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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 & the 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
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
The NY/NJ harbor is sporting a new current meter that will provide real-time data to ships, aiding navigation into our ports.
The current meter, a collaboration between NOAA and New Jersey’s Stevens Institute of Technology, measures the direction, speed, and volume of ocean currents in the harbor’s navigation channels. Comprehensive and reliable data provided in real-time will help increase the flow of cargo moving through our ports by allowing maritime channels to be utilized safely and efficiently.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
From NOAA: NOAA is using data from a new current meter in New York harbor, operated by one of its academic partners, New Jersey’s Stevens Institute of Technology, to provide enhanced real-time information to mariners traveling through the nation’s second busiest port.
The Stevens current meter measures the direction, speed, and volume of ocean currents in the harbor’s navigation channels, north of the Narrows between Brooklyn and Staten Island. Its data will be used in NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) system, which delivers real-time environmental observations, forecasts and other geospatial information to mariners in 21 major U.S. harbors. The system makes maritime commerce more safe and efficient by giving ship captains instant measurements of the water levels and temperatures, and the direction and speed of the current and wind as they come in and out of port.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
Stevens is a partner in the NOAA-led U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) , and is the first academic institution that is part of IOOS to have its research data incorporated into the NOAA real-time PORTS program.
“This new sensor will provide crucial current information halfway between the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and Manhattan, the primary navigation route into New York and New Jersey ports. It’s a great addition to PORTS,” said Richard Edwing, director of NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. “This collaboration between Stevens and NOAA gives us access to previously untapped data to help us address marine commerce and other coastal issues. It also lays the groundwork for future federal-regional collaborations.”
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
By providing real-time tide, current, and other information, NOAA’s PORTS program helps reduce the chances for accidents. Also, enhanced marine information can increase the amount of cargo moved through a port and harbor by enabling mariners to safely use every inch of dredged channel depth. 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
Pier 11 in Red Hook. Photo: tugster
Some exiting news about our waterfront. The City is trying to encourage more pier use by selecting BillyBey Marina Services LLC, an offshoot from a local ferry company to take over the management of 7 city-owned waterfront sites.
The seven sites are: In Brooklyn, Piers 11 and 12 at Atlantic Basin in Red Hook and Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. In Manhattan, the West Harlem Piers in the Hudson River and Pier 36, Skyport Marina and an area in Stuyvesant Cove in the East River and on Staten Island, Homeport Pier.
From the Wall Street Journal: Under a five-year contract from the New York City Economic Development Corp., the company will join with the nonprofit Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance to form what it calls DockNYC, to handle reservations, market amenities and work to increase business along the waterfront.
Skyport Marina. Photo: Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal
The move to private management of the sites acknowledges a critique of government: It can take a while to get clearance from the city to use its marine facilities. City officials hope that consolidating management under a single operator will bypass cumbersome procedures for permits and boost traffic among businesses using the waterfront.
The new arrangement “will increase efficiency by streamlining administrative functions at these sites,” EDC Executive Director Kyle Kimball said. “BillyBey’s experience will help attract new commercial, transportation, and recreational opportunities to the waterfront, advancing the city’s strategy to reconnect New Yorkers to the waterfront while allowing the city to maximize resources along the coastline.”
Pier 36. Photo: Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal
BillyBey already operates berthing facilities for other government entities, company Chief Executive and co-owner Paul Goodman said.
They include the landings at World Financial Center and Hoboken for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, he noted, along with Pier 79 on Manhattan’s West Side.
“The problem has been that the city process just takes too long for most people,” Mr. Goodman said. “You need quicker turnaround time. With the city, it could take weeks to issue a permit; that just doesn’t work for most in the marine world.”
Stuyvesant Cove. Photo via The New York Squirrel blog
In addition to recreational and commercial customers, BillyBey hopes the waterfront alliance will drum up business from nonprofit and educational users. City officials said the number of facilities under DockNYC management could be expanded, and pointed to the possibility that one of the seven locations—the Stuyvesant Cove area—could eventually be turned into a mooring field, an East River equivalent of the 72nd Street Boat Basin on the West Side.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee hat tip to
Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, Principal, Sustainable Ports and Chair, Working Harbor Committee
50K!
I wanted to send out a big Thank You to all my readers & visitors! The Working Harbor blog has been “live” for one year and 10 days and has reached a major milestone – 50, 000 views and counting!
Your kind support and encouragement, and your daily visits to read about the happenings of the Working Harbor of New York and New Jersey and beyond made it happen. Without you, none of this would have been possible.
Thank You for being a part of the Working Harbor family… and keep on reading!
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
The final portion of the overall project to deepen the Arthur Kill Channel navigation channels to 50 feet has been awarded. The US Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Port Authority of NY/NJ will share the $1.6 billion cost to deepen shipping channels in and around the NY/NJ harbor in anticipation of the widening of the Panama Canal scheduled to be completed in 2015.
Photo: Mitch Waxman
From the US Army Corps of Engineers: The deepening provides a safe and economically efficient pathway for the newest generation of container ships calling on the Port of New York and New Jersey. The overall Harbor Deepening Project involves deepening the channels from the Ambrose Channel entrance to the Upper Bay and Newark Bay, providing access the Global Marine Terminal, New York Container Terminal, Port Newark, and Elizabeth Marine Terminal.
Photo: Mitch Waxman
The Port of NY/NJ is the largest container port on the East Coast, and through its major container terminals, waterborne cargo moves to all parts of the United States and throughout the world providing over 269,900 direct and indirect jobs, and $11.2 billion in personal income in port related activities to the states of New York and New Jersey. Read more here…
Photo: Mitch Waxman
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by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
