OPINION: As the waterfront spruces up, let’s not forget its past
Brooklyn’s relationship with its 113 miles of waterfront has made a dramatic about-face. For a generation or more, the borough had turned its back on what was a long, grimy strand of dilapidated industrial areas, toxic canals and neglected wetlands. Now, suddenly, Brooklynites are turning to face the waterfront as a place to live, work, learn and play. (And for some, to make a fortune in real estate.)
A total makeover is underway. Brooklyn Bridge Park, not long ago a stretch of decrepit piers, offers 1.3 miles of recreational enticements. Once-isolated Red Hook is now a restaurant destination, connected to points north and south by the NYC Ferry. The shoreline-hugging Belt Parkway, by reputation a traffic-choked conduit to JFK airport, was extolled by The New York Times recently as a “great scenic ride,” our answer to the Pacific Coast Highway.
Great, right? Yes, by and large. By creating shoreline parks and housing, many more people have access to the water’s edge. But what about the generations of history that are getting paved over and prettied up? In times of radical change in our surroundings, it helps to turn to artists and other creative types who’ve been paying close attention to what has been gained and lost on our shoreline. “The five of us here are all obsessed with water,” said bestselling novelist Jennifer Egan as she moderated a conversation titled “Inspired by the Water’s Edge” recently at the Brooklyn Historical Society.