You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Working Harbor Committee’ category.
I’m always on the lookout for tidbits on the harbor for the blog and I came across this fascinating, historical educational video on youtube. From 1949, it talks about how the port of New York came to be the largest (at the time) port in the nation. Really great close-up footage of the working harbor.
a
This Tuesday, May 21, glimpse into the future of our port. Join us on the inaugural voyage of WHC’s new series of tours – Beyond Sandy: Keeping the Conversation Alive.
Expert guest speakers will inform on the many challenges we face post-Sandy, and the different solutions on the table. Come be a part of the discussion. Click here for tickets.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
Yesterday, the City announced a new FREE weekend ferry will launch May 25th and will operate all summer between Manhattan and Red Hook.
The Red Hook Summer Ferry service will run from Pier 11 in lower Manhattan to Van Brunt Street and IKEA, Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
The new stop at the Van Brunt street-end will use an existing, currently unused ferry landing just up the block from Fairway and the vibrant neighborhood of Red Hook, filled with their amazing collection of foods, wines and hand-crafted treasures by local artisans.
And as an added bonus, you’ll get a free transfer onto the northbound East River Ferry at Pier 11 – sail from Red Hook to midtown – all for free! *applause*
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
From NYCEDC:
“Hurricane Sandy hit the Red Hook community hard, and that’s why we’re making it easier than ever for New Yorkers to get to small businesses in the area in order to help the community continue to recover. By expanding the already successful free IKEA ferry to another stop in the heart of Red Hook, and by connecting it to the East River Ferry that is celebrating its two millionth ride this week, the free Red Hook summer ferry will help boost the local economy. I look forward to the Red Hook Ferry’s opening this Memorial Day and encourage all New Yorkers to try it.” – Mayor Bloomberg
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
Two boats will run as part of the Red Hook Ferry, traveling between Pier 11, the Van Brunt Street landing and the IKEA landing. More details:
- Service will run from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day Weekend (Saturday, May 25th) through Labor Day Weekend, including the Mondays of Memorial Day and Labor Day (Monday, September 2nd).
- Each landing will be served every 25 minutes, improving upon the current frequency which is approximately 40 minutes.
- Free transfers will be provided northbound on the East River Ferry at Pier 11, connecting riders from Red Hook to Midtown Manhattan.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman / NewtownPentacle.com
The Red Hook Summer Ferry is the result of a partnership between New York Water Taxi; Billybey Ferry Company, which operates the East River Ferry; Fairway Market; IKEA; and the O’Connell Organization, which owns the pier at which the Red Hook Ferry will operate. All of the City’s partners are working to make the public aware of the new service to encourage ridership.
The Red Hook Summer Ferry expanded service will provide Red Hook businesses with additional, much-needed foot traffic and economic activity, as well as provide an additional weekend transit option for local residents to an area which is presently underserved by public transportation options. Read more here…
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
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
The City plans to demolish the sludge storage tank on Commercial and Dupont Streets in Greenpoint, near the mouth of Newtown Creek. The DEP is in the process of constructing a new loading dock next to the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to give their sludge vessels direct access to the plant. Dredging will have to take place in Newtown Creek and Whale Creek to depths ranging from 9 feet to 13 feet.
“East River Sludge Loading Facility” – NYC DEP Presentation, East River Sludge Storage Tank Removal. Via GWAPP
From The Brooklyn Paper: The plan is to dredge as deep as nine feet in some spots of the creek between the East River and Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant at Provost Street near Greenpoint Avenue, and as deep as 13 feet in Whale Creek, an inlet just past the Pulaski Bridge that will give boats direct access to the plant. There, the city will build a new loading dock and two new vessels to hold the nasty fluid. Those depths will allow the boats to travel beneath drawbridge during low tide without having to raise it.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman/NewtownPentacle.com
And even though the Newtown Creek is a federal Superfund site that needs a serious clean-up, the city claims that the sediment is scoops from its banks is not toxic according to sediment sampling the city ordered in 2009.
Some Creek advocates agreed that work is necessary, but are still worried about what will happen with the polluted silt that is brought up. “Any kind of dredging is a concern,” said Kate Zidar, executive director of the Newtown Creek Alliance. “If the sediment has high levels of contamination, we need to dispose of them appropriately.”
But city officials said the dredging would not adversely affect the environment because shovels wouldn’t go too deep.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman/NewtownPentacle.com
“Everyone is concerned, because this is a Superfund site,” said Christine Holowacz, a spokeswoman for the city-run plant. “But they’re not going to go very far down.” Holowacz said more testing is needed to determine how the sediment will be disposed.
The move will allow the city to tear down a massive concrete sludge tank that looms over prime East River parkland at DuPont and Commercial streets. For years, wastewater sludge has poured from the plant through a pipe under several blocks of Greenpoint in to the tank…
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman/NewtownPentacle.com
…The dredging is tentatively slated for either spring or fall of 2013 — there is a moratorium on dredging in the creek during the summer — and the sludge tank on the East River should be demolished sometime in the first part of 2014. The dredging work could go on 24 hours a day, according to the city.
