Yonkers Pier and Water Taxi where is the public transit?

while speaking of privatization of the pier , where is the public transit to the heavily subsidized water taxi?

It is traditional for water taxis to connect to ground public transit. but i guess that would put a bus stop near or on the pier and maybe interfere with the image the developers are trying to sell.

where are the closest bus stops? one half mile away? it is a land of valet parking on the pier, the public would be better served by making the valet parking area a bus stop. most livable cities guideline consider 200 feet long blocks the optimize side for walkability. from the pier it may be a 1/2 mile to the nearest bus stop

i am all for trying other means of public transportation such as water taxis, but there should be a workable public transit connection, there should be better public transit in downtown Yonkers,

i had to laugh at the metro-north site where it shows bus connections, it list the 1 T as connecting, AFAIK the nearest stop is on hudson street, about 1/2 mile away uphill.

All the buses should stop at the Yonkers train station, the plaza was built for bus connections , it is ridiculous and insulting that the people that are doing the right thing by taking public transit to the train are punished by dropping them off or picking them up blocks away. meanwhile the private car people have full curb side access. This is marginalization of the bus people, the same with the pier , there should be bus stop not a valet parking spot on the public space. if your going to do the unthinkable and put a road through the public space on the pier , it should serve the public, not the private interests .

yonkers pier esplanda public space?

yonkers pier esplanda public space?

Originally uploaded by galvoguy

how is this supposed to become a vibrant greenway public space?
the residential windows are right next to and above the public space area. this causes conflict by design. you know th people that live above the esplanade are going to lobby for quietness and less public activities.
this is what happens when you let developers run the show,
there should be activity from 6am to midnight . There is loss of public space by putting the windows so low, tables and chair and awning, shade tent can no longer be placed there. A better design would have been space for ethnic food gallery, ice cream, juice bar , espresso bar, make the pier a healthy family destination, not a place of gin mills.

there should be a market or some activity in this corner

put a market or dancing in this corner .

creating a destination for thousands on the waterfront

west side greenway

photo from flickr by collection by seth_holladay

nyc bikemaps by seth holladay 

The more I research neighborhood and waterfront revitalization; i see a common element missing from Yonkers completed esplanade section.
there is no destination, bars and a super high end restaurants aren’t the destinations that bring in good foot traffic, the items that are necessary for good destinations are missing, such as plenty of movable tables and chairs, adequate clean bathrooms, both sunny and shaded areas to sit and congregate. I saw a sectionalized bar area that has the outdoor seating, if the seating next to walled bar seating was public, it did not have that feeling. only 2 toilets for the whole area, the employees of the X2 restaurant seem to use them a lot, maybe they used the space upstairs for seating, and didn’t build enough bathrooms upstairs, the public space area is being used as another free subsidy as the employees bathroom to match the use of their parking area on the public plaza. Not a big issue if there is no one using the pier area except for the Xavier patrons, but a very big issue when you try and bring people into this under built for public area.

Bryant park has an outdoor public library with proper seating and tables, you can brown bag your lunch and enjoy the area without cost, but there plenty of kiosk to buy food or beverage if you want them. Larking plaza library is close by, so an outdoor library would be possible here. i am sure i can think of quite a few items that are better than a bar, people that like outdoor markets and walking neighborhoods are not your usual bar patrons, nor would they consider bar food a destination. A community supported recycle a bicycle organization for the neighborhood kids to learn to rebuild discarded and abandoned bicycles and bicycle repair would be a great plus for the community.
Start promoting bicycle Saturday and Sundays for families with a ferry ride to the Manhattan greenway. Metro-North has free parking on weekends at the stations outside Yonkers; promote a train to Yonkers pier to Manhattan waterfront family bike days. Manhattan waterfront has plenty of ferry docks and Brooklyn for ice cream is also a possibility. At least 1500 bicyclist travel to Piermont across the George Washington bridge every seasonal weekend day and pump up the local economy, at least the places that have healthy food. if Yonkers waterfront had a decent priced bicycle and vegetarian friendly outdoor indoor restaurant it could be the returning bicycles dinner point. If Yonkers had a coffee house with muffins and bagels it would become a intermediate stop or return stop via train or ferry. With music and movies, they may stay for dinner. A market would also add to the attraction, all using public transit.

