A tour of not-to-be-missed public places—parks, plazas, memorials, streets—that shape the New York experience. The thirty-eight urban gems covered here range from newly created linear spaces along the water’s edge, such as Brooklyn Bridge Park and the East River Waterfront Esplanade, to revitalized squares and circles, such as those at Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District and Columbus Circle, to repurposed open spaces like the freight tracks, now the High Line, and Concrete Plant Park in the Bronx. Readers can discover midtown atriums, mingle with the crowds in Union Square, travel offshore to nearby Governors Island, and enjoy the vistas of historic Green-Wood Cemetery. Pete Hamill writes in his foreword, “I’ve . . . made a list of new places I must visit while there is time. With any luck at all, I’ll see all of them. I hope you, the reader, can find the time too.” Concise descriptions, helpful maps, and vivid photographs capture the New York urban scene.

The Southern Manhattan Coastal Protection Study: Evaluating the Feasibility of an MPL report (the “Feasibility Study”) was conducted by a team led by ARCADIS U.S., Inc.. The team also included HR&A Advisors, Inc., FXFOWLE Architects, WXY Studio, Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C., AKRF, Inc., Ocean and Coastal Consultants, and Jesse M. Keenan (the “Study Team”). The Feasibility Study focused on an approximately 1.3-mile span of the eastern edge of Manhattan, from the Battery Maritime Building to Pier 35 (the “Study Area”). The Feasibility Study also analyzed adjacent areas that would be integral to a comprehensive flood protection solution for Southern Manhattan. The Feasibility Study concluded that: 1) An multi-protection levee (MPL) is technically feasible in the Study Area and will not induce flooding either in adjacent neighborhoods or across the East River. 2) An MPL is legally feasible within the existing regulatory framework. However, the required permitting/approvals processes will be complex and lengthy. 3) An MPL is financially feasible and could not only be self-financing, but could also help finance complementary flood protection investments in Southern Manhattan. The MPL options and conceptual development programs evaluated within the report were defined for feasibility analysis purposes; the findings within do not comprise a development proposal. The process to articulate, assess, and advance an actual development proposal for an MPL will be long and complex, and will require extensive local stakeholder engagement and coordination. The commitment to effectively address the known climate change risks must remain as the core driver of that process, especially regarding all future work that builds upon and follows up on this Feasibility Study. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5246133

By Guy Nordenson, Catherine Seavitt, Adam Yarinsky.