City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden today announced the start of a public review today for revisions to the citywide Waterfront Revitalization Program to further the goals of Vision 2020, according to a press release from the Department of City Planning. (note: correction appended)
The goal is to bolster the long-term sustainability of the project, which is why one City Planning revision includes the addition of climate change projections to development plans. This makes New York one of the first major cities in America to include such considerations into its Coastal Zone Management Project, according to the Department of City Planning website. According to the release, design proposals include elevating or waterproofing the lowest floor of nearby buildings and choosing plans tolerable to salt water and storm flooding.
An additional revision calls for waterfront developers to examine storage of their materials that could pose public health risks to workers and residents of nearby neighborhoods during flooding. The rest encompass a number of green initiatives, such as restoring significant ecological zones in each borough and ecological preservation in tandem with industrial development along the west shore of Staten Island.
The next step is to get feedback from the 48 community boards within coastal zones and all borough presidents and borough boards. The community boards have a 60-day time limit and the borough presidents and boards have a 120-day limit to sent feedback prior to the city planning vote, though a date has not yet been determined. — Zachary Kussin