First Place / Joseph WoodSecond Place / Takuma Ono & Darina Zlateva

Elaborate designs for East Side Esplanade now on display in museum exhibit

By Rebecca Harris

The shabby state of Manhattan’s East River esplanade, crumbling in age and plagued by awkwardly configured spaces, minimal amenities and deterioration due to a general lack of upkeep, has been a source of displeasure among East Siders for years.

City Council Member Jessica Lappin said her office receives frequent calls from residents of East Harlem and the Upper East Side complaining about the conditions of the waterfront, a continuous stretch of parkland that spans the area from about 60th Street up to 125th.

“Many of us on the East Side have been very jealous, for a long time, of what West Siders have to take advantage of when it comes to their waterfront parks,” Lappin said.

Now, city officials and community advocates have begun soliciting feedback in their mission to craft a vision for more ambitious improvement of the aesthetically sorry esplanade.

Architects from around the world are weighing in with novel, elaborate ideas for revitalizing the area. Canals weaving inland, intertwining with Manhattan’s city grid; a network of modern boardwalks spiking out into the water off the shoreline; ecologically advanced irrigation systems and dramatic landscaping are just a few examples of design proposals put forth by the winners of a recent ideas competition.

CIVITAS, a nonprofit organization that works to improve urban planning and land use policies on the Upper East Side and East Harlem, launched the contest in fall 2010, encouraging architects from around the world to submit proposals for development of the esplanade. The competition drew 90 submissions, with architects entering from 24 countries.

“We looked at other great spaces in New York City—Hudson River Park, the High Line—how did they get their start? With a comprehensive vision coming from their community with an ideas competition,” said Hunter Armstrong, Executive Director of CIVITAS.

Last night, the Museum of the City of New York unveiled an exhibition showcasing the winning designs of the ideas competition. The Reimagining the Waterfront exhibit, which opened to the public today, showcases the entries of the contest’s three winners and five honorable mentions. The designs will be on display at the museum until October 28.

First-place winner Joseph Wood, an architecture graduate student at Syracuse University, proposed extending the boundaries of the waterfront inland via canals to integrate Upper East Side and East Harlem neighborhoods adjacent to the river.

“I think different from the other projects, my idea was the thought of pulling the water into the city, bringing the waterfront to the people,” said Wood, who added that he, like many of the winners, had not actually visited the esplanade while crafting his ambitious design.

Takumo Ono and Darina Zlateva of New York City, and Matteo Rossetti of Italy, won second and third place, respectively. Runners up hailed from Virginia, Canada, Puerto Rico, Spain and Italy.

The eight proposals featured in the exhibit were chosen by a panel of judges including six architects, an attorney and William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Though an important step in community efforts to clean up the East Side waterfront, submissions to the ideas competition were not restricted by financial feasibility or zoning requirements. Armstrong noted that the winning designs would not necessarily be implemented in future development of the esplanade, but were rather meant to inspire community members to give feedback and to invest in the improvement of the area.

“We wish there were major dollars at the end of this to implement some of these designs, but obviously work is needed to build that political and community support. This was a creative process to…pool in the community, constituents, and stakeholders and get them to start thinking about the future of the park,” he said.

LOWER EAST SIDE

SILVER PROPOSES GUN BUY-BACKS AT RUTGERS HOUSE

In response to increased gun violence in the Lower East Side over recent months, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wrote a letter to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly recently, asking for their support in a plan to reduce gun violence.

Silver’s plan is to rally the DA’s office and NYPD to sponsor a gun buy-back program
on the Lower East Side. “Gun buy-backs have proven to be a very effective way to remove guns from our streets,” he said. Silver has also suggested a location for the program, offering the community room at Rutgers Houses on Pike Street, which he said would be a perfect location, noting that the tenants have already agreed to host the venue, should the DA’s office and the NYPD agree to the program.

CITYWIDE
CITY OFFICIALS RENAME MADISON SQUARE PARK IN HONOR OF FALLEN 9/11 RESPONDER

Earlier this month, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and New York City Parks Manhattan Borough Commissioner William Castro gathered at Madison Square Park, which spans from
23rd to 26th Street, to celebrate the life and courage of NYPD officer Moira Smith by renaming the park in her honor.

Smith, who is survived by her husband and daughter, is credited with saving hundreds of lives on Sept. 11, 2001. “People who survived the World Trade Center attacks will tell you they remember Moira, a beacon of calm in the chaos, leading the injured to care,” said Kelly.

SQUADRON OUTRAGED OVER REDISTRICTING

In the wake of a state Senate vote in favor of controversial redistricting lines and a constitutional amendment that would form a 10-member commission (with eight of the members chosen by the Legislature) responsible for redistricting, State Sen. Daniel Squadron spoke March 15 about his opposition to the vote, which he called a “doubly broken promise.”

