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 Sept. 22, 2006 | Vol 5 No. 17 |
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In This Issue: – Try It You’ll Like It: Stockholm Approves Congestion Pricing – Parks Pay and Prosper: San Francisco Offers a Model – New Apartments In NYC Have Something New: Architecture – Calendar
Now there is the Stockholm way. Its new idea was to try out congestion pricing for seven months, then remove the charge for a month, put it to a vote, and see what the people say. What 52% of city residents said was no to returning to gridlock and yes, in favor of returning to congestion pricing. Hardly a land slide, but it should be kept in mind that opinion polls initially showed that most Stockholm residents thought congestion pricing wouldn’t work. The mayor opposed the idea too, but she did not fight the central government body that took charge of implementing it. Just as in London, where similar skepticism was present initially, congestion charging worked and won over many critics. As in London, traffic decreased and mobility increased. Unlike London, E-ZPass type technology was used and enforcement was much less of an issue. While most suburban residents continued to oppose the charge, most city residents changed their minds. The mayor, however, was not re-elected. Some press in Sweden is blaming her lack of resolve around the issue – she has at times both opposed and supported congestion pricing, giving voters of both minds, and those who disliked her indecision, reason to vote against her. Other commentators point to the larger defeat of her entire party – the Social Democrats – in municipal and general elections. The defeat is being linked directly to widespread suburban disapproval of congestion charging. In fact, the newly elected party has promised to consider the votes of the surrounding suburbs when deciding whether to re-introduce congestion pricing. New York’s decision to one day implement congestion pricing, or similarly large-scale traffic reduction measures, should be informed by these examples, politics and all. In both London and Stockholm we learned that strong leadership is crucial. It is too large and too visible an issue to waffle around. In addition, Stockholm teaches us the value of a public experiment, and the importance of geography to this issue. In both cases, we’ve learned perhaps the most important lesson; that cities can take active steps to reduce the amount of traffic congestion on their streets. Cities can make buses move faster, and can significantly reduce air and noise pollution. European cities are teaching us that traffic is not a fact of life to be passively accepted. It is an inefficient use of a public good – our streets – and proven solutions abound. – Alexis Perrotta, Senior Policy Analyst A View From San Francisco: Making Parks Pay And Prosper. There are a few major exceptions. And as a summer-end tour by Cathie Barner of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy made clear, we have a lot to learn from the public and private partners working in the vast San Francisco Bay. These lessons are particularly relevant as both New York City and the National Parks of New York Harbor move forward on plans to link many of our harbor destinations physically and programmatically, and come up with ways to pay for such plans. Our itinerary was the collection of National Parks in and around San Francisco Bay that constitute Golden Gate National Parks. These include well known sites such Alcatraz, The Presidio, and Marin Headlands, as well as the lesser-known sites of Fort Mason and Fort Baker. Taking San Francisco’s lead, the National Park Service recently established the National Parks of New York Harbor. In partnership with National Parks Foundation and others, this collaborative effort is intended to link diverse places like Sandy Hook, Federal Hall, Jamaica Bay, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, and Governors Island through marketing and programs. New York City has also launched in its own initiative to create what its calls a Harbor District. The Mayor’s office has wisely charged an inter-agency task force with ensuring that waterfront development in Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, Governors Island, and elsewhere work together from a marketing, planning, and operational perspective. So when we met Cathie, we wanted to bring home both inspiration and practical tips on how she and her partners are working to make her Harbor-whole. Here is some of what we found of value: One: Our first stop on our first sparkling morning was a tour of the former Federal Penitentiary on Alcatraz Island. The hugely popular ferry boats to Alcatraz now also offer the possibility of a stop at Angel Island, a beautiful but underutilized park site. Marketing the two places together, and linking them by boat, has helped introduce visitors to a whole new destination in the Bay. There are similar opportunities in New York. The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island concession contract will be up for renewal next year; Enabling the three million-plus tourists and school kids to also go Governors Island could be a huge boost to the Island’s redevelopment. Another idea: build the infrastructure that will allow the Staten Island ferry boats to stop in Brooklyn or Governors Island for special events or emergencies. Two: The Conservancy is best known for a branding and merchandising campaign they began in the 1990s. The artwork has a bold graphic style, and is sold on postcards, posters, calendars, tote bags, and other paraphernalia. Although creating a single brand identity for New York’s myriad Harbor destinations may seem a tall order, other means, from coordinated programming to signage to waterfront greenways, can serve to connect individual waterfront parks to each other and the larger harbor estuary. Three: A variety of tenants were making use of historic and newer structures located in the parks, including a youth hostel, an artist residency, children’s day camps, a conference center – even George Lucas’s new Industrial Light and Magic headquarters. The Park Service, the Conservancy, and