However I don’t think the buses go near the waterfront, that may be why the market is way up on Riverdale, or is it privatization?
if Yonkers waterfront was a healthy bicycle/skater destination and return point, Some cyclist may prefer a beer after their epic ride up at bear mountain and ferry ride back before they take the metro-north home. Bicycle friendly bus to the downtown waterfront are also missing. Small town’s upstate NY in New Paltz are served with bicycle racks on their buses. Westchester Beeline Buses with bike racks would enable many more families to participate in a Yonkers bicycle-ferry weekends without being car dependent.

The waterfront needs to become established as a safe car free conflict destination.

This isn’t a recent revelation that popped up today or with the Alexander street DGEIS , i wrote the mayor last year with this suggestion.

 

Hudson River Park – Esplanade

Hudson River Park – Esplanade

photo from flickr by by criana

this is a esplanade that is working since there are stops along it to keeps peoples interest , plenty of grass to take a nap choice of sun or shade tree. plenty of safe children play areas, with a bicycle tou can connect easily to interesting items along the way. it works fine now that the bicycle path is connected to it. As a walking path it has great views and sculpture ,wildflowers. there are a couple restaurants and coffee shops, lunch and breakfast stops within walking distance.
space for bicyclist and peds , plus green space.

i didn’t realize that before the  greenway /bike path was finished this was  like was a  gated community with only two bridges over west street to gain pedestrian access,  the bike/skate pedestrian  path really opened up the public access to this area. Robert Wagner park is one of my favorite destinations.  there are concerts and children activities,  drum circles, nyc parks dept has summer programs for kids, all real good stuff.

Yonkers official website discounts and ridicules council member call for audit of civil service appts

When i first read the passage in the Yonkers Tribune, I though the letter was placed on a partisan website for supporters of Yonkers seated political party.  I was dismayed  last night when, looking for information on the Alexander street  DGEIS, the headline for the official city of Yonkers website was this letter ridiculing and discounting  the junior council member for questioning and requesting an  audit of Yonkers Government  civil service hiring practices of the current administration.

“Councilmember Gronowski ‘tilting at windmills’ with recent unfounded attacks “

i don’t really know too much about the recent Yonkers politics, but it looks like  the other Yonkers blogs have a lot of  truth in their postings on the improper use of  taxpayer funded  official mailings and official web site for promoting partisan party lines.

IMO is a totally inappropriate use of the official city of Yonkers web page.

the webpage has been changed since last night, they have toned down the language in the headlines, but i am sure i can find the original copy .

Project for public spaces gives quite a few good ideas about rebuilding public space.

project for public spaces

The waterfront section is particular interesting and relevant to the Yonkers issue. This issue is now getting bigger than the Alexander street master plan, but is addresses the whole Yonkers waterfront.  I have been at the public meetings with the mayor, where time and time again people from the audience question the privatization of the waterfront and how they already see the Yonkers waterfront becoming the private front yard and dog walking area for the new Yonkers residents.  The mayor repeatedly states  that this isn’t so, but the evidence isn’t supporting him, the  historic Yonkers pier was privatized and chopped up for a high end restaurant,  a good restaurant so I hear, but with  prices so high  very few from the local non city hall  community are going to be dining there.  The fireworks display this fourth of July was more like a private party for X2  Xavier opening crowd than the normal Yonkers affair, the banners advertising the fireworks  were  missing and there was no mention of the fireworks on the city of Yonkers website. Kind of like it was invitation only event. Questions about the no fishing signs that appeared at the pier are answered as a temporary  thing due to the ferry , I think it has more to do with X2 Xavier, they don’t want the place to look too common. The mayor  promise a fishing pier, but it is not on the  DGEIS  plans submitted , at least not in downtown Yonkers, yes there is one proposed for the JFK marina, but that’s not downtown Yonkers, that is probably the location they figure on having the affordable  housing, they plan on building a full service marina there, full service marinas are very noisy, that will be where the section of affordable housing may be ( if any).  Stick the fisherman down there too, that will be their section of the waterfront, they did put in the  DGEIS that  the oldest canoe club in the USA was also being relocated, but didn’t tell the canoe club.  Now they promise that  was only a mistake by AKRF, it will remain in downtown Yonkers, where it is, so they promise.

