Greenpoint dolphin (YouTube)

You know, we're starting to think it's not a coincidence that all these dolphins have started showing up in New York's bodies of (filthy) water. After all, in the past decade there's been an uptick in marine life just kind of moseying into our rivers and canals, mostly with tragic results.

But this weekend's sighting of not one but two bottlenose dolphins in the East River--both apparently in fine health, from what experts can see--shows that maybe the creatures can survive in these unsanitary conditions ... at least for a little while. Which is pretty perfect metaphor for college students' NYC migration habits, when you think about it.

Gothamist has a full report on the dual dolphins, who have been confused for the same dolphin, since they seem to be keeping their distance from each other. But look! Here's one near Greenpoint:

And here's another one heading up to Harlem just off of Asphalt Green:

Technically we can't see the difference, and since the videos were taken three days apart, we'll just have to rely on the words of the experts for now. Keep healthy, dolphins!

The anatomy of a healthy dolphin.

We were excited/saddened to learn about the dolphin frolicking down the East River yesterday. Saddened, because the life-span of dolphins hanging out in New York's rivers and canals of late has been super short, but excited, because this dolphin, unlike the one in the Hudson in 2011 or the one in the Gowanus Canal in January,  appeared to be relatively healthy. The Times is on it:"Just a dolphin swimming through,” a (police) spokesman said. “It is not in distress and we did not aid it.” He added, “Why would we pursue a dolphin?”

Right you are sir! Tally-ho! Let the bottlenose go!

Of course, those bummers at New York Magazine had to point out that just because it appears healthy doesn't mean the sea mammal actually is healthy. "

Kim Durham, the rescue-program director at the Riverhead Foundation, tells the Post, “He’s not a healthy animal, but he’s not at death’s door. He’s thin, but he’s swimming very well."

So is the little guy healthy or unhealthy? And either way, shouldn't somebody *achem*RIVERHEAD*achem* be trying to secure transportation for Dorito 2 out of the second most filthy body of water in NYC?

By Brooklyn Bridge Park, a gaggle of onlookers--one couple with a baby!--gathered to watch the apocalyptic scene unfold. The water was already lapping at the gate, and the rain hadn't even seriously begun. The streets were empty except for a few NYPD trucks patrolling Zone A to make sure residents had properly evacuated.

"It's only going to get higher," one onlooker said of the water.

Fireworks on the Hudson (YouTube)

For those of us living in the outer boroughs, navigating Manhattan during the holidays can serve as a great reminder as to why we migrated off the island in the first place.  New Years Eve, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving...the term "amateur hour" was practically invented to describe the hoards of revelers who descend upon NYC like a plague of locusts to "celebrate" these annual events by getting as drunk as humanly possible and clogging up the sidewalks and public transit systems.

Now, most of the time, this does not pose too much of a problem for Brooklynites and Queens residents, who would just as soon stay in their district anyway, throwing  Skrillex-themed rooftop parties.

But the 4th of July poses an issue for non-Gotham-dwellers: since 2009, the incredible light show thrown by Macy's has been held on the Hudson River, making it almost impossible to view from the top of a Brooklyn Heights townhouse.

In late June,  the discontent of outer-borough residents were voiced  in a public press conference, where Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn) and Senator Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn Heights) railed against the dearth of explosives on the East River; a supposedly "one-year hiatus on the Hudson (that) has now become the new norm." From 1976 to 2008, the East River held the event, and it was originally  moved to the Hudson to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson in 2009. But the fireworks were never moved back to their original location.

Councilman Stephen Levin and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz also stood behind the decision to bring back the sparklers, standing behind a petition  that has amassed 3,100 names so far.

Message received: Macy's has agreed to a sit down with the Brooklyn  politicos to  discuss potential solutions, according to The New York Daily News.

The department store is being tight-lipped on the subject, with a spokesperson only saying, "Macy’s fireworks will take place in and around all accessible New York City waterways and will not be a permanent fixture at any one location."

Hey, we're not unreasonable people: If New Jersey residents are unhappy to lose the view of the fireworks on the Hudson, we'd be more than happy to outsource the whole Thanksgiving Day parade to Newark.

