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TBHA Home > Resources > Harbor News |  |
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Harbor News
Harbor News is designed by The Boston Harbor Association to keep the general public current on a number of new and ongoing activities and initiatives around Boston Harbor. Click on any of the topics below for more information.
TBHA Boston Harbor Celebration & Auction 2009 Many thanks to the supporters of The Boston Harbor Association’s annual Boston Harbor Celebration and Auction. Thanks to the generosity of so many supporters, $170,000 was raised from the 14 April 2009 event. Proceeds will be used for free harbor education programs and cruises for urban youth and the general public to promote environmental stewardship, as well as for our harbor advocacy efforts to promote a robust water transportation system in Boston Harbor and a “green” sustainable working port. Special thanks to the Boston Harbor Hotel and Legal Sea Foods for generously underwriting the event again this year. We are grateful for the sponsorship of the following companies and individuals: BENEFACTORS
PATRONS
SPONSORS
SUPPORTERS
Since its founding in 1973, The Boston Harbor Association (TBHA) has been working to promote a clean, alive, and accessible Boston Harbor. In recent years, as Boston Harbor has become cleaner and the waterfront more accessible to residents, workers, and visitors, The Boston Harbor Association has focused increased attention and advocacy on water transportation. Consistent with TBHA's strategic plan and 2008 workplan, The Boston Harbor Association has launched a multi-year Water Transportation Initiative. Charles Norris, leading authority on water transportation in Boston Harbor, and Alden Raine, national expert on transportation and urban development and former Executive Director of Massport, will co-chair TBHA's Water Transportation Working Group. The Working Group will work to promote a robust water transportation network for Boston Harbor, hosting a series of meetings this year and subsequently releasing working papers on topics such as technical, market-based, economic, and mobility aspects related to water transportation. In a 30 September 2008 letter, The Boston Harbor Association called upon the MBTA to reconsider its proposed reductions in Inner Harbor and South Shore ferry service. TBHA also asked for an updated travel demand data base to help set priorities for ferry routes. TBHA Executive Director Vivien Li's 5 May 2008 Banker & Tradesman article on TBHA's water transportation initiative can be accessed here. During spring 2009 The Boston Harbor Association (TBHA) partnered with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the science program of the Timilty School in Roxbury to introduce hundreds of middle school students to Boston Harbor through Harbor Bound, a unique program created by TBHA and MWRA that combines classroom instruction with a narrated field trip to Deer Island by boat.
Designed to encourage stewardship and spark curiosity, each Harbor Bound session provides a range of activities that foster a love of the Harbor while providing an introduction to environmental science, history, the green Working Port, and career opportunities. While on the water the students receive an overview of the Harbor’s evolution and observe first hand the diverse maritime activity critical to the continued success of the Working Port. On Deer Island the students attend a presentation by MWRA educators on the facility and become “water quality testing experts” as they conduct a series of experiments designed to evaluate the water quality of samples taken from the Harbor. Besides a discussion of career opportunities, the trip includes a guided tour of the Deer Island treatment facility and the alternative solar and future wind power facilities on the island. For many of the students this is the first time they have been on the Harbor. Harbor Bound provides a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about urban environmental issues, careers and harbor activities. The Boston Harbor Association (TBHA) wishes to thank the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and Massachusetts Bay Lines whose generosity enables us to offer this program in the spring and fall of each year at no cost to students, teachers and schools. To schedule a trip or participate in TBHA’s Harbor Bound program, please call The Boston Harbor Association at 617-482-1722. For more than a year now, the economic news has been discouraging. As we enter 2009, there are waterfront happenings which give us reasons to celebrate: Nearly a decade in the making, Battery Wharf, with its mix of condominiums, beautiful hotel rooms and public spaces, has quietly opened on the North End waterfront. In mid-December, the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel greeted its first guests, some of whom came by water taxi. Visitors walking along Battery Wharf's HarborWalk are able