Open house new york east river boat tour manhattan brooklyn bridge untapped cities

The East River has seen an unprecedented amount of growth and development over the course of the Bloomberg administration, and the Openhousenewyork architectural boat tour of the East River emphasized that. We joined OHNY and speakers Justin Davidson, the architecture critic of NY Magazine, Robert Balder, executive director of Cornell’s College of Architecture Art and Planning in NYC, Andrew Winters, the director of capital projects and planning for Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island, Deborah Marton, senior vice president of programs for the New York Restoration Project, and Philip Orton, a research scientist at Stevens Institute of Technology, for an architectural boat tour of the East River. As they pointed out some key sites, the experts discussed what makes for successful vs. unsuccessful urban planning on the waterfront. Here are some highlights: 

1. Domino Sugar Refinery

open house new york east river domino sugar refinery williamsburg brooklyn untapped cities

There are high hopes for Two Trees’ highly anticipated conversion of the abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery on the Williamsburg waterfront. The complex will include residential and retail space as well as open space for public use. Part of the development plans involve extending streets which had previously stopped short all the way to the waterfront. For a refresher on what the factory looks like inside, check out our video.