Or some of us just live in Queens and Brooklyn, and don't want to haul ourselves to the other side of Manhattan to watch fireworks that for all intents and purposes should belong exclusively to New Yorkers but still have to share with New Jersey for some reason. And that seems to be quite a few people, no? Yet: Macy's, year after year, has continued their tradition of exploding colored gunpowder over the Hudson River ever year, instead of the East River.

Until now. Hopefully. Because we have someone advocating for us.

With a website.

Yes, public advocate Bill de Blasio has taken up The People's Cause along with superhero-sounding State Senator Daniel Squadron and Marty Markowitz (who would campaign with Spider Man as his running mate if he could do such a thing, utilitarian that he is) have teamed up to take on the persecution of outer-borough residents from receiving the fireworks we so deserve for having to put up with Macy's and all the irritating tourists who seem to congregate around their stores, which are usually in some of our most trafficked pedestrian areas.

Now, you may be thinking: What a frivolous way for a politician to spend their time! You are probably not from New York, where advocacy for ostensibly frivolous things on behalf of our politicians is pretty standard. For context, this is like the opposite of what Sen. Chuck "Fun Destroyer" Schumer does.

Anyway, they have a petition you can sign. Do it before July 4th or else we will all die of sadness and New Jersey will win again.

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek

For those who would poll in the negative on this question, here is one more piece of evidence to back your argument: A plucky couple took it upon themselves to engage in recreational water motorizing in the East River. Not kayaking, or sailing, or even swimming—three ways of getting about in bodies of water that aren't reliably fast—but jet-skiing, which is basically motorcycling on water.

And yet: Even with that speedy little way of getting around, they almost got smashed in the face by a barge, because—unlike most small bodies of water people jet ski in—barges get around on the East River. 

The guy who shot the video from Astoria Part, one Nicholas C. Thompson, explains:

The current was bringing them towards the barge because it was high tide while the barge was traveling towards the jet ski.

It may not be the most compelling footage, sure, but the lesson is obvious: Just because the East River is there, doesn't mean it's a good idea to engage it like any other body of water. Because it surrounds New York City.

Please try again.

Somewhere else.

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek

It's almost surf season in the Rockaways! But if that is too far, don't worry—just head over to the East River Blueway.

While everyone has been focusing on the transformation of the old industrial waterfront into a new public park, less has been done with what is going on beyond it. Curbed turned up this nifty video for an in-the-works plan called the East River Blueway.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and the Office of New York State Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh teamed up with a few others and brought in WXY Architecture + Urban Design to develop a community-based waterfront planning initiative.

The project will span from the Brooklyn Bridge to East 38th Street and will combine recreational facilities with surrounding neighborhoods, according to the organization:

The East River Blueway Plan will be the foundation for an interconnected network of waterfront sites. This network will integrate recreational activities and connect neighborhoods to the waterfront. Our work will include visioning; feasibility of locating on-water sites; design and costs; and implementation and campaign strategies for the East River Blueway.

The organization also launched an interactive map in which community members can markers with short blurbs about the conditions along the riverside. Some comments include: "Wow. This is nice." "Poor lighting." "Bicyclists get splashed off of FDR when there are puddles."

Out with the green and in with the blue!

mewing@observer.com

Folks at the U.N. have been gazing longingly at a humble, one-acre playground named for Robert Moses just south of its headquarters. They’d like very much to build a new building on the site, at First Avenue and 41st Street. In the meantime, the city has been trying to figure out how to pay for the completion of a greenway along the East Side waterfront.

In the finest traditions of diplomacy, there may be a deal on the table that will benefit all parties. The U.N. will pay the city $65 million for the park site. The city will use the money to build an esplanade from 41st to 53rd streets. Meanwhile, Con Edison will chip in with $13 million to help convert a pier it once leased near 38th Street into a park.

If everything works out as planned, the city will complete, at last, a 32-mile greenway along the Manhattan waterfront. The greenway’s completion will mark a major victory for pedestrians, tourists and Manhattan residents who have long lamented the city’s indifferent commitment (until recently) to waterfront access.

It’s a good deal for the U.N., too. Currently, the U.N. rents two buildings near its headquarters from the city. It will move its offices from the rental properties to the building it will construct on the playground. The city will then sell the two buildings, with the money going to the greenway.

It’s not very often that the interests of the U.N. and the city coincide so well. But the moment is here. While the deal is not certain—the U.N. has not committed to it just yet—it would be foolish to let the moment pass. Critics of the U.N. stopped a similar deal a few years ago. They shouldn’t be allowed to do so again.

