Waterfront Alliance

Waterfront Alliance

Formation	2007
Type	Environmental & Urban Planning Organization
Legal status	Non-profit organization
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary
President & CEO	Cortney Koenig Worrall
Founders	Paul Balser, Kent Barwick, Carter Craft, John Solomon, Paige Sutherland, John Watts
Board Chair	Kathy Robb
Website	waterfrontalliance.org

Waterfront Alliance is a New York City-based nonprofit. The mission of Waterfront Alliance is to assure accessible, dynamic, working, and resilient shorelines that can withstand the impacts of climate change. Waterfront Alliance initiatives fall under four broad categories: climate preparedness; building stewardship; providing public access; and assuring vibrant waterfronts and coastlines.

Launched as a project in 1999-2000 by the Municipal Art Society to advocate for improved ferry services and the creation of parks and trails along the New York-New Jersey shorelines, Waterfront Alliance evolved in 2007 into a separate non-profit organization offering multi-faceted programs that build, transform, revitalize, and protect regional waterfronts and waterways. Waterfront Alliance has grown into an alliance of more than 1,100 institutions and organizations which include collaborative partnerships of business interests, civic organizations, governmental entities, communities, and neighborhoods working to protect and improve 700 miles of waterfront in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary, one of the most intricate natural harbors in the world and one of the busiest shipping ports in the United States.

Waterfront Alliance launched, manages and supports Rise to Resilience, a campaign-driven coalition advocating for federal, state, and local government laws, policies, appropriations, and investments to support an array of climate resilience initiatives in the broad watershed of the New York-New Jersey harbors.

Waterfront Alliance also administers a national certification program called Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines® (WEDG®) which is considered the gold standard for evaluating, preparing, and verifying resilient waterfronts that can meet the impacts of climate change. WEDG provides technical reviews of waterfront projects, continuing education and credentialing for professionals, and policy and finance guidelines to meet Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) investment strategies. Initially designed for application in the New York-New Jersey region, design guidelines have evolved into WEDG 3.0 to address all types of waterfronts including lake shorefronts and river fronts.

From its inception, Waterfront Alliance has expanded its educational youth programs as part of its commitment to cultivating future environmental stewardship for the area's waterways evolving into Estuary Explorers, a STEM-based environmental program centered around experiential learning. Since the 2009 launch of its newsletter Waterwire, Waterfront Alliance has continued to report on news, policy, initiatives, events, recreation, historic boats, and issues affecting the region.

Waterfront Alliance initiatives are foremost based on sound ecological principles that restore and maintain habitats and ecosystems; preserve and enhance ecosystem connectivity to bolster biodiversity; avoid human disturbance to natural areas; redevelop and clean up degraded sites; practice sustainable fill and soil management; use renewable and resilient energy sources; reduce emissions through carbon management; require environmentally sound construction practices; conserve water; and provide long-term site oversight and monitoring.

History

Waterfront Alliance initially started as a project in 1999-2000 under the Municipal Art Society to improve ferry service and establish an industrial heritage trail along the East River, a saltwater tidal estuary in New York. The original founders included: Paul Balser, Kent Barwick, Carter Craft, John Solomon, Paige Sutherland, and John Watts. The organization later evolved into an independent nonprofit.

2006, the organization began working with the New York Harbor School to provide educational summer camps for youth.

2007, under the leadership of community activist Roland Lewis, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance became independent of the Municipal Art Society. (The organization would later be named Waterfront Alliance.) That year, the new organization and the Municipal Art Society released a documentary called City of Water which advocated for a diverse and vibrant New York City waterfront.

2008, the first-ever City of Water Day was organized to encourage New Yorkers to interact with the city's waterfront. It continues to be an annual event with water-related activities in all five NYC boroughs.

2008, Waterfront Alliance helped simplify the permitting process for waterfront projects in the New York-New Jersey Harbor by creating a Waterfront Permitting Made Simple website. By November 2008, regional policy makers, activists, planners, and agency representatives introduced an agenda of policy changes and projects called the Waterfront Action Agenda.

2009, Waterfront Alliance launched Waterwire with staff writer Alison Simko, now publisher of The Broadsheet. Waterwire continues to serve as a resource and archive of waterfront and harbor related issues.

2009, Waterfront Alliance helped pass legislation to reinstate the Waterfront Management Advisory Board.

2009 and 2010, Waterfront Alliance worked with the City of New York to develop and execute a public input process to update the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, a management plan which had not been updated since 1992.  

2010, Waterfront Alliance launched and was joined by National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) to create a bi-state coalition of nonprofit organizations to help secure the federal and state funding needed to address New York-New Jersey harbor needs. Coalition members included: The Environmental Defense Fund, Hudson River Foundation, Ironbound Community Corporation, NY/NJ Baykeeper, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, Regional Plan Association, Trust for Public Land, and WE ACT. The coalition received support from U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko, Jerrold Nadler, Carolyn Maloney, and Nydia Velazquez.  

2011, Waterfront Alliance initiated the Open Waters initiative to construct community docks in New York City.

2011, following Waterfront Alliance’s advocacy for an updated water management plan and after more than two years of public involvement supported and sometimes led by the Waterfront Alliance, the New York Department of City Planning introduced Mayor Bloomberg’s  Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, a three-year action plan that included 130 funded projects including the development of more than 50 acres (20 ha) of new waterfront parks, creation of 14 new waterfront esplanades, and introduction of new commuter ferry service (NYC Ferry) to provide a framework for the City’s 520 miles (840 km) of shoreline for the next decade and beyond.

