New York’s East River runs from the Battery in Lower Manhattan to Throgs Neck in the Bronx, and from Red Hook, Brooklyn to Fort Totten, Queens. The river is actually a tidal strait, which pushes and pulls water between Long Island Sound and the Upper New York Bay.

The East River is unique among New York’s water bodies. It has played an enormous role in the development of New York, and continues to be one of the region’s principal shipping channels for transporting goods, fuel and other materials. Traditionally the river has had a gritty, industrial character as the factories, warehouses and pier sheds that remain on its shores remind us.

Today, the communities along its shores face similar issues: creating waterfront access and open space; addressing environmental problems; and responding to development and economic pressures. With more than 1,000 acres of development now proposed for the East River shoreline, we have an opportunity to create a waterfront that will fufill all our diverse needs. But if we don’t seize it, this opportunity will soon disappear.