Read our most recent letter about the proposed design
and the letter before that
Read our most recent letter about the proposed design
and the letter before that
The October 2010 issue of Parks and Recreation magazine runs an article on Mayor Booker’s emphasis on creating and improving parks in Newark, making special mention of Newark Riverfront Park.
At the fourth biennial Passaic Riverfront Institute, Newark Riverfront Regeneration presented an update on two years of riverfront work with “The Riverfront That Newark Wants: Progress Report 2009-2010.” Click below or here to download the PDF.
On Sunday, May 16, students from five Newark schools launched boats they built with help from the Project U.S.E. Boatbuilding Program onto the cool waters of the Passaic River in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood. Congratulations to University Heights Charter School, Sussex Avenue School, Discovery Charter School, Big Picture Schools, and Ann Street School!
On December 15, over 75 Newarkers came to City Hall to learn about, discuss, and debate proposed rules to govern the future development of the Newark Riverfront. Below, please find links to download the Draft Proposal for a Newark Riverfront Development Framework that was presented at the meeting.
While many details remain to be resolved, the PDF presentation and accompanying maps (10 megabytes) provide a vision for Land Use, Height, Open Space, and Public Access along the riverfront from the North Ward through the Ironbound.
(Further background may be found in the Riverfront Development Workbooks, available for download here.)
Please share any questions or comments with a Comment Sheet. Based upon feedback received at the 12/15 public meeting and subsequently, the planning team will now complete a full draft for public review.
Stay tuned for our next public meeting in the spring later this year.
Making the Rules for Riverfront Development
Public Meeting on Newark Riverfront Development Framework
Tuesday, December 15, 6:30-8:30 pm
Newark City Hall, Basement Rotunda
920 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Please RSVP to newarkriverfront [at] gmail.com.
For decades, Newarkers have discussed visions of the waterfront, including a riverfront trail, new parks, and opportunities for development. (Some of the ways these benefits might be achieved are collected in the Riverfront Workbooks, available for download.) Following the first public meeting on October 13 and workshops in neighborhoods across the city, the project team will now present its draft proposal for discussion. Please come and join the conversation about the future of the Newark riverfront.
This workbook has been designed to make clear the choices that Newark faces in setting the rules and priorities for development along its riverfront. Please download the section that interests you or the entire workbook. Email your comments to newarkriverfront [at] gmail.com, or watch this space for the next public meeting where these issues will be discussed.
Riverfront Workbook Introduction
Riverfront Workbook 1: Riverfront Overview
Riverfront Workbook 2: North Ward
Riverfront Workbook 3: Lower Broadway
Riverfront Workbook 4: Downtown
North of 280 Riverfront Walkshop
Sunday, October 25, 2-5 pm
This tour covered the Newark riverfront north of Route 280, its history and visions for its future. Along the way, participants documented what they found using cameras and maps. The day concluded with a workshop where we discussed ideas for the area and how people from Newark and beyond can make it happen.
The tour group. We met Richard Perlen, who operates a steel fabrication business just north of Clay Street.
Steel machines. It’s good to see things being made by people in Newark (like they have for hundreds of years).
We visited Innovation Fuels, which produces biodiesel on a site formerly owned by Standard Fuel. John Fox, one of the owners, told us how his operation uses barges and the nearby railroad to ship materials in and out. A jar of animal fat that will become biodiesel.
Innovation Fuel transforms fat, on the left, into biodiesel, on the right.
Graffiti wall known as Newark Wall of Fame along the rail spur.
At the end of our walk, we had juices at Mariela’s Café, across Broadway from Mount Prospect Cemetery, and talked about what we had seen.
You can download the agenda and presentation from the 10/13 public meeting on the Newark Riverfront Development Framework here:
Making the Rules for Riverfront Development
Public Meeting on Newark Riverfront Development Framework
Tuesday, October 13, 6-9 pm
Newark City Hall, First Floor Rotunda
920 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Please RSVP to newarkriverfront [at] gmail.com.
For decades, Newarkers have discussed visions of the waterfront, including a riverfront trail, new parks, and opportunities for development. At this meeting, you will learn about what it will take to make these visions into reality, and how the rules are set to guide the development of the riverfront. Please come and join the conversation about the future of the Newark riverfront.