See the creek before the landscape changes on our upcoming tour. Hidden Harbor Tours®: Newtown Creek tour with Mitch Waxman.
Join us on Sunday 26 May, at 10 a.m. (sharp) for a three hour tour of the Newtown Creek on a comfortatble NY Water Taxi leaving from Pier 17 South Street Seaport.
Tickets $59. Limited seating available, get your tickets today.
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
Tour season is here! We have been working on a slew of new tours for you this season. On Sunday, 26th of May, Working Harbor Committee presents the Hidden Harbor Newtown Creek Tour with Mitch Waxman, WHC’s official photographer and Newtown Creek Alliance Historian. Mitch has written all about it in his blog post below. See incredible things, learn new facts, explore the heart of the industrial revolution. Join us on a comfortable NY Water Taxi for our 3-hour narrated tour of Newtown Creek. Come be amazed!
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
On Sunday -the 26th of May- the Working Harbor Committee is producing and offering a boat tour of the Newtown Creek for any interested parties to attend. A special emphasis on the waterway’s storied history and maritime legacy will be made.
I’m going to be doing the history part, speaking in my capacity as the Newtown Creek Alliance Historian, and am tasked with highlighting the various points of interest encountered along the route. Anticipated to be some three hours in length, this boat tour will be delving some three miles inland, proceeding to the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge crossing English Kills in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
The Maritime History of Newtown Creek is one largely forgotten in these decadent times, but even now an odd tugboat and barge might be spied making their way down the waterway on any given day. Property owners were considered to have been blessed by some of the finest industrial bulkheads in the world a mere century ago, yet many of the businesses based along the Creek today ignore this invaluable resource, allowing their waterfront property to decay and decline.
Nevertheless, a staggering amount of maritime traffic is still observed here, and towing companies such as Reinauer, K-Sea, DonJon, and Poling and Cutler are regular visitors.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
Vast operations will be witnessed by those onboard, many of which are involved in the scrap metal and recyclables trade. Responsible for an enormous amount of cross harbor shipping, companies such as SimsMetal are heavily reliant on the maritime trades for their economic success.
Not all that long ago, Newtown Creek carried a greater tonnage of cargo than the entire Mississippi River.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
An active and thriving industrial zone in the center of New York City, from the water one can truly grasp the sheer scale of Newtown Creek’s busy waterfront. Normally hidden by high fences and obscured by street facing structures, the intensity of the Newtown Creek is laid bare before the admiring gaze of first time visitor and veteran urban explorer alike.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
A tributary of the estuarine East River, Newtown Creek extends some 3.8 miles from its junction with the more familiar waterway, and provides demarcation for the currently undefended border of much of Brooklyn and Queens. Named to the Federal Superfund list, the Creek suffers from a history of environmental degradation and municipal neglect.
An era of great change is upon the Newtown Creek, and this trip will be one of your last chances to see it in its current form.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
We will see four moveable bridges, and this year will be your last chance to see the static Kosciuszko Bridge as the NYS DOT has indicated that construction on its replacement will begin as early as the Fall of 2013.
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman
Along it’s banks, great fortunes have risen.
Amongst others- Peter Cooper (BO Railroad, Canton Iron, and Cooper Union), Charles Pratt (Astral Oil, and Pratt University), and ultimately John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil)- all grew richer than the dreams of avarice in this place. Alongside them, the darkest mills of the industrial revolution- rendering plants, yeast distilleries, bone blackers, and acid factories provided tens of thousands of jobs to the immigrant populations of Brooklyn and Queens. Today- National Grid, BP, Amoco, ExxonMobil, and a host of other multinational companies still maintain an enormous investment in this valuable industrial canal.
Upcoming tour: Hidden Harbor Tours: Newtown Creek tour with Mitch Waxman.
On May 26th, Mitch shares his unique point of view and deep understanding of the past, present and future conditions of the Newtown Creek as the narrator and expedition leader for this years’ Hidden Harbor Tours: Newtown Creek tour with Mitch Waxman.
Our NY Water Taxi leaves from South Street Seaport at 10 a.m. (sharp) for a three hour tour of the Newtown Creek. From the East River we’ll move into the Newtown Creek where we’ll explore explore vast amounts of maritime infrastructure, see many movable bridges and discover the very heart of the Hidden Harbor.
Limited seating available, get your tickets today.
Tickets $59, trip leaves Pier 17 at South Street Seaport at 10a.m. sharp.
We will be traveling in a comfortable NY Water Taxi vessel with indoor and outdoor seating. There will be refreshments and snacks available for purchase at the bar.
For a full listing and schedule of tours and events, click here
reblogged by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee via Mitch Waxman, Newtown Pentacle
The Working Harbor Committee and their partners have been working on some new exciting Hidden Harbor Tours® content! Details will be posted in the next few days. Stay tuned!!
