Press Release: CP Announces Public Meetings on Draft Goals and Strategies for Comprehensive Waterfront Plan - DCP

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For Immediate Release
May 10, 2021

Contacts:
Melissa Grace, Joe Marvilli – press@planning.nyc.gov (212) 720-3471

DCP Announces Public Meetings on Draft Goals and Strategies for Comprehensive Waterfront Plan

Upcoming remote events, May 25 and 27, offer further opportunities for New Yorkers to oversee and help finalize coming 10-year plan for New York City’s 520 miles of waterfront

NEW YORK – Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Marisa Lago today announced two remote public meetings, scheduled for May 25 and 27, on DCP’s newly-released draft goals and strategies for the next Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. This plan is one of several tools that, when used together, will shape a more healthy, equitable and resilient future for New York City’s 520 miles of waterfront.

“From the South Shore of Staten Island to Orchard Beach in the northern Bronx, New York City's dynamic waterfront defines our city. The Comprehensive Waterfront Plan is a visionary roadmap, crafted together with a wide swath of New Yorkers, for making our shoreline more equitable, resilient and vibrant, whether for relaxation, recreation, resilience, travel or work. Please read our proposed strategies and then join us at these upcoming meetings. We want to hear your perspectives,” said DCP Director Marisa Lago

The release of DCP’s draft goals and strategies for the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan follows two years of public collaboration, through dozens of in-person and remote workshops, waterfront tours, participating in seasonal or nature-focused festivals and our Waterfront Planning Camp. DCP continued engagement with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic through online programs like #WaterfrontWednesdays and Walking the Edge, done in collaboration with local arts and not for profit organizations.

Details on the two upcoming meetings in May are posted on NYC Engage, offering further opportunities following last fall’s workshops for New Yorkers to share their feedback. The remote meetings will be accessible by phone or online. For those who can’t make the meetings, DCP is also accepting written public comments on the Plan’s website through May 28.

Building on the foundation laid out with the release of the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan framework in September 2020, the draft goals and strategies advance a 10-year vision for an equitable, healthy and resilient waterfront across the five boroughs. The draft goals and strategies present the ways that city agencies can work together with waterfront communities and other stakeholders to address historic discrimination, build on past successes that made the waterfront more attractive, accessible, livable and vibrant, and take decisive action on climate change while leveraging opportunities for a 21st century working waterfront. The document is organized by the following six themes:

Climate Adaptation & Resiliency

Waterfront Public Access

Economic Opportunity

The Working Waterfront

Water Quality & Natural Resources

Ferries

Each of these themes encompasses a set of clear goals that advance a vision for the City’s waterfront and strategies on potential ways to achieve those goals, running the gamut from targeted infrastructure investments to policy recommendations to program expansions. Much of this work is interconnected, with goals and strategies overlapping throughout the document.

The Comprehensive Waterfront Plan highlights the role the city's waterfront can take in advancing other recent citywide plans, including OneNYC 2050, Food Forward NYC and Where We Live NYC. While DCP leads the process for creating the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, it is a citywide document and numerous City agencies have engaged in the planning process. This interagency collaboration is a critical part of the overall planning process, helping to further city priorities and align them with what we heard over the course of our public outreach

The final Comprehensive Waterfront Plan will be completed and released by June 30. Please sign up for our waterfront newsletter to stay involved and be notified of updates on the plan.

Department of City Planning
The Department of City Planning (DCP) plans for the strategic growth and development of the City through ground-up planning with communities, the development of land use policies and zoning regulations applicable citywide, and its contribution to the preparation of the City’s 10-year Capital Strategy. DCP promotes housing production and affordability, fosters economic development and coordinated investments in infrastructure and services, and supports resilient, sustainable communities across the five boroughs for a more equitable New York City.

In addition, DCP supports the City Planning Commission in its annual review of approximately 450 land use applications for a variety of discretionary approvals. The Department also assists both government agencies and the public by advising on strategic and capital planning and providing policy analysis, technical assistance and data relating to housing, transportation, community facilities, demography, zoning, urban design, waterfront areas and public open space.