Visions of East River Waterfront

 by Barry Owens

A long-awaited city plan to reconnect Lower Manhattan with its East River waterfront won immediate praise and approval last month from members of Community Board 1.

Retail shops would line a new boardwalk on the East River waterfront, beneath the illuminated underside of the FDR Drive.

"I forgot to ask-anyone opposed?" asked Linda Roche, chairwoman of the board's Waterfront Committee, as she tallied what turned out to be a unanimous vote of approval.


The plan calls for removing the parking lots beneath the FDR Drive to make room for a boardwalk, seating areas and retail pavilions. It also calls for Pier 15 to be rebuilt to serve as a maritime pier and community open space. And a plaza to be built in front of the Battery Maritime Building would provide an unbroken bike and pedestrian path through Battery Park linking the gardens of Battery Park City on the west side to the piers jutting from the bank of the East River.

If sufficient funding can be found, much of the plan can be implemented within five years.


"I think it is safe to say we are very enthusiastic about this plan," Roche said.

Amanda Burden, director of the Department of City Planning, who joined City Planning staffers and landscape architect Ken Smith in presenting the project to the committee, called it a "crucial plan to strengthen Lower Manhattan."

Though some of the plan's design elements were not yet finalized, the presenation offered a look at the city's vision for the area.

Most striking is the planned transformation of the underside of the FDR viaduct from a gloomy canopy to a glowing overhead lamp illuminating a new boardwalk, which would contain retail, cultural and community facilities. By reclaiming the area beneath the FDR from the parking lots that now occupy it, planners said, the waterfront would become a more visible, accessible and useful destination for Downtown residents.

The plan also calls for reclaiming the slips along South Street. But a proposal to put a shallow pool in the center of Peck Slip that could serve as a skating rink in winter was unpopular with some board members, who said that the area would be better served with green space.
The city's plan calls for new benches and landscaping to further attract local residents and workers to the water's edge. Rendering: ken smith architect

In the plan, the upper deck of the rebuilt Pier 15 would be covered with landscaped green space, while the lower deck would have a boardwalk and moorings for boats.

Trellises, tables, benches and planters would line the two-mile long, wood-planked esplanade and bike path along the water's edge.

The biggest and costliest part of the project will be linking the waterfront to Battery Park.

The city's plan calls for moving the mouth of the Battery Park underpass to make way for a pedestrian plaza in front of the Battery Maritime Building, at an estimated cost of $65 million. Rendering: ken smith architect

The plan calls for creating space for a plaza in front of the Battery Maritime Building by first moving the mouth of the Battery Park underpass 350 feet north to Broad Street. The move will cost an estimated $65 million. Robert Balder, director of Lower Manhattan development for the Mayor's office, told community board members that the city would seek federal transportation funds for that part of the project.

Balder said the city was hopeful that the remaining proposals would be funded through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

The estimated cost of the esplanade that will run from Battery Park to just north of the Williamsburg Bridge is $60 million. In addition, $40 million would be spent rebuilding piers and $40 million on the retail pavilions and rebuilt slips. Engineering studies alone will cost an estimated $10 million.


Notably absent from the plan presented last month was an earlier proposal to build residential towers over the FDR Drive to help pay for future development of piers along the river. The community board had strongly objected to the towers and the plan was scrapped.

"We're not wedded to anything but making improvements," said Michael Samuelian, director of Lower Manhattan special projects for the City Planning Department.

The board last year named the East River waterfront its number one spending priority for the remaining $1 billion in federal grants for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan after Sept. 11. In 2002 the board put together its own recommendations for the waterfront, many of which are included in the city's current plan.

"It's beautiful," said board member Catherine McVay Hughes. "I just hope that it gets done before my kids are old."