Blog returns
The Going Coastal Blog returns at coastalcommons.net.
We welcome contributors. Send us your maritime or marine stories.
Save the Coasties
The U.S. Coast Guard is an odd duck, a multi-mission maritime agency that is both a military and a law enforcement service. It saves far more lives than it takes — about one million since its founding 220 years ago.
Maybe that difference is why it’s getting the prop screw in President Obama’s 2011 budget even though it had the first ship, first planes and first military doctors on the ground after the Haitian earthquake last month and did the surveys that discovered the main port needs massive reconstruction before it can handle significant long-term relief shipments. Less than five years ago the Coast Guard was the only part of the U.S. government that functioned in the first critical days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. “Coasties,” as they call themselves, rescued over 33,500 of some 60,000 citizens saved in the wake of the disaster. They also coordinated the largest maritime rescue in world history on 9-11, helping evacuate half a million people from lower Manhattan.
Clash Over Plans for a Brooklyn Park
The way Marty Markowitz sees it, the rundown nine-acre park where Coney Island and Brighton Beach meet is ripe for a sparkling transformation.
Residents fear a planned 5,000-seat amphitheater would draw too many visitors and change the quiet character of the park. (NY Times)
From Trash to Trophies: A New Golf Course Grows in the Bronx
As part of last fall’s PGA Tour FedEx Playoffs, the Barclays Classic was contested at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey amid great fanfare. Television coverage kept panning to the spectacular views of the New York skyline and also covered the conversion of the former industrial waste site to tournament golf venue. (more…)
Broad Channel Marina site development sought
Despite recent reports that the old Schmitt’s Marina at West 19th Road in Broad Channel “will one day become a waterfront park,” the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the improvement of the parcel.
According to the Parks Department, “This RFEI is intended to solicit ideas for the revitalization of this currently dormant and underused asset from members of the local community, area non-profits and local entrepreneurs, experts in the fields of ecology, outdoor recreation, or sustainable development.”
EPA notes higher PCB levels in Hudson dredging
Federal environmental officials say they believe the amount of contaminated sediment that will need to be dredged from the Hudson River will be “significantly higher” than initially expected. (more…)
Coney Island will be alive with new rides this summer
Zamperla USA, which operates Victorian Gardens, the popular kiddie park at Wollman Rink in Central Park, has won the bid to set up shop on a 7-acre chunk of land that includes the site of the now-shuttered Astroland. (more…)
Trial by Ferry
There is nothing wrong with holding the trial of the man who has described himself as the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, in federal court in New York. But there is something wrong with spending upward of $200 million per year on security for a multiyear trial and disrupting the lives of people who have homes and jobs in Lower Manhattan, (more…)
Developer face lawsuit charging they reneged on contract to buy land along Gowanus Canal
Developer Toll Brothers has been hit with a multimillion- dollar lawsuit charging it reneged on a contract to buy land along the polluted Gowanus Canal after the feds moved to make the waterway a Superfund site. (more…)
Novel proposal eyes cleaner Gowanus
A Park Slope man thinks he knows how to take the stink out of the Gowanus — and he’s aiming to teach the city just how to do it. (more…)
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE LONGEST SEA VOYAGE IN HISTORY, BUT IT?S NOT OVER YET
On January 16, 2010, New York City artist, adventurer and sailor Reid Stowe, on his 70 ft. gaff-rigged schooner Anne, will finally have accomplished his goal of remaining at sea for 1,000 days (2 years, 7 months and 4 days) without re-supply or touching land, in the process setting or breaking 4 world records. Stowe, a NYC artist/sailor departed land on April 21, 2007 to attempt the longest sea voyage in history, 1000 days non-stop at sea. (more…)
Cleanup To Begin On Site Of Stalled Brooklyn Supermarket
Brooklyn was supposed to get its first Whole Foods store back in 2008, but the site chosen was so contaminated the supermarket was never built. Now, some plans are moving forward for the location, although not exactly the one first proposed. NY1’s Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report. (more…)
State allots $1.6M in grants for development of Fresh Kills, High Rock Park
Staten Island has received $1.6 million in state grant money for revitalization and development projects at the former Fresh Kills landfill and High Rock Park. (more…)
Missing bolts, faulty planks mar new Coney Island Boardwalk
New boardwalk, same as the old Boardwalk.
Newly rebuilt chunks of the famed Coney Island Boardwalk are already starting to fall apart, advocates said. (more…)
Architects Plan ‘Amphibious Landscape’ for New York City
What would New York’s waterfront look like after a sea level rise of 2 feet or more? (more…)
Plan to develop NYC waterfront clears final step
A plan to revitalize a bleak stretch of land along Manhattan’s west side waterfront was approved Monday by the New York City Council, but the project remains without financing and it will likely be many years before any buildings go up. (more…)
A Push to Bring the S.S. United States Back Home
The S.S. United States, which carried immigrants to America and vacationers to Europe faster than any other ocean liner, has not sailed into New York harbor in 40 years. But some fans of the giant ship are telling city officials that it should come home to Manhattan. (more…)
Big Plans for Old Sugar Refinery Face Review
In 2004, the Domino Sugar refinery that occupied five blocks along the Brooklyn waterfront in Williamsburg for more than 150 years shut down, joining the neighboring brick factories as remnants of the area’s industrial past. (more…)
Federal dollars flowing into Fort Hamilton
The federal defense-spending bill that passed Congress earlier this month contains good news for Fort Hamilton. (more…)
Frigid tradition of Coney Island Polar Bear Club takes breath away
It sounds crazy, but these guys say the best beach weather on Coney Island comes in January. (more…)
Going Coastal 