to go to a free second-floor observatory, with views of the harbor and East Boston, and in February the public will be able to enjoy a free ground-floor maritime exhibit in a museum-quality setting, consistent with the site's Chapter 91 tidelands license requirements. Likewise, the "topping off" ceremony on the first office building on the Fan Pier in December was a much-welcomed event. Even before the building opens in January, 2010, a number of public amenities incorporated in city and state permits will be coming on line at the Fan Pier: an enhanced HarborWalk segment on the south side; phase I of the marina, which has been advanced to be completed by Spring, 2009 in order to host large-scale civic events; and a public green and public plaza next to the new building. Less than half a mile away, construction is underway on the former Jimmy's Harborside Restaurant site for new restaurants, offices, and public access. By Summer, 2010, a public landing/ water taxi stop and HarborWalk segment for the public will open for the first time ever along that site, adjacent to a new Legal Sea Foods restaurant, as well as other restaurants, and outdoor seating area. Boaters this past summer may have noticed dredging operations in Boston Harbor. Phase I of the Inner Harbor Maintenance Dredging project, which dredged the harbor to a depth of 40 feet, was completed in November, allowing container vessels carrying cargo from Europe or Asia to utilize Conley Container Terminal in South Boston without having to wait for high tide. The planning and permitting processes for these projects started close to a decade ago at a time when water quality improvements to Boston Harbor were first becoming evident to the general public. In these challenging economic times, city and state agencies, together with public authorities such as Massport and MassDevelopment, should continue with their planning and public participation processes so that waterfront developments and harbor improvements are fully permitted and ready to move forward when lending institutions and/or governmental agencies are able to provide capital or economic stimulus funds. 2009 will be a wonderful time to enjoy Boston Harbor and the waterfront. Boston Harbor will be teeming with boats during the Volvo Ocean Race on the Fan Pier in April and Sail Boston's Tall Ships celebration throughout the harbor in July. Now more than ever, Boston's waterfront should be a key destination for residents and visitors alike.
Last year, to mark the 90th birthday of one of Boston's greatest civic leaders, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced the establishment of the "Norman B. Leventhal Walk to the Sea." As the developer of the much-admired Rowes Wharf development along the waterfront and a noted map collector, Norman Leventhal has had a long connection with Boston Harbor. In June, 2000, The Boston Harbor Association recognized Mr. Leventhal for "his many years of support for the harbor and for the extraordinary Mapping Boston exhibit and book." More recently, students, residents, and scholars now have access to his extensive map collection, including hundreds of maps of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay, some of which are on display at the Boston Harbor Hotel and the rest housed at the Boston Public Library.
On 25 September 2008, hundreds of Boston leaders and citizens applauded as Mayor Menino and Norman Leventhal opened the "Walk to the Sea" wayfinding path from Beacon Hill to Boston Harbor. Eight panels along the "Walk to the Sea" describe and depict four centuries of Boston history, beginning at the top of Beacon Hill, the highest point on the Shawmut Peninsula, following ancient city streets, through the heart of the old town (Red Sox fans will appreciate the Scollay Square panel), to Boston's furthest projection into the Harbor, Long Wharf. TBHA's Vivien Li joined Mayor Menino at the dedication ceremony in applauding the "Walk to the Sea", and noted the thousands of children influenced by the life and story of Norman Leventhal. Li said, "The children, many of whom live in Dorchester or Roxbury, listen enthralled when I tell them that Mr. Leventhal grew up in Dorchester, went to Boston Latin School, the oldest public high school in the country, needed a scholarship to go to college, and that he worked very hard, became very successful, and now spends most of his time with his family giving back to our city and community, including donating his world-renowned map collection to the Boston Public Library. Norman's Leventhal's life gives so many children living in Dorchester and other neighborhoods of our city hope that they, too, can grow up to be successful and can make a difference in society." The Boston Harbor Association will lead a free lunch-time tour of the "Norman B. Leventhal Walk to the Sea" on 8 October 2008 (contact TBHA to register). For more information on the "Norman B. Leventhal Walk to the Sea," please visit www.walktothesea.com.
