City Council has matched the $3.5 million in capital funding the Borough President’s office allocated for the redevelopment of Brooklyn Bridge Beach

New York, NY – City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer today announced that the City Council has matched the $3.5 million in capital funding the Borough President’s office allocated for the transformation of the Brooklyn Bridge Beach. This $7 million allocation secures the funds needed to realize the project first proposed in Borough President Stringer’s and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh’s East River Blueway Plan – a blueprint they developed in collaboration with the Lower East Side Ecology Center, community boards, and numerous community partners.

Standing on the esplanade under the historic bridge with Council Members Chin and Garodnick, along with Lower East Side community leaders, Speaker Quinn, Borough President Stringer and Assemblymember Kavanagh unveiled details of the Brooklyn Bridge Beach project, including beachfront access, opportunities for recreational activities, tree-lined walkways and other amenities to bring people to the water. The improvements, along with new salt marsh planters and wetlands, will also help protect nearby vulnerable communities against future storms and flooding.

“The redevelopment of Brooklyn Bridge Beach will transform an unused and forgotten stretch of waterfront into a premiere staycation destination,” said Speaker Quinn. “New Yorkers and tourists alike will be able to take advantage of this unique and innovative space. New York has always been a city of water, and this project will re-connect us to one of our greatest resources. The waterfront is an asset to New York City – we must embrace it. I thank Manhattan Borough President Stringer and the many other partners who are turning this vision into a reality.”

“East River Blueway is truly a plan developed by the community and for the community, and I am thrilled that the transformation of this forgotten waterfront is now on the horizon,” said Borough President Stringer. “I thank Speaker Quinn and the City Council for their commitment and support which will help turn our vision for Brooklyn Bridge Beach into a vibrant reality that restores and strengthens New York City. The Blueway is a product of sound, community-based planning that could be a model for the rest of our City, and I am proud to unveil our first steps today.”

In addition, Speaker Quinn, the Borough President and Assemblymember Kavanagh announced another key component of the Blueway Plan: a kayak and canoe launch in Stuyvesant Cove, which stretches from East 18th to East 23rd Street, funded with $1 million secured by Council Member Garodnick.

“From the very beginning of the Blueway planning process, we recognized that Stuyvesant Cove presents one of the best opportunities for getting New Yorkers out onto the river,” said Assemblymember Kavanagh. “I thank Borough President Stringer for partnering with us so effectively, all the boating enthusiasts who have pushed for this aspect of the plan, and of course, Council Member Garodnick for securing the funding and coming through for our community, as he always does. We look forward to the Brooklyn Bridge Beach and Stuyvesant Cove projects being the first of many elements of the Blueway vision that will be realized in the coming years.”

“The Stuyvesant Cove boat launch will give East Siders a new low maintenance way to engage with their waterfront,” said Council Member Garodnick. “Paired with the already dynamic Solar One, this area will become one of the more innovative recreational spaces on the East Side.”

The East River Blueway Plan, which was initiated in 2010 and introduced in 2013, is an ambitious proposal to transform the borough’s waterfront from the Brooklyn Bridge to East 38th Street. The 78-page proposal was developed by Stringer, Kavanagh and WXY architecture + urban design, along with Community Boards 3 and 6 and the Lower East Side Ecology Center, with funding from the New York State Division of Coastal Resources.
“Hurricane Sandy highlighted the need for future regional planning and community engagement. That’s how you build a better, stronger city – from the ground up,” said Borough President Stringer. “The East River Blueway Plan took years of collaboration to finalize, and the result shows that we can simultaneously provide New Yorkers with amenities and green space, while also protecting the community with wave barriers, wetlands and other safeguards.”

“I am delighted that Borough President Stringer, Speaker Quinn, Councilman Garodnick and the City Council are investing in our waterfront, making it more accessible and more attractive. With a re-imagined Brooklyn Bridge Beach, and a kayak and canoe launch, New Yorkers will have more reasons to enjoy the East River waterfront. That’s great for the East Side and great for New York City,” said Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney.

“Across the City there is a lack of accessibility to the waterfront,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron. “The Blueway Plan is an innovative project that will help connect communities to the waterfront. I commend Borough President Stringer and Speaker Quinn for securing funds to re-imagine Brooklyn Bridge Beach and for bringing all the amenities the East River has to offer to the neighborhood.”

Council Member Margaret Chin said, “The East River Blueway Plan paves the way for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy Brooklyn Bridge Beach to the fullest, transforming this underutilized area of the waterfront into an attractive and family-friendly getaway. I thank Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for his dedication to the revitalization of this much-loved community amenity, and I am proud to support the plan with Speaker Quinn and my colleagues in the City Council.”

Christine Datz-Romero, Executive Director of Lower East Side Ecology Center, said, “The Lower East Side Ecology Center is extremely excited for the East River Blueway Plan to begin its transition from a plan to on the water reality. These two priority projects will bring beautiful, necessary access to both ends of the East River Blueway, and will enable us to further work with neighborhood partners to bring waterfront activities such as fishing, kayaking, and estuary education to the communities near the East River.”

Claire Weisz, Principal at WXY architecture + urban design, said, “Improving life in and around the East River for the community is what drove the East River Blueway plan. Now with this commitment to the projects at Brooklyn Bridge Beach and Stuyvesant Cove we are seeing how catalytic the community-based planning process and its goals have been.”

“I am extremely pleased to see that in just four short months since our Blueway plan was unveiled, we are already beginning to see our waterfront transform to an inviting space that families can actively enjoy. It was not too long ago that anyone in our neighborhood who wanted to enjoy canoeing or kayaking had to get in a car and drive for a couple of hours to do so. Now we can walk there in minutes. Healthy options like this are exactly what we need more of,” said Community Board 6 Chair Sandro Sherrod.

Community Board 1 Chair Catherine Hughes said, “The Brooklyn Bridge Beach has been an abandoned, litter-strewn eyesore on the East River waterfront for decades. With the vision of Borough President Scott Stringer, and others, the East River Blueway Plan now includes creating a public waterfront amenity while protecting our shorefront from extreme weather — and most importantly funding it so that it can become a reality. Community Board 1 strongly supports this plan.”

While there are eight sites for human-powered boating in Manhattan along the Hudson River, there are only two sites along the East River, neither of which is in Manhattan. Brooklyn Bridge Beach and Stuyvesant Cove will begin to fill this void. The Brooklyn Bridge Beach will also include:

• A widened esplanade with terraced seating and improved tree-lined, lit walkways;
• Improved access to the natural beach through the construction of new railings, gates, and steps;
• Fishing piers and boat ramps;
• Storm resiliency with salt marsh planters, wetlands, ripraps, reef balls and wave attenuation walls;
• On-site income generation through a concession stand(s), which will add to the vibrant atmosphere at the beach.

Future plans include wading pools for swimming with water captured and filtered from the FDR Drive’s surface runoff, which will also help minimize its impact on the East River water quality.

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