So we have the Yonkers pier, the  missing fisherman, secret fireworks for X2 patrons all  pointing to privatization of the waterfront as an esplanade for the new Yonkerites, the wealthy condo buyers they are trying to draw into Yonkers.  

The project for public spaces waterfront guidelines had a couple points that jumped right out at me

1 . Residential units in close proximity do not mix  and are contrary  to a successful public waterfront. I frequent the revitalized Manhattan and Brooklyn waterfronts, they have free concerts, movies, music, dancing, and children’s activities all planned for the spring, summer and fall.  The riverfront greenway park isn’t shut down at dusk like these non functioning systems. Residences along the waterfront are going to try to limit that proper public use.  A successful waterfront is going to be the more nighttime use the better, the safer it is. Every night you will have a choice of destinations, this has happened in Manhattan. Why are there no dance lessons and free outdoor dancing on the esplanade now and planned for the spring and summer summer? It is built , it is there, there are dance studios that I am sure would want to get involved, the  esplanade has been there for years now and it hasn’t been put to its proper use.

Outdoor movies could be shown on the pier, esplanade or sculpture garden too, all on the same night, a blues band could be performing on the lower level of the pier. There should be four activities every warm weather night down there

There is all this alleged public space, already built, that has not been put to its proper use. I have seen the mayor speak at a couple of these public meetings, he has great personality and is very likable. He keeps stating he wants people down there to use the place; they cannot get a coffee house to set up shop since no one goes down there.  Actually that is false, your waterfront development wont confirm the space they need to run a business, they want to wait until the gap or some big user leases  out the big chunk , and then give  the coffee house people what is left over. The coffee people cannot come up with a business plan that way, I spoke to the client.

Mayor Amicone , it is time to light a fire under your recreation, waterfront development personal,  a layman can figure out what is wrong with this waterfront.

It is already not being put to it proper use, 400 hundred yards of beautiful finished product. It can host a lot  of activities,  This isn’t the front yard of the imported new Yonkers wealthy, it is still Yonkers front yard and we need to start using it this spring, and your recreation/ waterfront people should be lining up dance studio’s, setting up movie nights, invite a blues or jazz band  to set up shop.  Plenty can be accomplished now on the established waterfront.  A successful waterfront should be a busy thriving area; it should be the place for concerts, outdoor movies, music and dancing. It should be open late, well into the nighttime and early morning hours “residential development limits the diversity of waterfront use and creates constituencies invested in preventing 24-hour activity from flourishing”.

http://www.pps.org/waterfronts/info/waterfronts_articles/turn_waterfront_around

2.) Don’t let the developers set the goals, I have been to about every waterfront meeting, and speaker after speaker has said the same thing, do not let the developers ruin our waterfront, it is one thing that Yonkers still has. Put community goals first, not developer’s goals, plans must adhere to the concept that the Yonkers waterfront is Yonkers  public asset.

 

 

waterfront designs for this public space site has great info

this is only two items onn thir site concerning waterfront designs , go to their site ,

how to turn a waterfront around

• 7. Encourage 24-hour activity by limiting residential development

Housing does not encroach on the waterfront in Montreal, Canada

Great waterfronts are not dominated by residential development. Why? Because these are places that are full of people, day and night. They are the sites of festivals, markets, fireworks displays, concerts and other high-energy gatherings. A high concentration of residential development limits the diversity of waterfront use and creates constituencies invested in preventing 24-hour activity from flourishing.

waterfronts-gone _wrong

Mistake #6: A Process Driven by Development, Not by Community

Fast growing cities around the world, like Panama City, are quickly ceding their prime waterfront space to development.