Since its founding in 1973, The Boston Harbor Association (TBHA) has been working to promote a clean, alive, and accessible Boston Harbor. In recent years, as Boston Harbor has become cleaner and the waterfront more accessible to residents, workers, and visitors, The Boston Harbor Association has focused increased attention and advocacy on water transportation. Consistent with TBHA's strategic plan and 2008 workplan, The Boston Harbor Association has launched a multi-year Water Transportation Initiative. Charles Norris, leading authority on water transportation in Boston Harbor, and Alden Raine, national expert on transportation and urban development and former Executive Director of Massport, will co-chair TBHA's Water Transportation Working Group. The Working Group will work to promote a robust water transportation network for Boston Harbor, hosting a series of meetings this year and subsequently releasing working papers on topics such as technical, market-based, economic, and mobility aspects related to water transportation. In a 30 September 2008 letter, The Boston Harbor Association called upon the MBTA to reconsider its proposed reductions in Inner Harbor and South Shore ferry service. TBHA also asked for an updated travel demand data base to help set priorities for ferry routes. TBHA Executive Director Vivien Li's 5 May 2008 Banker & Tradesman article on TBHA's water transportation initiative can be accessed here. As new development projects are
proposed along the waterfront, The Boston Harbor Association works with
state and city agencies and property owners to ensure that projects are
environmentally sustainable, provide public amenities, and promote public
access. TBHA's comment letters are reviewed by TBHA's Board of Trustees,
with input from its Harbor User Committee, comprised of harbor experts. To
obtain copies of any 2008 comment letters, please contact TBHA at
617-482-1722 or mail@tbha.org.
The InterContinental Boston Water Transportation Terminal, located on the Fort Point Channel between Russia Wharf and the InterContinental Boston Hotel/Residences, is now open to the public! The Boston Harbor Association has worked closely with Fred Laselva of Penfields and Tim Kirwan of InterContinental Boston, as well as the MBTA, Massport, Seaport TMA, and the BRA on opening the terminal. Brochures, schedules, and maps on water transit services, including the on-call water taxi service at the dock right behind the InterContinental Boston, are available inside the terminal. Visitors will also be able to buy small gifts and bottled beverages and use two public rest rooms within the kiosk from 7 a.m. to dusk, seven days a week through Columbus Day. The InterContinental Boston water transportation terminal is the newest amenity to the Harborwalk.
The Boston Harbor became the largest urban port in the U.S. to be designated as a “No Discharge Area” (NDA) by the Environmental Protection Agency. All commercial and recreational boats are prohibited from releasing sewage within three miles of the shoreline. Instead, both treated and untreated wastewater from boats must be pumped out at one of more than 35 pump-out facilities. The Boston Harbor No Discharge Area stretches from Winthrop to Hull, and is the second largest of Massachusetts’s ten NDAs, affecting over 4000 boats in the Boston area. Establishing a No Discharge Area will protect public health, reduce toxic pollution, reduce nitrogen loading, and protect our coastal economy. Even treated sewage can release nitrogen and other nutrients that cause algae blooms in the water. Pumping out wastewater instead of releasing it into the harbor will prevent bacteria and chemical pollutants from contaminating Boston Harbor. Mayor Thomas Menino announced that two new pump-out facilities will be built in the Charlestown Navy Yard and the Reserve Channel in South Boston to accommodate more boats.
Vivien Li, Executive Director of The Boston Harbor Association, joined Boston’s Chief of Environmental and Energy Services Jim Hunt, EPA Regional Administrator Robert Varney, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, Jack Wiggin of the Urban Harbors Institute, and other environmental leaders, advocates, and harbormasters at a press conference on 7 July 2008 to announce the start of the new ban on discharge. To help enforce the No Discharge Area through educational outreach efforts, The Boston Harbor Association has been distributing copies of the MA Coastal Zone Management Program’s 2008 Boater’s Guide to Pump-out Facilities to local marinas and yacht clubs. For a copy, please email mail@tbha.org. As a part of its commitment to promote water transportation in Boston Harbor, The Boston Harbor Association has launched a new website: www.bostonwatertransportation.com. Created in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Transportation, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the new website includes detailed information on available water transportation services in Boston’s Inner Harbor, South Shore, and North Shore. The website was unveiled at the MBTA Water Transportation Awareness Week press conference on 24 June 2008.
