City Council Committee on Waterfronts

Committee on Waterfronts

September 25, 2008

Intro No. 809 – In relation to the City Planning Commission

Good afternoon. My name is Jennifer Barrett and I am the Research and Policy Associate for
the New York Industrial Retention Network (NYIRN). NYIRN is a citywide economic development organization that works to promote both blue-collar jobs and sustainable development.

NYIRN supports the provision for a waterfront plan – to be revised (at least) every ten years – with the hopes that such a plan would enable the City to best utilize the waterfront for its goals for sustainability. As the City’s population continues to grows, the waterfront will be an important asset for waterborne transportation, open space and employment-generating uses. A comprehensive waterfront could help ensure that neighborhoods such as Sunset Park, Gowanus and the south Bronx retain their strength as places with active working waterfronts and areas for well-paying industrial jobs.

Over the past decade, the City has rezoned tremendous sections of its waterfront to encourage residential development. While the City may have had a surplus of industrial waterfront space at one time, we may be reaching a point where additional rezonings will undermine basic infrastructure and a sustainable economic future. It is now important that a comprehensive waterfront plan take into account the need to balance the needs of the City and land use decisions that will make the City sustainable for the coming decades.

The recent NYCEDC Maritime Support Services study showed that maritime support industries provide more than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs.¹ There are several times more industrial jobs in waterfront areas such as Sunset Park, Red Hook, Gowanus, Long Island City/Newtown Creek, the South Bronx and parts of Staten Island. While not all businesses in these communities are water-dependent today, they may benefit from proximity to waterfront in the future as the City looks for ways to decrease trucking by increasing waterfront transport. In addition, the City could also create opportunities for new jobs, including new green industries. For example, several recycling facilities which are already on the waterfront, can be a resource for emerging industries that rely on the reuse of materials such as wood, metal and glass.
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The NYCEDC Maritime Support study calculated that 90% of goods arrive in New York's harbor by boat. Yet in order to continue to be a port city, we must maintain our waterfront infrastructure. A comprehensive waterfront plan would give the City the opportunity to prevent the displacement of important maritime support services and related industries by strengthening current zoning regulations. Waterfront-specific zoning could promote active industrial uses and prohibit other non-industrial uses currently allowed as-of-right in M zones (including some big box retail, entertainment uses and hotels).

Many communities already see and welcome the job potential of waterfront industrial areas. For example, the Sunset Park 197-a plan calls for zoning to protect its industrial district and investment in “green” industries. The NYCEDC is currently engaged in a study to evaluate the industrial area of Sunset Park for an eco-industrial park. Similarly the "Working Waterfront” Committee of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA) is developing policy recommendations to:

- revise waterfront zoning to strengthen industry and maritime uses;

- prioritize transportation and infrastructure investments to link waterfront with other land use strategies, and;

- create incentives and/or financial assistance to support green business development along the waterfront.

Finally, any plan created under the City Planning Commission should take into account the resources and needs identified by EDC and other agencies, as well as the City’s waterfront assets and its existing infrastructure. For example, the EDC maritime report includes valuable information about areas of active barging and necessary infrastructure such as dry docks.

In conclusion, we urge the Council Committee on Waterfronts to require a waterfront plan that:
- considers strategies for a sustainable city;
- retains well-paying industrial jobs, and;
- maintains the existing infrastructure to enable the most appropriate use of the waterfront use for industry and transport.

Any comprehensive waterfront planning should aim to best identify the areas of current industrial uses and allow development for residential and recreational uses in areas that are least appropriate for industrial and maritime activities. A comprehensive plan could enable the City to seize opportunities for growth and an improved environment that can be achieved through a vibrant working waterfront.

Thank you.

¹EDC Maritime Support Service Location Study, 2007, p. 83