Photo Courtesy DCP
The Comprehensive Waterfront Plan will set a vision for the future of the waterfront for the next decade and beyond.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The Department of City Planning is producing a series of remote workshops, two or more in each borough, that seek to gather comment and input on the next edition of New York City’s Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, DCP Director Marisa Lago recently announced.
The plan, Lago noted, will set a vision for the future of the waterfront for the next decade and beyond.
“The Comprehensive Waterfront Plan gives every New Yorker a once-in-a-decade opportunity to craft a holistic vision for our city’s beautiful 520-mile-long waterfront. The discussions that we’re having with New Yorkers about our shoreline are invaluable, covering equity of access to jobs and open space, the health of our waterways, our resiliency to climate change and more,” Lago added.
Last week’s announcement comes alongside the launch of a new website dedicated to increasing public engagement on the plan. Public input is a critical, central pillar of the plan, which is tentatively scheduled to be released by the end of 2020, Lago said. The website will accept public input through the end of November 2020.
According to DCP, the website also provides information about existing waterfront regulations, links to waterfront-related interactive maps, a section on what we’ve heard through public outreach so far, information about our community partners and a space where New Yorkers can share their thoughts on the waterfront.
The new website includes a draft framework document, spelling out priorities based on what DCP has heard from communities so far. Meant to further spur public conversation and input, the framework includes overarching themes of resiliency, equity and health that will shape the content of the plan and our process. The framework uses these themes as a lens through which it discusses topics like economic activity, ferries, natural resources and the working waterfront.
The workshops are tailored for local communities. Participants can join by videoconference on Zoom or by calling from any phone. The hour and a half long meetings, which are also accessible through NYC Engage, are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. for:
- Sept. 17: Queens: Northern Queens (Community Districts 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11 – please note this meeting will start at 5:30 p.m.)
- Oct. 15: Queens: Southern Queens (Community Districts 9, 10, 12, 13, 14)
- Nov. 10: Queens: East River (Community Districts 1, 2, 5)
According to DCP, each workshop will start with a presentation by DCP on the preliminary goals and issues the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan aims to address, followed by small group discussions to share ideas.
“Residents of the waterfront communities in and around Jamaica Bay and Rockaway can play a key role in framing the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. Through this, and other planning efforts, input from local community members will help shape waterfront policy over the next decade. The Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, which supports over 10,000 acres of parkland mostly along our shorelines, is thankful that this planning effort will engage the public through virtual workshops and offers an even greater opportunity for people to participate and set a vision for our city’s waterfront,” said Alex Zablocki, director, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy.