At the press conference, Lt. Governor Tim Murray, MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas, Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen, and TBHA Executive Director Vivien Li spoke briefly on continuing efforts to promote water transportation options for commuters in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA also launched its new Wi-Fi Commuter Boat Pilot Program, which provides free internet access on all MBTA commuter boats. Speakers and attendees boarded an MBTA Harbor Express vessel at Long Wharf, where Lt. Governor Murray tested the new Wi-Fi connection by opening a link to TBHA’s Boston Water Transportation website. A press release of the event is available at mbta.com.
This spring, Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles visited Deer Island to unveil renewable energy initiatives. Onlookers were able to observe Massachusetts Water Resource Authority's (MWRA) newly installed solar panels. The solar panels, consisting of a 100 kW roof mounted system, will generate sufficient power to offset the equivalent of 83 metric tons of CO2, or the equivalent of 9,300 gallons of gasoline, 190 barrels of oil, or electricity usage of 12 homes. In March 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration gave preliminary approval for two wind turbines on Deer Island noting that the turbines pose "no hazard to air navigation." MWRA will look to add three more turbines after the first two are constructed by late 2009. The Deer Island solar and wind projects are in response to Governor Patrick's Executive Order 484, "Leading By Example - Clean Energy and Efficient Buildings," which sets ambitious standards for reduction of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by state agencies as well as increased use of renewable power: 15 percent of state government energy use by 2015, 30 percent by 2020. Overall, the solar panels on Deer Island will save MWRA approximately $10,500 in annual electricity purchases, while the two wind turbines will save roughly $106,000 each year.
In keeping with the goal of making the harbor accessible, TBHA worked with the Coast Guard to reopen a portion of the HarborWalk next to Boston's Coast Guard base in the North End. This portion of the walk was closed for security reasons following 11 September 2001.
In addition, a portion of the HarborWalk on and near Lovejoy Wharf next to the North Washington Street Bridge, completed by the property owner and the Central Artery/Tunnel project, opened in summer 2008. This HarborWalk segment connects Prince Street Park in the North End to Lovejoy Wharf, and offers great views of the waterfront and the Zakim Bridge. Planning is underway by both Federal Express and NSTAR for construction of new HarborWalk segments by the Federal Express facility and by NSTAR’s HarborWalk segment in South Boston. When completed by the end of 2008, theses two segments will provide a more complete HarborWalk along the Reserved Channel. The brand new section of HarborWalk surrounding the Battery Wharf development is now open to the public. Public restrooms and a second floor observation deck opened in August 2008. The HarborWalk is lit up at night thanks to illuminated railings, and features like benches, telescopes, and a water taxi station will be completed later this summer. An information center for the general public and a second-floor observation deck will provide much-welcomed amenities to this portion of the waterfront.
In addition, the completion of repairs to the Congress Street Bridge over the Fort Point Channel later this year will include the addition of a new HarborWalk segment on Dorchester Avenue across from the Federal Reserve Bank. Significant progress has been made in the completion and maintenance of Boston’s HarborWalk, according to The Boston Harbor Association’s Vivien Li in an October, 2007 Banker & Tradesman article. To read, please click here. And once the above HarborWalk segments open, the HarborWalk public access network will be close to 83% complete.