Many waterfront planning efforts are led by “development corporations,” but when development is the primary objective, public goals and public process get left behind. As with any public space, the knowledge and desires of the community should form the framework for shaping waterfronts. When a city hands over the future of its waterfront to developers, the essential public spirit of the waterfront is compromised. Development is a necessary component of this process, but not the only point. It should fit within the community’s vision, not override it.

feb 25 deadline looming for written comments

Odell and warburton,, executive blvd north warburton into Hastings  the traffic study did not  include this neighborhood.

Addition of 7000 parking spaces with JFK marina as new access road to Alexander street is going to increase traffic a tad up here. 3752 residences equal about 8000 cars, we hope a couple use the train.  400,000 square feet of mixed retail and office space will also draw a lot of car traffic . Odell is the main north corridor.  7000  57 levels of parking is  about 1.5 times Yonkers  racetrack  5000 car parking  garage , the galleria in white plains has  2,815 parking spaces .

the impact of=n the development on the train users, the normal commuters for the 4 Yonkers platforms is around 1800 a day. if there are 3752  condo townhouses/ residences adjacent to the train station,  a good portion will be using the metro-north.

congestion pricing in nyc is  going to increase metro-north ridership 30 % over the system.  That by itself is going to be rough, add another 3000 plus commuters in one mile,  i don’t see how it can be accomplished? maybe a lot of express buses.

Alternative transportation and bicycle blueprint needs to be part of Yonkers redevelopment

There is no mention of on street separated bikeways or shared paths, An east west connection to the south county trailway must be incorporated. Bicycles and public transit are just an afterthought and are thrown in as a couple political correct words on the DGEIS traffic study.

State and federal ISTEA funds may be available for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

3.1 billion For the Alexander street master plan alone and no on street bicycle lanes or improved public transit. These developers only have their own profit in mind. The residents’ quality of life is not even a thought.

A bicycle blueprint needs to be established for Yonkers, before the city and roadways are redeveloped. The SFC plan, the one closest to reality, is car centric. Incorporating alternative transportation into the plan is the modern and sensible approach.

The rise in fuel prices and the nations desire to not be dependent on oil can be countered by real planning, not this cookie cutter 1980’s transportation design.

Properly equipped and ADA compliant streetcars and shuttle buses could reduce the need for private vehicles in the downtown business district. Ten thousand parking spaces are not the answer for the Yonkers downtown area.

Yonkers is extremely hilly and this creates additional problems, a possible solution that has already been invented, has been outlawed on state roadways by Governor Spitzer. The only reasons i can think of this is the automobile lobbyist are concerned about competition, they do not want anyone to find out how easily the Segway could replace 1 car and 90 percent of their sub 20 mile trips. The safety concerns are a red herring and bogus, 1,500 people a year in New York State are killed in MVA and many more catastrophic injured. The Segways main predator is the same as the bicyclist and pedestrians, the automobile. If people used Segways(or similar) plus zip car and rental car type concepts, the 7000 car parking spaces and 54 levels of  above ground parking garages on the Hudson on the Alexander street project could be greatly reduced.

At a construction price of $25,000 a parking space, this makes more economic and environmental sense. Visitors and shoppers would use public transit, properly designed public transit and alternative transportation is the rage in modern cities and plan 2025

Draft and partial post of Feb 14 DGEIS comments meeting

Quick synopsis of Thursday bfeb 14 city hall public comments on the Alexander street DGEIS

