The Greenpoint Video Project

Information Update - Fall, 2006

(partial listing)

(NEW) ARCHITECTS' WATERFRONT PARKS SYMPOSIUM 28 min. Architects Thomas Balsley and Michael Samuelian discuss projects in a symposium on waterfront park design for East River locations. The event was a presentation of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a project of the Municipal Art Society, and was held at the Urban Center, Aug. 2005.

SOLAR ONE DANCE PROGRAM, 28 min. Featuring short programs by choreographers from an eclectic mix of new and emerging dance companies working in a variety of styles. Plus: an overview of Solar One's arts and environmental education programming throughout the year. This solar-powered facility is located at Stuyvesant Cove, at 23rd St. on the FDR Drive.

DESIGNING THE EDGE, 28 mins. NYC Parks Dept. team headed by landscape architect, Marcha Johnson, works with Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and local community members to develop ideas for a new type of waterfront park on the Harlem River.

 A TOUR OF GOVERNORS ISLAND, 8mins. With Robert Pirani, Director of Development, The Regional Plan Association. An Overview of the island's history, development and future hopes for public access amenities on this 140 acre site in New York harbor. In Progress: The Governors Island Flotilla - see New Productions.

GREENPOINT'S WATERFRONT ACCESS, 30 min. A study of how private and public concerns have monopolized North Brooklyn's waterfront to exclude area residents and visitors from almost all recreational use. The few remaining sites are examined by access-advocacy groups for possible improvement.

THE RESTORATION OF NEWTOWN CREEK, l5 min., commentary by John C. Muir, Director of the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment. Explores environmental problems in Newtown Creek with suggestions for remediation. In addition to his innovative ideas for cleaning up our local waterways, Mr. Muir presents a vision for the future: Promenades, boating, dock space, jobs and housing along the Creek, a much exploited and now neglected tributary deviding Brooklyn and Queens.

THE GREENPOINT CANOE AND KAYAK CLUB, 30 min. This Polish-American boating club teaches local children and adults techniques of competitive small-boat handling and water safety. Even with very limited access to the water at Newtown Creek and the East River, they are enthusiastic about developing sites for boat launching and paddling practice.

THE D.E.P. BOAT TRIP, 36 min. Members of the Newtown Creek Monitoring Committee are guests on the Department of Environmental Protection's skimmer vessel, The Cormorant, as they tour Newtown Creek to view water quality and waterfront conditions. They discuss Greenpoint's need for waterfront amenities with DEP engineers and consultants.

GEORGE TRAKAS, THE PERCENT FOR ART PROJECT, 55 min. in 3 parts. The artist visits the Newtown Creek site of the future promenade and waterfront access point he has designed as part of the DEP Water Pollution Control Plant upgrade program, and offers provocative ideas for a Newtown Creek renaissance.

THE GREENPOINT 197-A PLAN, ca. 110 min. As presented by Ronald Shiffman, director of Pratt Institute's environmental design team, Prof. Shiffman introduces concepts for redevelopment and change for Greenpoint and its waterfront in the years ahead. His talk is followed by a discussion with the community audience.

THE PIER 63 WATERFEST, 30 min. An event celebrating waterfront access at Pier 63, on Manhattan's Hudson River, hosted by the Working Waterfront Association. And: Adam Brown, president of WWA, discusses water-dependent uses and waterfront revitalization.

ODYSSEY OF THE SEA TURTLE, 28 min. Reid and Laurence Stowe prepare for a 6- month sailing voyage in the South Atlantic aboard their 70-foot schooner, the Anne, docked at Pier 63. They relate tales of earlier travels, including an Antarctic expedition.

THE BEDT ART EXHIBITION, 30 min. A site-specific sculpture exhibition by North Brooklyn artists on the17-acre BEDT site on the Greenpoint/ Williamsburg waterfront. With comments by artists and visitors on how the site could benefit the arts community.

THE FLOATING POOL, 25 min. Architect Meta Brunzema and Adam Brown present a model for a transparent, flexible floating pool for use around the city's waterfront.

REMOVAL OF TOXIC SEDIMENTS 20 min. Abu Moulta-Ali, formerly with BCUE, discusses toxic sediment removal and remediation in Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal.

A VISIT TO HURON STREET 20 min. Greenpoint's last East River public access street end site, and the people who want to restore it. It offers spectacular views, and could become a park with community support.

THE WATCHPERSON PROJECT, 28 min. Samara Swanston, Environmental Watchperson, describes the function of this community resource and its Geographic Information Service (G.I.S.) database for monitoring health and neighborhood demographics.

O.U.T.R.A.G.E., 20 min. A march and rally to raise vital health issues affecting Community
Board #1, and to limit Sanitation and waste transfer truck routes through the neighborhood.

PIER 63 - A JULY 4TH CANCELED, 20 min. After months of preparation, organizers of a holiday event on the floating barge, Pier 63, are denied an assembly permit. They question the fairness of this decision and describe the celebration that was to take place. Also: Friends of Pier 84's Interim Park plans, Phase 1, with leader John Doswell, and Architect Meta Brunzema.

THE WATERFRONT CONFERENCE 15 min. Held at Liberty State Park, Sept. 1999. Speakers address New York harbor and Hudson River Estuary issues on conservation, waterfront revitalization and the port of the future.

THE WATERFRONT MUSEUM 5 min. An overview of programs on the historic barge museum and show boat in Red Hook, featuring: CircuSundays, The Sunset Music Series, and year-round educational programs

SPLASH 14 mins. A day-long event in Red Hook, presented by the Waterfront Museum on its historic barge, to celebrate the harbor and encourage environmental awareness and waterfront revitalization

WE WON'T BACK DOWN 28 min. North Brooklyn environmental groups rally to stop a proposal for a 1000 megawatt power plant on its waterfront.

PETE SEEGER AT GANTRY PLAZA 28 min. An outdoor concert with the legendary folk singer and co-founder of the sloop Clearwater to promote clean water in the Hudson and East River. With folk singer friends, plus area rowing and boat building workshops.

BARGEMUSIC 28 mins. A visit with Olga Bloom on her barge, a floating concert hall for chamber music, at Fulton Ferry Landing, under the Brooklyn Bridge. With selections from an evening program.

GREENTANK 28 / 20mins An adaptive reuse proposal for the DEP sludge storage facility in Greenpoint. With architect Meta Brunzema and community visitors.

REVEALING THE EDGES 28 mins. The Community Design Team of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance visits waterfront sites in Brooklyn,(water treatment plant) the Bronx (Hunts Point market sites) and Staten Island (paper recycling plant) to investigate ways of developing neighborhood-friendly environmentally sustainable waterfront facilities.

HEART OF GOWANUS 28 mins. The 'heart' of Gowanus Canal in South Brooklyn is the reactivated DEP flushing tunnel, which brings millions of gallons of fresh seawater daily to help revive marine life and encourage boating and recreational uses on this former industrial waterway. Featuring the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club and the Urban Divers.


Your support is vital. We need equipment upgrades and resources to continue developing and providing informative videos for the community. The GVP has received support from a grant from the NYC Environmental Fund, but is presently between grants. Tax-deductible contributions are appreciated at this time. For continuing information about our programs, visit this website: www.gvproj.org or contact: Keith Rodan, 212) 594-7026. • email: keithgreenpoint@aol.com