NYCkayaker Roosevelt Island Memorial alternative

Thu May 1 12:55:39 EDT 2008

Dear Ms.

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I did refer to looking across the strait at Queensbridge Park, so yes, I am quite familiar with the dyanmics and origins of the waterway.

When I wrote of a "soft edge" I meant not bulkheaded. Riprap rock is not always incompatible with restorations of the ecosystem. Indeed, if well arranged they can form rich tidal pool barriers, and estuarine and next-stage upland grasses poke out from your riprap.

It's the bulkheads that are needless, unattractive, and a barrier to mariners in distress.

Wateer safety education is certainly needed. This will not thrive in a culture that is locked away behind walls.

As for what can grow in the East River, including saltwater wetlands plants, I'll let its 10,000 years of living history speak for itself. 

You write of thousands of dollars lost in Gantry Plaza State Park plantings. I weigh those thousands spent in learning what plants will survive to beautify the park, and where, against the millions that would be spent in the southern Roosevelt Island design to detract from beauty everwhere in that park.

Again, thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

Erik Baard
www.licboathouse.org
www.naturecalendar.com

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

-----Original Message-----
From: "gpollara at feri.org" <gpollara at feri.org>

Date: Thu, 01 May 2008 11:24:41 
To:"Erik Baard" <erikbaard at gmail.com>
Cc:wvanden at allenco.com,jmartinez at allenco.com,broches at mitchellgiurgola.com,webmaster at rooseveltisland.us,ccraft at waterwire.net,rlewis at waterwire.net,rmelnick99 at earthlink.net,rooseveltislander at gmail.com,editor at MainStreetWIRE.com,info at carolynmaloney.com,lappin at council.nyc.ny.us,KellnerM at assembly.state.ny.us,nyckayaker at rockandwater.net,cyberharbor at treebranch.com
Subject: Re: Roosevelt Island Memorial alternative

Dear Mr. Baard,

Thank you for taking the time to express your careful
thoughts about the FDR Four Freedoms Park. I understand your
desire to have "natural elements" and a "soft shoreline." As
I am sure you know from your many hours on the water, the
East River is not a river, per se. It is a tidal strait that
is subject to tidal fluctuations and also some of the
strongest currents in the area. Because of this, a soft
shoreline is not possible at the southern tip of Roosevelt
Island. One need only look across the river to the Gantry
Plaza State Park in Long Island City to understand the
implications.

At that park, there was an attempt to create the kind of
soft shoreline you are suggesting, by planting natural
grasses to create a marshy type edge. That park has
experienced ongoing erosion problems that are evident
everywhere. Those grasses (and the thousands of dollars
spent to purchase and plant them) were washed out into the
East River in a matter of weeks. Riprap has since been put
in those areas to alleviate the problem and stop the erosion
loss, something which has not quite been solved as yet. If
you make a trip to the Park you will see many areas of
erosion, areas where the granite is in danger of falling
into the River, and areas that have been undermined by wash
out beneath once-level granite walks. And this in areas much
more protected than the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.

The riprap edge that currently exists at the southern tip is
there to protect the island from just this kind of erosion
from wave action. The riprap breaks up and absorbs the
energy of the tides. The Kahn design also makes use of this
riprap edge, and for the same reasons. The storms that blow
up the East Coast can pound quite hard on the southern tip
and, as you may know, there have been times when the
combination of tidal heights and lunar cycles have made the
waters from these storms breach the promenade. The current
state of the seawalls around Roosevelt Island is also
evidence of the harsh conditions the island is subject to.
The East River is not like the Hudson, which can accomodate
the kind of edge, plants, creatures and birds you describe.
I am often reminded of the words of the writer and poet Paul
Goodman, who called it "the lordly Hudson, hardly flowing." 

I support and applaud all the efforts to renew the use of
the waterfront of our City. I, in fact, contributed to an
archival project and exhibition that was published in a book
called The New York Waterfront that looked at this issue
back before it became so prominent. Part of what needs to be
included in this current push to reconnect City residents to
their waterfront is basic life and water safety education. A
healthly respect for and understanding of our water and
waterfront in all its nuanced forms should be part of this
renewal. I hear all too frequently about unfortunate
incidents (some fatal) that occur because that essential
information has been overlooked.

