Events Calendar / Features
View events for:

A Day on the Water

July 17, 2009

New York City has 578 miles of waterfront and 17 percent of the state’s total coastline, according to the New York State Department of Coastal Resources. With much of the shore gobbled up by industry and condos, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance has been organizing for greater public access to this vital resource and natural jewel.

On July 18, Governors Island will play host to a culmination of this effort -- the Second Annual City of Water Day. The festival, which expects 10,000 visitors, will offer a mix of educational events, family activities and live entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Highlights include music from local bands, car-free waterfront biking and rental, and a flotilla of kayakers, canoe paddlers and sailors converging on the island. Kathy Byers and Lydia Adams Davis will perform music for children. Other activities include fishing, arts and crafts, and rides.

For those who want some activism with their waterfront leisure, the day will include the Waterfront Action Fair. The alliance will hold workshops where participants can learn how to engage with waterfront campaigns.

Last, but certainly not least, the festival will present food from the past winners of the Vendy Awards -- the best of the city’s food vendors – including the King of Falafel, Sammy’s Halal and, "in a rare daytime appearance," the Arepa lady.

Free ferries to Governors Island leave from the Battery Maritime Building (adjacent to Staten Island Ferry in Lower Manhattan) and Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn. For more details on the event and the ferry schedule, visit City of Water Day.






Gotham Gazette the Place for Politics and Policy

Gotham Gazette is published by Citizens Union Foundation and is made possible by support from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Altman Foundation,the Fund for the City of New York and donors to Citizens Union Foundation. Please consider supporting Citizens Union Foundation's public education programs. Critical early support to Gotham Gazette was provided by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.