At a public hearing before a City Council zoning subcommittee this afternooon in City Hall, Mr. Solow's representatives defended their application to build six residential buildings and a commercial office tower, while public officials stressed repeatedly that the project had yet to be approved. (Mr. Solow did not attend the hearing.)

Nonetheless, Mr. Solow's revised proposal seemed to address some, if not all, of the Murray Hill residents' concerns. He has offered to scale back the sizes of some of the buildings, and he has tried to allay fears that the towers would overshadow the United Nations Secretariat to the north. His representatives displayed renderings that showed the buildings not interfering with the UN building.

City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, who represents the area, said that Mr. Solow had reduced building heights before plans were certified earlier by the Department of Buildings . Still: "You took the height off the top and added another building," Mr. Garodnick said.

Mr. Solow's representatives also deflected criticism that the buildings would cast a shadow over the parks in nearby Tudor City, consulting various shadow studies.

While Mr. Garodnick congratulated the representatives on their open-space plan, he said they would have to "continue the conversation" about ensuring that parks remain public space in perpetuity.

Half of Mr. Solow's nearly 10 acres will be converted into green public space; and he's asking the city for an easement so that the southern site at 35th Street and First Avenue can eventually be connected to the former Con Edison plant when the FDR Drive is reconstructed. Initial plans for a medical facility were scrapped in favor of an elementary school, and over 668 units of affordable housing will be built. Mr. Solow modified retail plans to allow for a large supermarket.

But the Enviromental Impact Statement said the project would create congestion problems all the way up to Queens. Mr. Solow's team had no solutions to offer when pressed by Mr. Garodnick, but assured the hearing that the office building is only responsible for one-third of all the traffic generated by the development.

"We are in the backyard of the UN so this area is already a mess for weeks of the year when diplomats are in town," Mr. Garodnick said, before concluding that solving any traffic problem would be another conversation for the future.

The Council must vote on the zoning changes for the project by mid-March.

With the public review process for Sheldon Solow’s 6.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development from 36th to 41st streets on First Avenue wrapping up—the plans are in the last stage of the approval process with City Council—and a hearing about the neighborhood’s rezoning approaching on Monday, a host of community groups and local politicos politely reminded city and state officials just how much they want a park.

Councilman David Garodnick, Manhattan borough President Scott Stringer, and nearly a dozen others assembled outside the potential site of the park: a vacant, city-owned concrete lot that is currently being leased by Con Edison.

An unsightly chain-linked fence bars the public from the lot, so officials unrolled a vinyl back-drop with renderings of the four-acre park instead. For good humor, they even brought some rubber palm trees along, which seemed a little like a slap in the face given the cold, made all the worse by the blustery winds on the East River.

A lot of things need to happen to turn the “concept of the park into a reality," said the vice president of the Municipal Arts Society, Frank Sanchez, but most importantly the city has to coordinate the UN expansion, the FDR drive construction, and Mr. Solow’s tower.

The design that was conceived by six landscape architects during a charette last spring includes a bridge running over the FDR Drive from Mr. Solow’s building to the East River. Not only would the city have to move the FDR 30 feet west, but Mr. Solow would need an easement to modify his building plans to accommodate the park.

According to a few of the community group representatives at the press conference, Mr. Solow has said he is open to the idea of the park. Now that the public review process is coming to a close, the ball is in the city’s court.

“The city has to push to get it done,” said Charles Buchwald, a member of Community Board 6 and the East Midtown Coalition for Sensible Development. “Without the easement we wouldn’t be able to build the bridge from Solow’s property over the FDR. He said he’d be open to it, but that no one from the city has asked him to do anything about it so the state and city need to make this a priority.”

The city has funds to renovate the FDR Drive, but lowering the “world’s largest exit ramp,” Mr. Garodnick said, will require revised funding commitments from all stakeholders. If built, the park is expected to bring 10,000 new residents to the neighborhood.

“I don’t believe the city is opposed to the park, but Mr. Solow is willing to grant the easement, so they just have to ask him and this is the moment to do that,” Mr. Sanchez said.

Since Mr. Garodnick’s office is currently reviewing Mr. Solow’s plans, it seems like the ball might be in his court now.