“The only way to change this poisonous process once and for all is to get the
Legislature out of the business of drawing its own districts. One more year based on this process, much less a decade of its gerrymandered and political results, is unacceptable,” he said.

As a next step, Squadron has proposed that the governor veto the proposed
amendment; however, his opinion is in direct odds with other city politicians,
including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who in a statement after the vote, said, “This agreement will permanently reform the redistricting process in New York to once and for all end self-interested and partisan gerrymandering.”

CHIN SEEKS TRANSPARENCY FOR METHADONE CLINICS

Last week, City Council Member Margaret Chin introduced a law that would mandate community board notification of proposed methadone clinics. Currently, the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) is only required to notify the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) of plans to establish a methadone clinic, satisfying its obligation to inform the community.

Chin’s plan, however, would obligate DOHMH to notify the local community board and the City Council when they are first contacted by OASAS.
This measure of transparency, Chin believes, will aid in informing the general public of the potential presence of methadone clinics.

“Given the strong feelings that many communities have regarding clinics that dispense methadone within their neighborhoods, there is little incentive for applicants to inform the public that they are intending to open a clinic,” said Chin. “Local governments know their community best and they should have an opportunity to comment on whether the proposed siting is appropriate or needed.”

A PROPOSED END TO FINGERS FOR FOOD THROUGHOUT NYC
With the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Council Speaker Christine
Quinn, State Sen. Daniel Squadron has introduced a bill that would effectively ban the fingerprinting of individuals eligible for food stamps, believed to be directly responsible for nearly 6,000 food stamp denials between 2009-2010, according to an analysis by the Empire Justice Center.

Advocates claim that fingerprinting deters families from applying because of embarrassment and places an unnecessary financial burden on the state.
“Finger imaging is so ineffective, such a waste of money and such an impediment to food stamp access that even Governor Rick Perry eliminated it in Texas, and now only Arizona and New York City still cling to this discredited process,” said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.

It appeared that a majority of the attending public were against this rule, and many posited that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city were attempting to rid the city’s parks of performers in order to usher in more corporate operations in the vein of the holiday market currently open in Union Square.

William Castro, the Manhattan Borough commissioner for the Department of Parks and Recreation, attended the meeting and opened it with a few remarks. He maintained that the rules are misunderstood and said that the city isn’t attempting to ban performers. He noted that the city recognizes the importance of having performers in the park, but added that they hope to better regulate their activities to make parks vibrant and safe places for all. While some have argued that, due to the plethora of monuments in Washington Square Park, it is difficult—if not impossible—for a busker to find a legal spot to perform, Castro noted that there were many acceptable places, including the Garibaldi Stage.

Robert Lederman, president of Artists Response to Illegal State Tactics(ARTISTS), noted that he had visited the park with a tape measure and couldn’t find a spot that was 50 feet away from a monument. He believes the city hopes to make room for corporate vending.

“These rules seem to have come all of the sudden,” said Doris Diether, co-chair of CB2’s Landmarks and Public Aesthetics Committee. Deither, a longtime resident of the area, pointed out that musicians have been a fixture of the park since the 1950s.

Colin Huggins, known for playing a grand piano in the park, called himself “the big ticket winner” in terms of the amount he has been fined for performing. He noted that at minimum, he owed over $2,000, which he had to pay over a six-week period, but many generously donated to him to cover the costs.

Joe Mangrum, the artist responsible for the sand art pieces found in the park, said that when he first moved to New York City he was surprised by the freedom for self-expression and said that sense of freedom propels art in public spaces. “By killing this art, the park will be more vacant as a result,” he added.

Of course, a meeting involving themes of self-expression had to end on an artistic flourish with the opera singer Katie Kat, a masters student and adjunct professor of voice at New York University, belting out a musical piece in Italian. Kat, one half of the Opera Under the Arch duet, said she has been busking since she was a teenager and that for many artists in the park, public performance offers a chance for their talents to be discovered.

The Parks, Recreation and Open Space board is set to reconvene Jan. 14, 2012, at which point, noted board members, a resolution concerning these regulations will most likely be brought up. In the meantime, community members can send their comments to washingtonsquareparkspeakout@gmail.com.

Citizens Polled on Living Wage

According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 74 percent of New Yorkers are in favor of the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, also known as the Living Wage bill. In a statement, Living Wage NYC said of the poll results, “This sentiment reaches across political lines, as a whopping 56 percent of Republicans and 83 percent of Democrats agree that the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act would benefit the city—results consistent with an earlier Baruch College living wage poll.”

1,242 registered voters were polled Dec. 7 through Dec. 12. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act would make the minimum hourly wage for workers hired by companies that receive more than $1 million in city subsidies $10 per hour plus benefits or $11.50 without benefits.