Today the Department of City Planning launched a pretty neat series of interactive maps covering the waterfront in all five boroughs. The maps include 224 publicly accessible waterfront spaces, comprising approximately 200 linear miles of shorefront public parks and other publicly accessible spaces on private property. (27 of these sites are under construction or in the planning stages.) Here's how it works, according a statement from the Planning Dept:
Visitors to the website can select a borough from the citywide map, and then choose a waterfront site for a description of that space. For accessible waterfront sites on public property, the map links to the website of the agency in charge of building or maintaining the space, where descriptions and maps can be found. For privately owned sites, City Planning provides a photo and a list of features and amenities—such as walkways, seating, trees, and lighting.
The interactive waterfront map and Vision 2020 are part of the New York City Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES), a citywide initiative that will create a new sustainable blueprint for the City’s more than 500 miles of shoreline, which Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn launched in April 2010. To access the map, go to www.nyc.gov/planning and click on the Citywide Waterfront Access Map link in the middle of the page. There is also a link to the NYCityMap so the user can see the general location and adjacent streets, as well as transportation options and nearby attractions, among other useful information.
