Gateway National Recreation Area Outlook Brightens

At 26,000 acres, Gateway National Recreation Area encompasses a diverse range of habitat and use shared by two states and subdivided into three components. The Jamaica Bay Unit includes the historic Floyd Bennett Field, Fort Tilden, Jacob Riis Park and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Beautiful beaches and the country's oldest operating lighthouse can be found at the Sandy Hook Unit. Military history and marvelous bicycling and fishing are also plentiful at Sandy Hook as well as at Gateway's Staten Island Unit.

Map courtesy of the National Park Service

Gateway was created by the National Park Service (NPS) in 1972 to offer a national park experience to the residents of this most urban of cities; it's one of the first urban national parks in the country. Today, the NPS is rewriting the area's General Management Plan which will guide park development and programs for the next 30 years. Meanwhile, parallel rehabilitation efforts for the region have been developed by the Bloomberg Administration's PlaNYC, the NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection's Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan and the Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan developed by the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District.

The need for environmental restoration is dire. As Don Riepe, director of the northeast chapter of the American Littoral Society, told WaterWire, "While the agencies grapple over funding to restore marshes, upgrade treatment plants and hopefully reduce the high levels of nitrogen coming into the bay, nature is relentless. Sea level rise will continue and probably increase; another one million people are expected to reside in NYC in the next 20 years (according to PlaNYC), and marsh die-back will continue to outpace restoration efforts." The solution, said Mr. Riepe, begins with research and restoration undertaken and funded at the highest levels.

The public has been invited to comment on the various plans, and hundreds of New York and New Jersey residents have turned out for public meetings over the past year. Last fall, the Regional Plan Association (RPA) and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) jointly released "The Path Forward." Building on the Envisioning Gateway design competition sponsored by NPCA, Van Alen Institute and Columbia University two years earlier, the report proposed specific strategies such as an intermodal hub and completing the Jamaica Bay Greenway to ease transportation challenges to the farflung shores of this particular national park.

The report also recommended the creation of a task force that would integrate federal plans for the area with state and city initiatives. On April 22 of this year, Earth Day, Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Anthony Weiner announced the formation of the Floyd Bennett Field Blue Ribbon Panel, a task force co-chaired by Marian Heiskell, former director of the New York Times Company and a long-time Gateway advocate, and Deborah Shanley, professor and dean at Brooklyn College's School of Education. The panel, staffed by RPA and NPCA, will issue its recommendations to the Senator and Congressman next winter. "The 1,400 acres of Floyd Bennett Field present huge opportunities for meeting park needs of New Yorkers," said Robert Pirani, RPA vice president for environmental programs. "We are grateful for the leadership of the Senator and Congressman in bringing together federal, state, city and community voices to advance that potential."

Working her magic, Ms. Heiskell and fellow National Parks of New York Harbor board member Bob Kerrey invited Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, to tour Jamaica Bay. On July 26, Sec. Salazar boarded the Army Corps vessel Hayward with a bevy of fellow VIPs and saw the beauty and degradation of the bay firsthand. Then, joined by 150 civic, business and government leaders, the Secretary of the Interior hosted a "Harbor Summit" at Ellis Island, where a team of federal representatives from the National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency spoke with the local leaders about how the US Department of Interior might advance and coordinate the area's widespread restoration efforts.

"How can we work together in a united and coherent effort to create a seamless vision? How can we make that seamless vision a reality?" Secretary Salazar asked the group. Three themes emerged from the answers he received:

• Improve access to parks and the water through docks, ferries, and programs that bring people to the harbor
• Engage youth through education and recreation in order to build an awareness of the natural resources and importance of the harbor and to create future leaders
• Use this opportunity to create new green jobs and invigorate the economy in New York and New Jersey

The event was praised by waterfront leaders across the board. Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority, said, "As non-federal partner with the Corps in the preparation of the Comprehensive Restoration Plan, the Port Authority has been heartened by the interest of Interior Secretary Salazar in the model we've put forth for restoration of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary. His commitment to forging improved and creative ways of improving public access to the estuary was apparent at the July 26th Harbor Summit at Ellis Island. We look forward to working with him and others in moving ahead toward implementation of a plan that will benefit the millions of people who live or visit our vital harbor region."

Likewise, Alexander Brash, the senior director of the northeast regional office of the NPCA, is gratified at the interest shown by the Obama Administration in New York Harbor and Gateway National Recreation Area. He said the trip on the Hayward demonstrated to Sec. Salazar and other government officials that public access and recreation could be successfully coupled with environmental restoration. "Clearly this administration has shown an interest in urban issues not seen in a decade or two, and the Administration and Congress are allgned in a way that hasn't occurred in an equally long time," he noted. "There is interest -- focused on Jamaica Bay -- that would finally bring resources to restore its ecological process while at the same time providing public access and recreational opportunities, creating a truly iconic national park for the region. It's finally all coming together."

[Mr. Brash notes that the federal government has created a web site for the public to comment and vote on park issues across the country. The NPCA has placed an "idea" for readers to support Gateway National Recreation Area on the web site; readers may "promote" the idea to push it to the top of the list and, presumably, receive more federal support. Click here to vote.]

Sec. Salazar concluded the Harbor Summit with a charge to the National Park Service and the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy (Conservancy) to define a strategy for moving forward in concert with other partners, and to present a report by September 15.

Maria Burks, Commissioner of the National Parks of New York Harbor, said, "Sec. Salazar recognizes that the health of the Hudson River Estuary (HRE) in general and Jamaica Bay in particular is important to the wellbeing of New York City metropolitan area and its people. His support of our collaboration with US Army Corps of Engineers and other drafters of the HRE plan as well as our work with the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, the City of New York and other partners in Jamaica Bay enables us to move forward with confidence on this critical issue."

Ms. Burks and her colleague, Marie Salerno, president and co-founder of the Conservancy, are moving quickly to enhance access. "Privately, we funded Jonathan Rose Company to create an implementable transportation plan to National Parks on the harbor," Ms. Salerno said. "Since then over $40 million in government funds has been secured for harbor docks and infrastructure. There are now new docks at Governors Island, Riis Landing, and Sandy Hook. Phase two of our actionable agenda calls for docks at Fort Wadsworth and transportation within Jamaica Bay."