Walking along Jersey Street, just east of Newark Penn Station. On a site currently under construction by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Exploring near the Jackson Street Bridge and going down to “the beach.”
Meeting the owner of Shifman Mattresses and discussing the plans for Newark’s first true riverfront park.
The next four public boat tours are scheduled for Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23. These boat tours are free and open to the public, and look at the history and future of the Newark Riverfront.
Space is limited-RSVP to save your seat today!
RSVP to newarkriverfront [at] gmail.com or (973) 733-5918. Once your reservation is confirmed, you will receive the meeting location and other information.
See photographs of recent tours here.
The Summer 2009 issue of Next American City features an article about Mayor Cory Booker, illustrated with an image of Newark Riverfront 3000.
The first of a series of Newark Riverfront Boat Tours took place the weekend of July 25, 2009. The group spent two hours on the water traveling from the southern stretches just north of the Port to near Newark’s border with Belleville, carried on boats provided and operated by Captain Bill and Hugh from the Hackensack Riverkeeper. This and other upcoming riverfront programs are generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
This Saturday, May 16, boaters of all ages will prove that it is easy and exciting to boat on the Passaic River in Newark.
First, at 8 am, the Lower Passaic Watershed Alliance launches its 5th Annual Passaic River Paddle Relay: A Race for the River. Boats launch from the bank of the Passaic across Raymond Boulevard from Riverbank Park. For more information, visit www.lowerpassaic.org, or call or email Tom Pietrykoski at (973) 817-5737 or tpietrykoski [at] pvsc.com.
Then, at 10 am, the Shipwrights of Barringer Ninth Grade Success Academy, Discovery Charter School, Link Community School, and William Brown Academy, and the Staff and Board of Trustees of Project U.S.E. cordially invite you to the Third Annual Launching of the Newark Fleet! Boats will launch from near the intersection of Raymond Boulevard and Somme Street, at the bank of the Passaic River.
Students have learned about Newark’s nautical history, studied the science behind boats, and worked together to build wooden canoes. Join us as we honor their hard work and celebrate the launch of their vessels. For additional information, email Marie Pasquariello at mpasquariello [at] projectuse.org.
Please join us as the Newark Riverfront Parks project team shares the nearly complete design for discussion.
At this discussion, you will see the design developed by the project team with resident advice from our previous two public meetings, and have an opportunity to share your thoughts before the design is completed.
Newark Riverfront Park Community Meeting
Tuesday May 5, 2009, 6:30-8:30 pm
Newark City Hall Room B-29 (Basement – use the Greene Street entrance)
920 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Download the meeting flyer here.
On March 31, 2009, over 70 people attended the second public meeting about the planning and design of Newark Riverfront Parks. The project team, including the City of Newark Division of Planning & Community Development, the Trust for Public Land, and Lee Weintraub Landscape Architect, presented their first draft design ideas for the park.
Then, participants worked in groups to generate questions and ideas for park access, security, programming, and design. The notes from these groups are included in the PDF of the public presentation below.
You can download a PDF of the public presentation here (4 megabytes).
You can download a comment sheet to share your thoughts here.
Or a comment sheet in Spanish aqui.
Please join Mayor Cory Booker for the opening of the exhibition Newark Riverfront 3000, on view in City Hall’s Basement Rotunda in March and April 2009. A collaboration between Newark’s Division of Planning and Community Development, the East Ironbound Family Success Center, and the Ironbound Community Corporation the exhibition is the result of a 4-month project by students from East Side and Arts High Schools. The exhibition features documentation of the current state of the riverfront and visions of what might be there in the year 3000 in the form of models, drawings, and photographs.
The event will also announce the public consultation process for the design of Newark’s first riverfront park in partnership with the Trust for Public Land. Preliminary design ideas for the park are scheduled to be presented to the public on March 31 at City Hall.
A group of eight young people and mentors have begun work on a Vision Plan for the Passaic River called “Newark Riverfront 3000.” The group is currently undertaking field surveys, conducting interviews, and developing initial design concepts. Newark Riverfront 3000 will be unveiled at an exhibition at City Hall in Spring 2009.
Read the press release here.