I need to check which council members were in attendance . The mayor and chuck lesnick chaired the meeting. I saw Joan G and am not sure if any other councilmember’s attended. I will update this as my notebook is probably in my car and I trying to write a short piece from memory. I will update as I get correct spelling of names and retrieve more information. I arrived a couple minutes late. I heard that bob morrow from the canoe club spoke about the references in the dgeis that stated the canoe club would be moved to a new undisclosed not established location. The city and mayor said that this would be fixed and they plan on keeping the canoe club right where is , they like the service it provides to the community. I was at the mayors greet and speak last week at the library and the same question was asked and the mayor again confirmed that the DGEIS will be changed there is no plan to remove or relocate the canoe club. Roda gave some great comment on how the waterfront design and green space is inadequate, that the greenways and bikeways could and should be extended as a widest width as possible. The submitted DGEIS allows water side vehicle driveways and waterfront on street parking. All this space that can and should be used for green space and wide greenways. Roda pointed out that the greenway at the sculpture garden on the south side of the pier was designed too small for bicycle use. My comments if you go to goggle earth you can measure the space between the original building on the waterfront and the railroad tracks, there was plenty of room to place the driveway in rear of the building and use the waterfront space for to make a wider multi use greenway and park space. Battery park city is a much older design, but they knew enough to place all roadways behind the buildings, and they had plenty of space in the front for both. If you look at mansion designs on the waterfront around the world, you do not see the driveways and parking on the waterfront side, why do these designers and planners have so little respect for the public use? A man spoke about how one of the involved developers is being sued for many millions of dollars for non payment of their workers and for monies owed at their last projects, he said don’t make deal with developers already facing litigation for poor performance and building techniques. My thoughts, if buying a house in a new development if you see the builder has a poor history and has many unsatisfied customers, lawsuits and has not corrected defects and doesn’t have the money to do so, I would find another builder. He also mentioned that many of the developments that they have been involved in are collecting moths and only two waterfront developments worked out ok, providence and one in California, he mentioned that most of these waterfront developments are falling down already due to poor construction, the developers have made their money and are long gone.

 

I know this is true in many areas of Vancouver, Brazil, Oregon and Washington State. They used the wrong mix and the like the Boston big dig, consequences are extreme.

 

 

Excelsior manufacturing company spoke up there have been no plans to either relocate them or incorporate them to stay in the area, they are the biggest employer in the area and have been providing stabile employment for over 25 years, what is going to become of these workers and the one community business?

Terry N spoke out how the yonkers paddling and rowing club should now be classified as historical and cultural resource in the BOA. this is different than landmark status, my thoughts, in the DGEIS the drafter considered the old Beczak building a 1950’s era Quonset hut a historical and cultural resource, the yonkers canoe club is probably the oldest continues use canoe club in the united states, it has much more historical significant on the Hudson river and Yonkers than the 1950’s naval reserve building. The yonkers canoe club was established in 1886 , it was located a bit farther upriver but was relocated and rebuilt at the current location around 1935, it is the oldest historical and cultural community site in this plan. This is reinforced and highlighted at every year Riverfest. Terry n also spoke out how the new canoe launch at the JFK marina should be physically separated and far away from the jet ski and power boat launch, it is hazardous to human powered boat users to launch both at the same location, my comments yes, the existing ramp is too steep for kayak launching and is too easy to slip and fall the grade is for power boat trailer launching not hand launched boats.

Jane a Ludlow resident made some great comments on the population density this plan and the adjacent sfc plan , if completed over 10,000 people will be placed into a geographically small footprint in yonkers with inadequate resources to accommodate them, the county sewage plant may not be able to accommodate the sewage, it is already severely taxed and CSO overflows too often. My thoughts, the development in the Yonkers area in the last 10 years had caused flooding and overflowing of catch basins in areas that never were a problem before. The blacktopping of all this previous green space is causing combine sewage overflow at much lower rainfalls than previous. 10,000 additional residents in this area could cause cso every rainfall. 3752 residences in Alex street , about 2000 residences in the sfc , plus the residences in the no build projects.

A woman named Terry spoke out in favor of retaining the canoe club at is present location, even though she is not a member, she has seen their outreach to the community and believes they belong in the current downtown area.

Another man spoke up about how Henry Hudson discovery and exploration of the Hudson 500 year anniversary is coming up, he gave a great and funny narrative on how Henry Hudson ghost would be walking with Mayor Amicone and asked him what he did this was a gorgeous Hudson valley with sweeping views of the palisades, now only the people that can afford huge end condo will have the views. I will update this more latter , there are many othr statement and comments that were made that I would like to note and expand upon. This was broadcast on the cable network and hopefully is easily obtainable to review.

Another item I want to touch on which has been brought up at the Chema Community Center meeting. why is there no yonkers public TV, this will be an important tool in the coming years, it should already be established, with the current FIOS bargaining the resources should be made available to the community , this is very common in Manhattan, different neighborhoods have their own TV shows, put out by the residents, not the providers.

this is incomplete, but i wanted to post something before the weekend. many great comment from park hill area will be added