During the summer of 2007, The Boston Harbor Association joined with other educational organizations to provide programming for the newly-opened Camp Harbor View on Long Island. The camp, envisioned by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and retired advertising executive Jack Connors as a summer respite for Boston youth, provided more than 500 Boston young people the opportunity to explore Boston Harbor and the islands during the four-week camp sessions. Plans are now underway to provide additional facilities and programming for the 2008 camp season, including a swimming pool and theater space. In recognition of their leadership in establishing the camp, TBHA chose Mayor Menino, Jack Connors and John Fish, president of Suffolk Construction, as the 2007 recipients of its Governor Francis W. Sargent Award for long term commitment and diligence in working on behalf of Boston Harbor. In July and August, 2008, The
Boston Harbor Association will offer expanded programming to Boston
children attending Camp Harbor View. A trip to the top of Long Island
light with its spectacular views, so popular last year, will be a featured
activity again. Long Island's rich history includes more than three
hundreds years of military defense, and campers will interpret the
physical evidence that remains of that history.
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, The Boston Harbor Association (TBHA) is working with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to keep Boston's beaches clean. On April 18th, an enthusiastic group from John Hancock Financial Services and TBHA met at the McCormack Bathhouse in South Boston and spent the afternoon helping to beautify Carson Beach by removing dozens of bags of trash. Later in the spring, another group from John Hancock Financial Services, as well as groups from Standard & Poor's and Spirit of State Street, will work on cleanup and beautification projects at the Reserved Channel and Pleasure Bay. In conjunction with TBHA, two groups from Squashbusters, an after-school enrichment program for urban middle schoolers, worked on April 29th at Tenean Beach in Dorchester and on April 30th at Mother's Rest and Hicks Park along the South Boston waterfront. Community service projects contribute to The Boston Harbor Association's strategic goal of raising awareness of the vitality and the environmental value of Boston Harbor to the region, and the importance of citizens to be environmental stewards. TBHA is grateful to these groups for their generosity. To participate in a community service project, please contact The Boston Harbor Association at mail@tbha.org or 617-482-1722. Executive
Director Vivien Li wrote a recent oped for Banker & Tradesman on the
need for better water transportation facilities in the Harbor. The Boston Harbor Association is a founding signer of the Commonwealth Compact, launched on 23 May 2008. The Commonwealth Compact was created to ensure that Boston and Massachusetts are inclusive and welcoming places to live and work for all people. Through the establishment of benchmarks in six major categories, including CEO Commitment, Boards/Governance, Workplace/Personnel, and others, the initiative hopes to help organizations measure their progress in taking advantage of diversity. In doing so, Commonwealth Compact aims to ensure that the workplaces and organizations of Massachusetts accurately reflect the diverse nature of its residents. Steve Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass Boston, Ralph Martin, former chairman of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Ainsley, publisher of The Boston Globe, initiated the project. Bob Turner, the Boston Globe Fellow at the McCormack School, is the Compact's director. Other leaders of the initiative include Beverly Edgehill, president and CEO of The Partnership, Inc.; Sandra Henriquez, director of the Boston Housing Authority; and Beth Smith, executive director of the Hyams Foundation. To learn more about Commonwealth Compact, please contact Robert Turner at commcompact@umb.edu or 617-287-5550, or visit www.compactlaunch.umb.edu. Comments on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) draft for the Boston Harbor Deep Draft Navigation Improvement Project will be accepted until 2 June 2008. For copies of the EIR, please contact Jacki Wilkins, Massport, at 617-568-3558. The Boston Harbor Association also has copies available in its library; please call 617-482-1722 to view and discuss. The MEPA (Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office) analyst for this document is Deirdre Buckley, who can be contacted at 617-626-1044. The Port of Boston provides significant economic benefits to the Commonwealth’s residents and businesses. Based on a recent study by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), activities in the Port of Boston generate more than 34,000 jobs and have a $2.4 billion annual economic impact. This significant economic benefit could be jeopardized by the current severe state of shoaling, the gradual shallowing of the Port’s channels, since the economic viability of any port rests in large part on the depths of its navigation channels. If deep draft vessels cannot safely and efficiently transit the harbor to access the Port terminals, significant economic and potentially environmental impacts result. Waterborne transportation of cargo is one of the most environmentally sound transportation alternatives available. