OVERVIEW:
On November 4, 14 people (plus several Quadricentennial Commission Steering Committee members) participated in the Manhattan listening workshop. The group included stakeholding interests representing a variety of agencies and nonprofit organizations, mostly from New York City (especially the 125th Street area). Participants noted that the audience was not fully representative of the region’s ethnic, racial, age or professional diversity. In particular, the group encouraged future representation from: organizations and enterprises whose focus is river-based activity (e.g. workboat operators, commercial shippers, water quality engineers, Port Authority, etc.); academic institutions and young people (including their advocates); labor unions; transportation advocates and agencies (e.g. MTA).

DISCUSSION:
The discussion focused on the need to create a new awareness and consciousness among residents in Manhattan neighborhoods to engage more directly with the Hudson River itself, not only with riverfront parks and park-related amenities, but actually getting out onto the water. In this way, residents would develop a sense of personal responsibility (i.e. “stewardship”) for the well-being of the river and recreational amenities along the water’s edge. A significant portion of the conversation dealt with the need to find ways to serve those people for whom the river may not even be considered a resource with personal value. It was noted that many organizations are involved with river-based activities and advocacy, but they are not necessarily collaborating effectively and their collective impact on the population is more limited than it should be.

PRIORITY THEMES:
22 ideas were generated by the group to address the concerns raised in their discussion. The participants then selected those ideas they felt to be most promising. Priority themes that emerged included:

• Implementing recreational, educational and job-program initiatives for New York City youth in order to get young people onto the water, and to involve them directly in caring for the river and riverfront parks.
• Exploring ways to provide river-related programs and services to a more diverse population, and to diversify advocacy efforts to include more people as champions for the river
• Improving access to the waterfront through more parks at the water’s edge, public transit to the water, and diversified housing development near the river.