New York is a city of islands: Manhattan, Roosevelt, Governors and Staten, not to mention Long Island, which is anchored on the west end by Queens and Brooklyn. In fact, the Bronx is the only borough attached to the mainland. New York City is defined by its edges, where water meets land, resulting in over 500 miles of shoreline.

The Edge of New York: Waterfront Photographs, was on view at the Museum of the City of New York through November 29, 2009, documents these many miles and seeks to contrast the thriving shipping industry that first put New York on the map with the “post-industrial metropolis” it has become. Photographs by Berenice Abbott, Andreas Feininger and David Robbins capture the working ports of the 1930s and 1940s. Dramatic black and white photographs depict longshoremen hard at work on the piers, boats, and in the shipping facilities that dotted New York’s shores. In an adjacent gallery, modern photographs by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel (work pictured above. © 2005) document the remnants of structures along New York City’s waterfront. Hanging between these images of decay are visions of hope: pockets of revitalization are emerging along the shores.

Photo: Berenice Abbott, courtesy of The New York Public Library Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs.

“Humans have the capacity to change the environment to fit us,” Dr. Eric Sanderson said at a recent panel discussion at MCNY, Shaping the Shoreline. Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Mannahatta Project, Sanderson has spent the past decade decoding the original ecology of Manhattan, a pristine wilderness before Europeans arrived 400 years ago. Black bears, mountain lions and wild turkeys were eventually replaced with artists, hipsters and financial types; and instead of deciduous trees, skyscrapers now define New York City’s skyline.

While the skyscrapers may epitomize New York’s ambition, the shores offer indisputable evidence of our ability to conquer nature. Dr. Ann L. Buttenwieser, adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Urban Planning, and Historic Preservation and author of Manhattan Water-Bound: Manhattan’s Waterfront from the Seventeenth Century to the Present (Syracuse UP, 1999) discovered that, during the years of 1624 through 1980, Manhattan’s land area was expanded by 33%, equivalent to about 348 city blocks. These man-made landfills provided precious space to accommodate the thriving shipping industry.

However, since container shipping revolutionized the industry and allowed ports to move away from urban centers, many New York shipping companies relocated to Port Newark-Elizabeth in New Jersey. South Street Seaport as well as shipping yards in Brooklyn were vacated. In the spaces that remain, Buttenwieser advocates opening the waterfront back to recreation.

Photo by: Murrye Bernard. Blue warehouses along Brooklyn’s shoreline are being demolished for green space.

Such a transformation is occurring at Brooklyn Bridge Park, an 85-acre, 1.3 mile long swath stretching from the Manhattan Bridge to Atlantic Avenue along the East River. Six piers contained abandoned blue warehouses and parking lots, which are being demolished to create green space and recreation areas including playgrounds, beaches, fishing piers, soccer fields and bike paths. Floating and fixed walkways will entice pedestrians down to sea level, physically and visually connecting them to the water. Beyond the forests of piles that support the piers will be breathtaking views of Manhattan.

Photo by: Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp

The adjacent neighborhood Brooklyn Heights generally supports the transformation of this underutilized area into public space. Downriver, Red Hook is experiencing growing pains. While still a primarily industrial area, the neighborhood is also attractive to Manhattan expats seeking larger, more affordable studio and living spaces. It was also attractive to Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA, who built a store along the Erie Basin, formerly an active port. Amidst much neighborhood opposition, the big box store and its requisite parking lots replaced a 19th century dry dock and other historic buildings.

In order to build on the site, which was zoned for heavy manufacturing and required planning commission approval, IKEA agreed to construct a waterfront esplanade. Distinctly separate from the store, the park is open to residents and shoppers alike. The six acre esplanade incorporates walking and bike paths lined with wildflowers and grasses, as well as plenty of benches and lounge chairs from which to contemplate the harbor.

Photo by: Murrye Bernard. Salvaged gantry crane

IKEA salvaged many relics from the site, including over 50,000 cobblestones, which were incorporated into the paving design on the esplanade. In homage to Red Hook’s shipping heritage, four giant gantry cranes were restored and positioned throughout the park, as well as bollards, ropes and chocks—huge concrete blocks used to stabilize ships in the dry docks. Inscribed on the chocks are names of ships that were repaired there, and ample signage details the history of the area and how the shipyards functioned.

Since IKEA opened in June 2008, some residents who initially opposed the store have softened enough to enjoy the esplanade, even if they still refuse to sit on a Klippan sofa or indulge in meatballs with lingonberries. Others consider the park a pathetic attempt to pacify residents, and find the display of maritime paraphernalia as cheap as IKEA’s furniture.

Photo by: Murrye Bernard. Abandoned warehouse in Red Hook

While Red Hook’s shores are not yet diligently planned like those of Manhattan’s South Street Seaport or the Brooklyn Bridge Park, they offer a fascinating juxtaposition of the past and the present. We often think of water shaping the land: tides crashing against the beach, rivers hollowing out gorges. In New York, we don’t have the patience to leave it to nature to shape our shores.

>Written by d/visible contributor Murrye Bernard.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Business, Culture, Art & Design, Community, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.