groups like the Fort Mason Foundation and Presidio Trust ensure that tenants offer low cost services and programming to a variety of residents and visitors. Revenue from these leases and on-site parking helps subsidize the overall site. The notion of having parks help pay for themselves through private leases is well-established here in New York. Hudson River Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park are just some of the larger examples. And from Governors Island to Sandy Hook to Floyd Bennett Field, our Harbor is filled with parks blessed and burdened with beautiful and expensive-to-maintain historic structures. But the places we visited in San Francisco did a great job of not overwhelming the public space with private commercial activities. Tenants seem selected as much to add character to the site as for their impact on the bottom line. George Lucas’ headquarters in the Presidio is at a compatible scale with the historic campus. Underlying this positive relationship was a system-wide business plan that allowed these partnerships to be established over time. New public and private activities were taking place next to still unused structures. This incremental approach and long term risk taking was made easier because the Park Service was pooling revenue across the entire system of parks. New York might be well served by a similar attitude, in particular by looking at city-wide policies that could help cover maintenance by sharing lease revenue across sites or by assessing activities and new values outside of the park boundaries. So did we leave our hearts in San Francisco? Of course not, being New Yorkers at heart. But even if our hearts stay here, it is clear that we can emulate many of their successes. Now, New Yorker’s idea of luxury, again judging from what sells, are Richard Meier’s stunningly contemporary glass towers on the Hudson, Michael Graves post-modern tower at midtown, and maybe even eventually Santiago Calatrava’s engineering marvel of penthouses on a stick contemplated for Lower Manhattan. My how things have changed, and for the better. You never know when you’re living in a golden age, and I think that’s true at the moment in residential architecture in New York City. A rash of interesting buildings are going up, and they seem evidence that the decades old aversion to “Architecture” with a capital A is receding. Until a few years ago, developers were unwilling to put one extra dollar into a façade or more elaborately designed form because they were convinced that home buyers would not pay an extra nickel for it. While inside a Jacuzzi or fancy refrigerator were “hot-button” items, a more interesting building from an exterior point of view was money down the drain, seemed to be the attitude. The brick and glass cubes built in recent years seemed devoid of expressiveness. And this in a city that more than a century ago largely invented the modern luxury apartment building, at least in this country. Things have changed though, and for the better. Developers, like many business people, often operate in herd-like fashion, and now the herd is moving toward good or at least interesting design. Moving around today in Manhattan and the boroughs, one is more likely than ever to see interesting buildings going up. There are actually too many examples to begin to name them. But what’s most noteworthy are the smaller, more everyday projects that are still built with a significant dollop of style. One of these I happened to walk by recently was the “Chelsea House” condominium project at 130 West 19th street. While clearly an expensive, upscale building, I bet a few years ago it would have been un-noteworthy in every respect. But these days, the developer, the Claret Group, have articulated the glass and stone façade so that it crinkles across the front that faces the street, as if the windows had buckled under pressure. It’s quite startling. On an even more upscale level are fourteen new townhouses just being completed on State Street in downtown Brooklyn. These townhouses, designed by Rogers Marvel Architects under developers Abby Hamlin and Francis Greenburger, manage to do a contemporary version of the townhouse that is understated without seeming impoverished or lacking in visual richness. Inside, the rooms are striking and even the backyards are noteworthy. Of course, these townhouses are available to only a tiny few who can afford them, but at least passers by get something interesting. Perhaps the most dramatic new residential building going up in the city is Richard Meier’s new glass tower going up on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn overlooking the vast Prospect Park. Although only about half finished, it resembles Meier’s see-through, all-glass-and-concrete Perry Street towers in the West Village. In the great grassy meadow of Prospect Park, you are already able to see Meier’s new tower, peaking up over the trees along side of its more classically designed turn of the century neighbors. I live nearby, and I’m sure there are many of my neighbors who resent that the old buildings having such a startling new neighbor. But I think it’s great. Every era should have its own architecture, and it’s good that ours is adding something to the skyline. All in all, the Meier tower provides an example of how to build well urbanistically, without being dull. In height, bulk and footprint, the Meier tower resembles its neighbors. But in style, it’s utterly different. This is a good model, not only for other developers, but for the city who regulates them.
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September 26, 8:00 am – 12:30pm September 26, 5:30 PM September 27, 6:30 PM September 28 and 29 Through October 1 October 5, 9:00-10:30 October 12, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. October 17, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm October 19-20 October 24
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Spotlight on The Region A publication of Regional Plan Association, Robert Yaro, President, Alex Marshall, Senior Editor 212-253-2727, x360 alex@rpa.org www.rpa.org |
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