We are not sure whether Charles Rangel had a chance to respond to the proposal from the New York Interfaith Commission for Housing Equality to create an Uptown Waterfront Tourist and Financial Project. It crossed our desks at the same time we received an announcement that the esteemed former congressmember had joined the ancestors. In several ways, the project dovetails with Rangel’s Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) and some of the recent ideas expressed by Rep. Adriano Espaillat, particularly Harlem’s location as the hub of a transportation network.
Moreover, the proposal raises questions about how the Uptown Waterfront intersects with the expansive Hudson River Park, which is nearing completion with plans to conduct research and offer scientific programming about ecology and related matters. What appears unique about this proposed new source of revenue is upgrading the Dyckman Waterfront and a connection to the Edgewater Waterfront, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jacob Javits Convention Center, and Hudson Yards by an entertainment ferry.
Central to what the proposal envisions is attracting tourists and the economic clout they might fork over as part of the projected $250 each person spends a day. We have no clue how this would affect or involve residents, especially those in proximity to the Harlem-on-the-Hudson nexus of the entertainment circuit. Based on reading the proposal and watching a short video, the project is very impressive. Some of this dream is based on the success of other river creations, in Paris along the river Seine and the Porto in Portugal, among others.
One element is the involvement of Columbia University and the former location of the Fairway supermarket. “I think having a grocery store there honestly better benefits the community driving into New York — it wasn’t necessarily for Harlem locals,” Kai Cogsville, communications director for the commission, told the Columbia Spectator. “I feel like that site should be utilized for real economic development and a chance to celebrate the culture of Harlem and uptown.”
Thus, the proposal, which can be accessed here.
Let us know what you think, and if you feel it’s feasible, as we began a series of questions about the future of the Harlem community and a sundry of development projects.
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