicated in 2004.
“It’s hallowed ground,” Molinaro said. “You shouldn’t touch it.”
Molinaro said he was alerted to the vandalism by Joanne Barbara, widow of FDNY Assistant Chief of Department Gerard Barbara, who perished on 9/11. His body was never recovered. “It’s very upsetting,” said Ms. Barbara, a former West Brighton resident. “It’s hard enough not to have a cemetery to go to pay your respects, a plot to put flowers or to sit and think.”
Postcards 9/11 Memorial, St. George, Staten Island.
Photo: ©Mai Armstrong
Ms. Barbara said she was concerned about the memorial’s being damaged again in the future. “How are we going to prevent this from happening again?” she wondered.
Chief Barbara was a close friend of FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, a Huguenot resident. Molinaro said that Cassano had called him to make sure that repairs would be undertaken. “It’s troubling that somebody would deface such an important and hallowed memorial,” said FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer. “I hope that whoever did this is quickly apprehended.”
Rosebank resident Steve Jezycki on Wednesday saw the vandalism when leaving flowers at the undamaged plaque of his sister, Peggy Jezycki Alario. “It’s cowardly,” he said. “It’s disgusting and disgraceful. I would love to get my hands on whoever did this.” Read more here…
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
One would think given the prolific photos, that tugster lives on the water. But no, he just spends pretty much all his free time … checking out tugs. He is the one who first coined the phrase “the sixth-boro”. Check out tugsters waterblog here…
Miss Emily. Photo: tugster
Ruth M. Reinauer. Photo: tugster
Discovery Coast. Photo: tugster
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
John Noble: Photo courtesy of the Noble Maritime Collection via MarineLink
The Noble Maritime Collection is set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Staten Island seaman artist.
John A. Noble
From 1928 until 1945, Noble worked as a seaman on schooners and in marine salvage. In 1928, while on a schooner that was towing out down the Kill van Kull, the waterway that separates Staten Island from New Jersey, he saw the old Port Johnston coal docks for the first time. Filled with new but obsolete wooden ships, the great coalport had become a great boneyard. In 1941, Noble began to build his floating studio there, out of parts of vessels he salvaged. From 1946 on, he worked as a full-time artist. Often accompanied by his wife, he set off from his studio in a rowboat to explore the Harbor. These explorations resulted in a unique and exacting record of Harbor history in which its rarely documented characters, industries, and vessels are faithfully recorded.
Anniversary celebrations
To mark the 100th anniversary of Noble’s birth the Noble Maritime Collection will present ‘Tides of 100 Years’, a celebration of the milestone, and on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 8 PM, the museum will host a birthday party and premiere a documentary about Noble by Staten Island filmmaker Michael McWeeney.
The evening will also mark the opening of a biographical exhibition, with family memorabilia, photographs, and art that describes Noble’s career. Eccentric features of his former home at 270 Richmond Terrace will shed light on his personality.
The party will feature cocktails and hors douevres and dancing to music by Queen Tipsy and her band. Tickets are $100 per person.
On Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 2 PM, the museum will host a free public reception that will include two showings of the new film and refreshments.
For tickets and information, call the Noble Maritime Collection at (718) 447-6490 or click here.
reblogged by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