2012, Waterfront Alliance CEO Roland Lewis presided as chair of the 4th annual Urban Waterfronts Conference in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

2012, following Hurricane Sandy’s impact in New York and Hurricane Sandy’s impact in New Jersey, Waterfront Alliance increased its work to address climate preparedness in the region by beginning to formalize waterfront development and redevelopment guidelines to increase climate resilience and by including climate resilience in its work to launch the Harbor Coalition. This was a pivotal point which ultimately positioned Waterfront Alliance's leadership in climate preparedness and, ultimately, led to the creation of Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines.

2013, The Waterfront Conference, annually organized by Waterfront Alliance, featured a New York City mayoral forum with all major candidates including Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Speaker Christine Quinn, Comptroller John Liu, and former Comptroller William Thompson. Candidates shared their visions for the New York waterfront at the conference and put their commitments for the future of the regional waterfront on the record in a report which was published by Waterfront Alliance.

2013, Waterfront Alliance joined NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, local elected leaders, and community groups to celebrate the opening of the Bay Ridge Community Eco Dock for human-powered boating and environmental education.

2014,  Waterfront Alliance worked with NYC Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and local partners including Long Island Community Boathouse and HarborLAB to open the Gantry Plaza State Park Community Eco Deck.

By 2015, Waterfront Alliance debuted the future of Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines (WEDG) at a standing-room-only event at the AIA Center for Architecture which was followed by a month-long exhibit. That same year, the Alliance also released a report called Climate Change Accounting: What Is the Cost? at the annual Waterfront Conference, with a call to action for a presidential commission to address the region’s flood risk after Hurricane Sandy.

2015 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that five-borough ferry service for New York City would start in 2017, following years of Waterfront Alliance advocacy.

2016,  Hōkūle‘a! a Polynesian voyaging canoe stopped in New York City on her worldwide circumnavigation. Waterfront Alliance helped host many associated events at the Community Eco Dock at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, Queens.

2017, Waterfront Alliance introduced New York City's first Harbor Scorecard on the steps of City Hall. The groundbreaking scorecard showcased the guidelines of WEDG®, an award-winning planning tool developed by Waterfront Alliance that has since become the gold standard for modern-day waterfront development.

2017 - 2018, Waterfront Alliance created its first maritime plan which mapped and surveyed waterfront to outline achievable shoreline improvements. The Maritime Activation Plan for Brooklyn Bridge which focused on dense improvements to docks, piers, recreational and cultural events along 1.3 miles of shoreline. Waterfront Alliance released a second location-specific maritime plan, the Maritime Activation Plan for Governors Island.

Starting in 2018, Waterfront Alliance convened more than 150 architects, urban planners, conservationists, community activists, elected officials, community and neighborhood representatives for multiple meetings over two years in planning processes to address long-term climate challenges. The task force evolved into the Rise to Resilience Coalition.

Leadership

Cortney Koenig Worrall became president and CEO of the Waterfront Alliance in 2020. During her tenure she has redefined Waterfront Alliance’s strategy, leading to national and state level victories in comprehensive flood risk disclosure laws, the securing of new national initiatives that use Waterfront Alliance’s WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) program. Worrall’s responsibilities include influencing state and city policy regarding climate resilience including comprehensive strategies for Flushing Corona Meadows Park in Queens, New York, one of the largest and most at-risk parks in the region.  

Worrall currently serves as a member of the New York City Bureau of Coastal Resilience Expert Advisory Group and NOAA’s Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, and is a leadership advisor to New York Climate Exchange at Governors Island.

Prior to the Waterfront Alliance, Worrall led the National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) northeast office where she developed and led comprehensive political strategy for the challenging and complex campaign to create Stonewall National Monument, designated by President Obama in June 2016. She also crafted NPCA’s northeast execution of the campaign to reduce the $12B maintenance backlog affecting national parks—one of the nationally executed campaigns that led to the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020.

Prior to NPCA, Worrall was second in leadership in the early start-up years of the Waterfront Alliance from 2009 to 2013. During that time, she established the fundamentals of start-up strategies including all operations, fundraising, human resources, and program direction.

Worrall developed waterfront policy for the 2010 New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan, executed the Waterfront Alliance’s strategy for five-borough ferry service for New York City, and launched the development of the award-winning WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) for the New York-New Jersey Harbor. Early in her career, she worked in engineering consulting, specializing in state and federal stormwater regulations for the trucking and railroad industries and municipalities in the state of Georgia.

Worrall earned her Bachelor of Arts in environmental policy from Mount Holyoke College and her Master of Public Administration in advanced management from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Annual Events

City of Water Day. In 2008, Waterfront Alliance hosted its first-ever City of Water Day.  In partnership with the New York–New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (HEP), the 2023 City of Water Day offered more than 60 free events hosted by 40 organizations including dozens of communities across five New York boroughs and New Jersey.  

Waterfront Conference. Waterfront Alliance's Waterfront Conference is an annual gathering of community leaders who address current waterfront issues including environmental concerns, climate change, equity and access, and financing.  In 2023, a record-breaking 680 people attended the 16th Annual Waterfront Conference.

Heroes of the Harbor Award. In 2008, Waterfront Alliance hosted its first annual Heroes of the Harbor Award Dinner and continues the tradition of honoring people who champion “the vibrancy, sustainability, economy, education, and awareness of the New York and New Jersey harbor, its port, and the metropolitan area.” The event elevates the importance of regional waterways, shoreline parks and infrastructure, waterfront economies and jobs, activism and leadership.

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