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps), in partnership with Massport, recently completed a dredging project to deepen several of the key tributary channels in the Port as well as maintenance dredging of the outer harbor channels. Additional maintenance dredging of the inner harbor channels will begin shortly, and a project is in the works to further deepen the access channels to the Conley Container Terminal. Once these projects are completed, all of the deep draft navigation channels in the port will have been dredged and should not require maintenance dredging for a number of years. Each of these projects, and the key measures that are taken to protect the environment, are described below. Keep your eyes open if you’re out on the harbor or along the Harborwalk – you may see a dredge at work! As summer approaches, thoughts turn to the Boston Harbor Beaches and the Boston Harbor Islands. City and state agencies are busy getting both the beaches and the islands ready for public use and enjoyment. Volunteer groups are also pitching in, like John Hancock Financial Services’ employees who joined with The Boston Harbor Association on 18 April 2008 to remove debris from Carson Beach, South Boston (John Hancock employees will return for a second clean-up in May). Here are a few examples of what you can do to keep Boston Harbor and the waterfront clean on Earth Day and every day:
To volunteer for a group clean-up activity, contact The Boston Harbor Association at mail@tbha.org. Hundreds of guests joined family members to pay tribute to Judge A. David Mazzone at the dedication of a memorial on Deer Island in October 2007. Judge Mazzone, who oversaw the federally- mandated Boston Harbor cleanup project for almost twenty years, was a strong force for the project, declaring that, "the law secures to the people the right to a clean harbor." The memorial, erected near the entrance to the HarborWalk on Deer Island, includes granite benches and a bronze sculpture in a beautifully landscaped space that faces a dramatic view of the city. Designed by landscape architects Polly Reeve and Margaret Coyle Nestler and local sculptor Joseph Pesce, the memorial is a fitting tribute to a great Bostonian and key architect of the Boston Harbor Project. The Boston Harbor Association administered the Judge David Mazzone Memorial Fund, established to fund construction of the memorial. Few people in retirement are as
active or generous as Arthur Lane and Norman Leventhal. Concerned about
the future of the Port of Boston, Mr. Lane, a founder of The Boston Harbor
Association and past President, recently endowed the Arthur Lane/Jane W.
Mead Maritime Industrial History Fund at the Boston Public Library (BPL)
to give the public an opportunity to learn from the Port’s past. Norman Leventhal, known and
respected by waterfront advocates for his company’s development of the
much-admired Rowes Wharf complex along Boston’s waterfront, announced in
September, 2007 the donation of $10 million for a permanent endowment of
the Boston Public Library’s map center. The Norman B. Leventhal Map
Center at the library contains hundreds of historic maps of Boston, New
England, and Massachusetts Bay donated by Mr. Leventhal, whose collection
is widely regarded as one of the finest private collections in New
England. The newly-created endowment will allow the maps to be digitized
and put on line on an accelerated basis, as well as support special
exhibits and expansion of education programs for students. The Lane/Mead Collection, the Norman B. Leventhal Map Collection, as well as the Boston Wharf Company collection together make the Boston Public Library the leading repository of materials about Boston Harbor in the United States. The catalogue is complete and the Boston Public Library is currently developing a website where the donated photographs and documents can be displayed. For more information, please visit bpl.org/research/rb/collections.htm or contact Jane Mead at 617-523-2012.
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The Boston Harbor Association - 374 Congress Street, Suite 307 - Boston, MA 02210 - 617-482-1722 (P) - 617-482-9750 (F) - mail@tbha.org |
As
a result of The Boston Harbor Association’s advocacy
as well as the efforts of others, several new
additions to the HarborWalk have been added in 2008.
Kudos to the Boston Redevelopment Authority for
installing some of the most striking additions to the
HarborWalk. Installed in early 2008, the new chairs
(see right) along the Long Wharf HarborWalk have fast
become a favorite of tourists, school children, and
residents.
Thanks to an arrangement with the Coast
Guard's Integrated Support Command, the pier end of
their site next to the Mirabella Swimming Pool will
now be open seasonally during daylight hours through 1
November 2008 (see left). TBHA thanks base commanding
officer Captain Scott Keene and the Coast Guard for
their support in opening up this space to the general
public.
