Coastal Collaborations
Bringing new perspectives and diverse audiences into our planning process
In addition to our efforts to maximize interaction with all New Yorkers, we are also broadening and deepening our collaborations with groups that share our passion for the city’s waterfront. These "coastal collaborations" help us see the waterfront from new perspectives and engage wider and more diverse audiences in the topics that the next Comprehensive Waterfront Plan will explore.
Brooklyn Boatworks Youth Workshops | Jan. 2020 to Feb. 2020
We are excited to partner with Brooklyn Boatworks to incorporate youth voices into our planning process. NYC Planning hosted workshops with students at P.S. 306 in East New York, M.S. 88 in Sunset Park and Growing Up Green LIC in Long Island City. Students shared their ideas about the future of the waterfront. View photos from one of the workshops.
#WaterfrontWednesdays
#WaterfrontWednesdays allow New Yorkers to connect with their waterfront–from home. So far, we’ve partnered with Brooklyn Boatworks and engaged students through waterfront trivia and a drawing exercise; with the Bronx River Alliance to host virtual tours at Concrete Park and learn about water quality in the Bronx River; with the Billion Oyster Project to host a live show-and-tell of an oyster reef; and NYC Parks to explore wetland restoration efforts in Jamaica Bay and a new park on the Rockaway peninsula. #WaterfrontWednesdays enables us to continue and expand public outreach for the next Comprehensive Waterfront plan.
Check out our IGTV at @nycwaterfront to see some of these collaborations.
Walking the Edge
Meet your waterfront and define New York City’s future by exploring its edge–even while you stay home.
The original version of Walking the Edge (WtE) was planned for May 2020 as a month of events dedicated to exploring all 520 miles of NYC’s waterfront with a non-stop relay walk, 24 hours a day, until every mile was travelled. Walking the Edge was designed to reach New Yorkers where they are to ensure that they had a voice in the planning process. As we reimagined this project for a virtual experience, these principles remain true.
Walking the Edge is a collaboration between NYC Planning and the arts organizations Culture Push and Works on Water. Every Friday since May, a different artist creates prompts, questions or activities to help New Yorkers think about the past, present, and future of NYC’s waterfront.
Visit Works on Water on Instagram to see each one.
The Future of the NYC Waterfront
NYC Planning, the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIANY) and the Center for Architecture, developed a series of panel and roundtable discussions designed around specific water bodies. This effort has helped engage the architectural and design community and highlight the issues that were coming up in their work on waterfront projects.
At these sessions, we have had great conversations about development and access along the East River, the trade-offs between conservation and development in places like Jamaica Bay, and opportunities for regional coordination across the Hudson River.