LongPoint Bridge Connecting Greenpoint to Long Island City Gains Momentum

I’ve always wanted to see this connection between Greenpoint and Hunter’s Point reestablished. The article mentions the Vernon Avenue Bridge (see below), which was constructed in 1905. But a bridge connecting Manhattan Avenue to Vernon Avenue was in place at least as far back as the mid-1850s, when Greenpoint and Hunter’s Point were being developed. Eliphalet Nott was involved in the development of both neighborhoods, which is apparent looking at the very similar building stock in both areas.

Newtown Creek GMDC

Vernon Avenue Bridge, 1905
Credit: Novelty Theater

Greenpoint Developer Wants to Build 10 Huge Towers, Giant Bridge

10/14/2012 | 2 Comments

Manhattan Avenue Bridge
Vernon Avenue Bridge (demolished in 1954)
Source: Novelty Theater

It’s not exactly new news, but Gothamist has a piece up on the proposed mega-development at the top of Greenpoint. Not news because what’s proposed is exactly what the city approved in the 2005 waterfront rezoning. Aside from the proposed bridge to Hunters Point, the only real news is that it has taken so long for development to happen on the Greenpoint waterfront. No one has broken ground yet, but this is one of four projects that are actively in the pipeline. Taken together, these four projects would transform the north Greenpoint waterfront from Java Street to Commercial Street. (The same fate is in store for the southern part of the Greenpoint waterfront – why the northern projects are further along is a mystery to me.)

As for the bridge – connecting West Street to 2nd Street in Hunters Point South – it would be great to reconnect these two neighborhoods, but I’d much rather see it done the old fashioned way, running from Manhattan Avenue to Vernon Boulevard in Hunters Point. In addition to replacing an ages-old connection, a bridge at Manhattan Avenue would have the benefit of connecting two neighborhoods, not two developments.

Greenpoint’s Boathouse on Troubled Waters

Beautiful pictures and nice synopsis of the Greenpoint Boathouse project at Brooklyn Based:

Community advocates want to reclaim Newtown Creek by constructing a boathouse in the ground floor of the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC). The project would also include a repaired bulkhead and an esplanade along the waterfront. For boaters and the kayak-curious, it will mean storage space for non-motorized watercrafts and a training center for recreational boating. For all other visitors, it will provide a place to enjoy the waterfront, as the development would create a public gathering spot that is more of a park than a club.

If all goes according to plan, Greenpoint will have this new waterfront park by 2014.

Your Guide to a Tour of Decay

Closing out a mini-theme on abandonment and decay, I’d be remiss in not linking to this excellent profile of Mitch Waxman from Sunday’s Times.

In Case You Didn’t Notice: Sewage Odors Are Drawing Fewer Complaints

In 2007, the bulk of the complaints were directed at two of the city’s 14 plants: Owl’s Head in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

By this summer, complaints about the Newtown Creek plant, the city’s largest, had dropped to 4, from 151 in 2007.

State Won’t Fund Kayak Center on Newtown Creek

07/21/2011 | Comment

The Newtown Creek Boathouse proposal, which was the top-ranked project for funding under the State-administered fund established to mitigate the City’s ongoing pollution of the creek during the construction of the Newtown Creek Waste Management plant may run aground because of the Federal designation of the creek as a Superfund site.

Got that?

Boathouse Plan Moves Ahead in Greenpoint

The City Parks Foundation has released its recommendations for projects related to the Newtown Creek sewage plant settlement. Tops on the list is the Greenpoint Boathouse, a boathouse and community facility that is proposed for the ground floor of the GMDC building at the top of Manhattan Avenue (technically, I think the $3 million for this project would go to bulkhead repairs, not the boathouse itself). Topping the second tier of projects is a study for renovating the Pulaski Bridge. Further down the list is a proposal for improvements to pedestrians paths in McCarren Park (something that is certainly needed, but probably not something that money for Newtown Creek mitigation should be paying for).

CPF has been charged with making recommendations for the disbursement of a pool of $7 million set aside as part of the settlement for the City’s pollution of Newtown Creek that occurred during the construction of the new sewage treatment plant.