Best regards,

Gina Pollara

----- Original Message -----
From: "Erik Baard" <erikbaard at gmail.com>
To: gpollara at feri.org
Cc: webmaster at rooseveltisland.us, ccraft at waterwire.net,
rlewis at waterwire.net,  rmelnick99 at earthlink.net,
rooseveltislander at gmail.com,  editor at MainStreetWIRE.com,
info at carolynmaloney.com,  lappin at council.nyc.ny.us,
KellnerM at assembly.state.ny.us,  nyckayaker at rockandwater.net,
cyberharbor at treebranch.com
Subject: Roosevelt Island Memorial alternative
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:47:16 -0400

> Ms. Gina Pollara
> Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
> 
> Dear Ms. Pollara,
> 
>  Franklin D. Roosevelt certainly deserves a memorial in
> view of the United Nations that respects the Louis I. Kahn
> vision, the environment, and the timeless beauty of
> nature. In that light I propose that the Kahn design be
> expressed through natural elements that enhance its sense
> of place in the harbor.
> 
>  As the founder of the LIC Community Boathouse and
> www.NatureCalendar.com<http://www.naturecalendar.com/>I
> have spent many hours as a volunteer harbor and estuary
> ecology advocate kayaking around Roosevelt Island and
> admiring its green southern tip from the nearby Queens
> waterfront. What happens at the southern tip of Roosevelt
> Island is viewed by more lovers of our estuary heritage in
> Manhattan and Queens than on Roosevelt Island itself. This
> letter reflects my personal concerns and hopes for the
> site.
> 
>  A V-shaped colonnade of indigenous trees is the central
> visual element of the Kahn design, and that can be
> responsibly included in a final design. It could still
> flank a sustainable and lush greensward and garden, but
> elevating it would be a needless pouring of concrete.
> 
> The retaining wall edging the entire tip of the island
> will be both costly and damaging to the environment. What
> is needed is a soft shoreline that allows harbor birds,
> tidal pool creatures, and saltwater plants to live. A soft
> shoreline also offers safe landings in emergencies to
> paddlers and rowers, who will be surrounding the island in
> far greater numbers over the coming years (many of whom
> will be Roosevelt Island residents).
> 
> You are also seeking higher maintenance costs and
> significant hassles with a retaining wall, as can be
> witnessed across the strait at Queensbridge Park. Instead,
> I recommend that you save millions of dollars in
> construction that will be unattractive and environmentally
> unfriendly by retaining the edge largely as is, improved
> only by cleaning and aiding the habitat restoration that
> is underway through natural propagation.
> 
> This is in keeping with the "blue wave" that is
> refashioning New York Harbor into a place of recreation
> and education. The NYC Department of Parks and
> Recreation's recently inaugurated NYC Water Trail
> encourages soft shorelines for safety, ecology, and
> aesthetics.
> 
> To meet ADA access needs, perhaps the funds saved by
> omitting the unneeded retaining wall could be used for
> paving a perimeter path with NYC bedrock, recycled from
> construction and tunneling. Not only does the use of
> native stone (more attractive than typical concrete)
> better respect the environment and serve to give visitors
> a sense of ubiety, it symbolizes the profound role that
> the Roosevelt family has played in the history of our
> city's culture and civics.
> 
> The monument itself can be made from the bedrock as well.
> But instead of a confining room (which is also a dull spot
> in the vista of those looking out onto the harbor),
> perhaps have inclined slabs that allow visitors to read
> the immortal quotations while enjoying the uplift of
> openness all around. It would be ironic to have the Four
> Freedoms speech carved into confining walls.
> 
> I hope you consider this less costly, more environmentally
> friendly, and less rigid alternative. To execute an
> inherited plan without question would be contrary to the
> central lesson taught by the lives of both Franklin D.
> Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.
> 
> Thank you for your consideration.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Erik Baard
> 917 687 0896
> www.licboathouse.org
> www.naturecalendar.com
> 

Gina Pollara
Executive Director
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Four Freedoms Park
66 West 35 Street, Suite 656
New York NY 10001

t. 212-615-3340
f. 212-967-2702