Transforming Environments
Over the past century, the Greater New York Area's waterfront has experienced a dramatic transformation. The animated industrial ports that built this country would slowly begin closing their doors, slipping into a stage of abandonment and neglect. Only recently have these monuments of our past awoken, undergoing a metamorphosis seemingly overnight and becoming the most desirable targets of modern day development.
In Yonkers, it was Otis Elevator; in Hastings, there was Anaconda Metals; in Sleepy Hollow, General Motors; and along the New Jersey coastline, there was Ford. The unfortunate by-product of the economic success of these titans of industry was their voracious appetite to control and exploit every inch of the waterfront for the delivery and shipping of materials. However, after almost 100 years of operation, the only reminder of their animated past is a string of obsolete factories and significant environmental degradation.
With the demise and relocation of these former industries, the Hudson Valley has begun to approach the redevelopment of its waterfront in those same subtle and exciting ways as its national peers. After years of industrial use, the river's edge now sits dormant. A recycling of our waterfront seems right now. Once again the shorelines will be transformed into a vibrant center of activity and excitement, now with a completely different goal.