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman/NewtownPentacle.com
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman/NewtownPentacle.com
Photo: ©Mitch Waxman/NewtownPentacle.com
by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee
a
a
aa
a
a
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM THE NATIONAL WORKING WATERFRONT NETWORK
May 2, 2013
Contact
Stephanie Showalter Otts, 662.915.7714, sshowalt@olemiss.edu
Natalie Springuel, 207.288.2944 x5834, nspringuel@coa.edu
Working waterfronts are a major contributor to the economy and deserve national focus
Waterfronts and the activities that depend on them, such as shipping, fishing and transportation, have played a central role in shaping our nation’s history and they remain a significant driver of the nation’s economy and culture. Activity associated with America’s ocean and Great Lakes waterfronts accounts for 3.41 percent of total U.S. Gross Domestic Product and 4.85 percent of total employment, representing some 130,855 businesses employing 2.4 million full-time and part-time employees, according to new research released in March by the National Working Waterfront Network.
Today, goods and people move through 3,200 cargo and passenger facilities and 360 commercial ports in the United States. International trade via seaports is expected to significantly increase in the near future. Cargo and container ships are joined by tankers, barges, ferries, tugboats, cruise ships, and recreational watercraft, all of which are equally dependent on marine infrastructure and access to the coast. These waterfronts are not just on the ocean, but also the Great Lakes and 12,000 miles of inland waterways, extending the reach of working waterfront concerns to nearly all 50 states.
These numbers are from a recent economic analysis conducted by the National Working Waterfront Network with funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.
“The economic impacts of working waterfronts have been difficult to quantify, because of the diversity of water-dependent uses that make up the waterfront, from tiny marinas, boat yards, and fish houses, to industrial ports, shipping, and transportation,” said Bob Swett of Florida Sea Grant, one of the authors of the study. The researchers relied upon detailed establishment-level data on employment and value added for more than 20 different water-dependent industry sectors available from the National Ocean Economics Program.
The economic study was part of the “Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit” released last month at the third National Working Waterfronts and Waterways Symposium in Tacoma, hosted by Washington and Oregon Sea Grant programs.
In addition to the research findings on the economic value of waterfronts, the Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit contains information about the historic and current uses of waterfront space, and identifies legal, policy, and financing tools that can be used to preserve, enhance, and protect waterfronts at local and regional levels, such as zoning and design standards, financing and tax approaches, research and mapping, conservation and restoration.
“The Symposium presented an ideal opportunity to get the toolkit into the hands of people who can use it to make a difference on their waterfront,” said Stephanie Showalter Otts, National Working Waterfront Network co-chair and director of the National Sea Grant Law Center, one of the lead institutions on the Toolkit project.
Working waterfronts need national as well as local attention, as expressed by many of the speakers at the Tacoma symposium, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. and state Sen. Kevin Ranker; Ron Sims, former Deputy Secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development; and Kyle Molten of the office of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.
As vital as working waterfronts are to the nation, they are at risk.
Working waterfronts share coastal real estate with a disproportionately large and growing segment of the U.S. population. Port authorities, city planners, conservation organizations, and the business community are among the many interests working to balance these varied and sometimes competing uses while addressing multiple challenges. Communities often lack an understanding of how waterfronts work. It can be difficult to garner political support for needed physical improvements. The pressures to convert valuable marine infrastructure to non-water-dependent uses, such as residences, offices and even sports stadiums, is constant.
Yet working waterfronts are unique and irreplaceable. Whether they date back decades or centuries, working waterfronts have developed in very different political and regulatory climates and could not be replicated under current standards. Given no or limited opportunity for new or expanded working waterfronts, capacity to accommodate marine commerce and industry is more or less fixed in most areas.
These sentiments are echoed by some of the 18 recommendations put forward by the National Working Waterfront Network, calling on political leaders to:
- Recognize the importance of working waterfronts at the highest level of government in policies, guidance documents, and federal actions; and analyze the best government policies to protect current working waterfront uses.
- Ensure no net loss of working waterfronts by creating and maintaining a national inventory of working waterfronts, including those no longer in use but with a potential future use.
- Document cultural aspects of working waterfronts and their role in coastal communities.
- Facilitate a national conversation about how current and emerging issues, such as sea-level rise and coastal storms, threaten working waterfronts.
While the exact future of any working waterfront is not always predictable, what is known is that they are unique places that support and preserve future economic opportunities, recreational access, and the cultural heritage of our nation’s coasts.
###
The National Working Waterfront Network is comprised of businesses, industry associations, nonprofits, local governments and communities, state and federal agencies, universities, Sea Grant programs, and individuals dedicated to supporting, preserving, and enhancing our nation’s working waterfronts and waterways. To learn more about the research findings, the toolkit, and working waterfront initiatives around the country, visit www.wateraccessus.com
reblogged by Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee via Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, Chair, 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
