New Amsterdam Waterfront Exchange Summary Report

The Way Forward: Reflections on the Dutch Recommendations

The purpose of this exciting exchange was for two great cities to share experiences and learn from each other, and the Exchange more than fulfilled that goal. The workshop sessions produced many ideas for an innovative, mixed-use redevelopment vision that repositions the Red Hook and Sunset Park waterfronts within the larger context of Brooklyn, Governors Island and Lower Manhattan. The innovative ideas generated in the workshops have been summarized in this report by our Dutch colleagues. They certainly deserve our attention: envisioning New York’s waterfront as a constellation of commercial activities, residential communities and dramatic open spaces interconnected by water, with an impact comparable to that of Boston or Baltimore’s inner harbors. There is a new set of expectations about the waterfront and about which focal points should be established for the longterm. And, more importantly, New York City need not delay. We can get started at key locations where standards are set high, so as to ensure the broader development will be of lasting quality. There are several crucial imperatives, summarized below, that we heard from our Dutch counterparts in the planning and development worlds during the New Amsterdam Waterfront Exchange in April.

Make public investments in key amenities and infrastructure in order to spur high-quality redevelopment for the South Brooklyn waterfront and Governors Island.

Providing funds for new seawalls and for access points and open space along the waterfront would be the catalyst for a successful transformation of these areas, as was the case in Battery Park City. From Amanda Burden we heard of the importance of the initial investments in the esplanade and parks, and the insistence on high-quality materials and standards of design. These served to both attract investors by inspiring confidence in the overall vision, and in turn, assured the resulting development was commensurate to that of the elegant public spaces.

Rethink and redefine the modern seaport.

Drawing from the examples of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, we must re-envision the older New York, with its core of industrial uses, within a new paradigm where residential, commercial and cultural activities are now at the center. And, as in the Netherlands, there are many ways to find synergies between maritime functions and creating desirable locales for housing – people are actually intrigued by the port identity, as evidenced in the success of the architecturally inventive ​“Silodam” apartment building, based on the colorful stacks of port containers. Compatible maritime uses such as cruise lines and tugboats offer ways in which these ports and residential areas can be knit together in close proximity.

Consolidate container freight port functions into a state-of-the-art container facility at Sunset Park.

The facility would serve as a new inland harbor redistribution center for the region. The mantra we heard repeated by the Dutch was ​“no more wishful economic thinking.” While maritime and industrial water-dependent activities should be encouraged in Red Hook and Sunset Park, they must exist as compactly as possible, and non-water dependent uses should be relocated inland where possible. The Dutch – masters at space utilization out of necessity – urged us to use land more efficiently, and to consolidate container port functions at a newly upgraded inland harbor terminal in Sunset Park that has the optimal intermodal connections and deep-water capacity

The public sector should play a new role as an investor in the emerging economy

The public sector should redevelop Piers 6-12 as part of the new service economy, ensuring a variety of residential, commercial, recreational and maritime activities, in the same way that the Port of Rotterdam is expanding its scope and direction to create a world-class Port and mixed-use harbor district. These two moves in tandem - consolidating inland containerized-freight operations and broadening the mix of public sector redevelopment activities - will do much to improve not only the Brooklyn waterfront, but also New York’s global competitiveness as a world city.

Reconnect our waterfronts - both physically and sociologically - to one another and to their adjoining neighborhoods and communities.

This was another one of the major lessons of Battery Park City, and its success in maturing into an integral part of Lower Manhattan. We were also encouraged to celebrate – rather than eradicate – the industrial heritage of our waterfront by retaining and adapting structures to serve a mix of uses. Access to and enjoyment of its waterfront will be one of New York’s key amenities in the 21st Century. To achieve all of this will take strong leadership on the part of both the pubic and private sectors, and a commitment to a vigorous planning process that allows for diverse participation and evolving consensus. Both Regional Plan Association and New Amsterdam Development Consultants believe that the international dialogue of the Exchange was an important step in realizing this goal for New York’s waterfronts and Harbor.