Public Stages

Public waters

US laws are based on the Magna Carta, under which the rivers and shores were held by the monarchy to serve the needs of the general public and the common good, meaning – everyone has a right to go to the river.
The new East River park esplanade design has already been presented to the public, and the Hudson River edge park was suggested as early as 1977. The Queens-Brooklyn Newtown creek is not considered a public space resource, due to ongoing pollution and active industry surrounding it.
Should we be provided with waterfront access to all water bodies in the NY region?
Could that access be provided through waterway, and not over land?

Yours and Mine

In a neighborhood of Secaucus, NJ, on the edge of an industrial park, a future bakery will begin production to 24 hours, increasing its traffic and noise. Nearby residences (some nearly 90 feet away) are upset (some even disturbed by the constant smell). The property lines between the parties are fenced and landscaped. Can the property lines remain, yet the stake of "claim" be understood so that both sides of the fence win?

Give and Take

The Javits Center, a major city convention center, is slated for a renovation and expansion. With this endeavour, an entire block of 39th Street between 11th and the West Side Hwy will be built upon. The local community will lose one of its city streets, increased traffic congestion is expected and major hotel development is planned.

Growth and Progress

Jamaica Queens is slated for major development in hopes that its location along major transportation routes (JFK AirTrain, The Long Island Railroad, MTA Subway)will allow it to grow into a major center for commerical, business and tourist transactions. In this investment-charged development push less attention has been made to how the local community will be able to participate in the resulting "public-ness" of the site. This gets even more muddled when processes such as Eminent Domain are being used to create public spaces.

Welcome

Public Stages was developed as part of a research project by graduate students at Columbia University's Architecture and Urban Design Program.

The purpose of this blog is to create a public dialog concerning ownership and public space and the recent planning and development trends limiting ones access, and thus claim.

Our research looked at four areas of the New York City region undergoing large development pressures. Listed below are the sites of inquiry. We invite public comment and additional sites of contested public claim.

Clinton West, Manhattan

Vehicular traffic and infrustructure have a strong presence in Clinton West. The Hundson Yards development plan will increase both pedestrian and vehicular density, resulting in less public space than is currently available.
Questions about the impact of the extension of the Javits Convention Center are a strong source of debate for Clinton West. Many feel that the Javits will extend an already massive superblock, eliminate a public street, and will also block accessiblity to the waterfront. Do you feel the positive aspects of the Javits center outweigh the negative?

Newtown Creek, Queens-Brooklyn

Newtown creek is one of only six significant maritime industrial areas recognized within the NY metropolitan coastal zone.The creek suffers from severe ongoing pollution, of which the cleanup process is still being negotiated in court. Currently, there is no intention to rezone or re-evaluate the urban role of these areas as public spaces.
“Some of the creek is accessible by foot, but most of its banks are private property, so the best way in is by water”, says a participant in a Newtown Creek Cruise, organized by the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment (NY Times article, July 16, 2007)
Considering the creek itself as a public space, and the waterway as the only available access, raises the need to re-evaluate the waterfront industrial façade.

Secaucus, New Jersey

In Secaucus, NJ, the introduction of industry to a once agricultural area has created friction with the existing residential neighborhood. This intervention engages the boundaries between the residential district and the industrial district and creates shared public space. By identifying and cultivating once under used spaces to become vibrant shared public space -- like converting a swamp to a recovered wetlands with a pedestrian boardwalk, or using the side wall of an industrial park to project movies at nighttime-- the residential/industrial divide is mediated and ameliorated.