Gantry Plaza State Park, a Place that Matters
July 24th, 2009
Directly across the East River from the United Nations, Gantry Plaza State Park has stunning views of Manhattan, but it was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for its main attraction: restored gantry cranes. Now dramatic industrial sculptures, these gantries were the nexus for providing goods and supplies to Long Island via the Long Island Rail Road tracks that used to run to the water’s edge. Built in the 1920s, the gantries hoisted rail cars from floats and barges onto land and vice versa, opening up the Long Island waterfront for industrial activity and inland for residential communities.
But the gantries are just one feature that pays homage to the Long Island City waterfront’s industrial past, which is quickly giving way to residential buildings. The Long Island City waterfront was originally a site for tanneries and other factories, including the Pepsico bottling plant in Hunters Point. The iconic ruby-red Pepsi Cola sign was dismantled late in 2008 to be re-situated further north in the newest section of Gantry Plaza State Park, which just opened July 1, 2009. Continue Reading>>






Grand Ferry Park, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for providing public access to the waterfront for nearly one hundred years.


Together with tour leader Carter Craft and 12 others hearty souls, the author braved the subfreezing temperatures last Saturday to celebrate the rich waterfront history and the new cultural attractions floating to the surface in Lower Manhattan. Sites along the way included the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, the Battery Maritime Building (the gateway to Governor’s Island), Pier 11/Wall St. Ferry Terminal, South Street Seaport, and Peck Slip.
In its letter to the New York City Council Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee earlier this week, MAS described Hunter’s Point South Queens as an exciting opportunity to put the sustainable neighborhood planning principles laid out by the Mayor in his PlaNYC2030 into practice.
Join MAS tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for a news conference announcing our opposition to the South Street Seaport redevelopment plan proposed by General Growth Properties (GGP). The news conference will take place just prior to the hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) at which MAS will ask the LPC to reject the GGP proposal on several grounds relating to inappropriateness to the historic district.