City of Water
Encyclopedia
City of Water is a documentary about the future of the New York City waterfront by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and the Municipal Art Society
.
, "green" economic consultant Majora Carter
, author Phillip Lopate
, US Representative Nydia Velázquez
, CUNY Professor William Kornblum, Director of the Mayor's Office of Longterm Planning and Sustainabililty Rohit Aggarwala, environmentalist Cathy Drew, historian Richard Melnick, founder of the Long Island City Community Boathouse Eric Baard, and others. Velazquez and Carter "present compelling cases for getting communities involved in reclaiming the waterfront, so that luxury condos — or sheer neglect in the case of the Bronx — do not limit their access" while Baard "points out the folly of placing guardrails all along the water’s edge, thus limiting open water access to boaters"
Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance President Roland Lewis has described how the documentary "encapsulates the fulcrum issues that face the waterfront right now. Our generation has been presented with a unique opportunity to change the waterfront. The decisions that are facing us right now will affect our grandchildren."
, Socrates Sculpture Park
, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
and Water Taxi Beach
in Queens, where it "played to an enthralled crowd of residents interested in the river."The film was also screened at the Center for Architecture
, New York County Lawyers' Association and other venues in 2007, and at the Downtown Alliance and Gotham Center in 2008. The film was broadcast on Channel Thirteen WNET
in April and will be screened at the Brooklyn Arts Council International Film Festival in May.
City of Water was directed by Jasper Goldman and Loren Talbot, cinematography by Igor Martinovic, edited by Cameron Clendaniel, with music by Scott Starrett.
Municipal Art Society
The Municipal Art Society of New York, founded in 1893, is a non-profit membership organization that fights for intelligent urban planning, design and preservation through education, dialogue and advocacy in New York City....
.
Production
The film was two years in the making. and explores the aspirations of public officials, environmentalists, community activists, and working waterfront advocates for a diverse, vibrant waterfront at a time when the shoreline is changing faster than ever before. The documentary contains interviews with the following people: NYC Deputy Mayor Daniel L. DoctoroffDaniel L. Doctoroff
Daniel L. Doctoroff became President of Bloomberg L.P., the leading global provider of financial data, analytics and news, in January 2008. He was the longest-serving deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding of the City of New York, under Mayor Michael R...
, "green" economic consultant Majora Carter
Majora Carter
Majora Carter is an economic consultant, public radio host, and environmental justice advocate from the South Bronx area of New York City. Carter founded the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation Sustainable South Bronx before entering the private sector.-Early life:Carter...
, author Phillip Lopate
Phillip Lopate
Doctor Phillip Lopate is an American film critic, essayist, fiction writer, poet, and teacher. He is the younger brother of radio host Leonard Lopate.-Early life and education:...
, US Representative Nydia Velázquez
Nydia Velázquez
Nydia Margarita Velázquez is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes residential areas of three boroughs...
, CUNY Professor William Kornblum, Director of the Mayor's Office of Longterm Planning and Sustainabililty Rohit Aggarwala, environmentalist Cathy Drew, historian Richard Melnick, founder of the Long Island City Community Boathouse Eric Baard, and others. Velazquez and Carter "present compelling cases for getting communities involved in reclaiming the waterfront, so that luxury condos — or sheer neglect in the case of the Bronx — do not limit their access" while Baard "points out the folly of placing guardrails all along the water’s edge, thus limiting open water access to boaters"
Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance President Roland Lewis has described how the documentary "encapsulates the fulcrum issues that face the waterfront right now. Our generation has been presented with a unique opportunity to change the waterfront. The decisions that are facing us right now will affect our grandchildren."
Release
The film premiered on the Brooklyn waterfront on June 21st and has since been screened at the National Arts ClubNational Arts Club
The National Arts Club is a private club in Gramercy Park, New York City, New York, USA. It was founded in 1898 to "stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts". Since 1906 the organization has occupied the Samuel J...
, Socrates Sculpture Park
Socrates Sculpture Park
Socrates Sculpture Park is an outdoor exhibition space for sculpture. It is located one block from the Noguchi Museum at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard in the neighborhood of Long Island City, Queens, New York City...
, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
Empire–Fulton Ferry Park, formerly Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, is a park in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The park is located next to the East River, extending north and south of the Brooklyn Bridge...
and Water Taxi Beach
Water Taxi Beach
Water Taxi Beach was an artificial temporary beach operated from 2005 to 2010 on a wharf on the East River in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens. It was operated by the New York Water Taxi Company and was open to the public for free during the...
in Queens, where it "played to an enthralled crowd of residents interested in the river."The film was also screened at the Center for Architecture
Center for Architecture
Operated by the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Center for Architecture is located in the neighborhood of Greenwich Village at 536 LaGuardia Place, between West 3rd Street and Bleecker Street in New York City...
, New York County Lawyers' Association and other venues in 2007, and at the Downtown Alliance and Gotham Center in 2008. The film was broadcast on Channel Thirteen WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
in April and will be screened at the Brooklyn Arts Council International Film Festival in May.
City of Water was directed by Jasper Goldman and Loren Talbot, cinematography by Igor Martinovic, edited by Cameron Clendaniel, with music by Scott Starrett.
External links
- Official Screening Schedule
- Link to the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance website
- Waterfront Visions, frame by frame (Metro Newspaper)
- New Film Details Possibilities For the New York Waterfront (Queens Ledger)
- Water, water everywhere (Downtown Express)
- Water, water everywhere - Brian Lehrer Show on City of Water, WNYC
- Rollin' on a river - The Hudson Reporter
- Documentary City of Water screens today; a provocative look at NYC's waterfront dilemmas - Atlantic Yards Report (blog)