Billion Oyster Project

New underwater habitat with 20 million juvenile oysters deployed at NYC’s Gansevoort Peninsula

Photos courtesy of Max Guliani for Hudson River Park

July 21, 2022

New underwater habitat with 20 million juvenile oysters deployed at NYC’s Gansevoort Peninsula

A new man-made underwater habitat with 20 million juvenile oysters was installed along the northern shore of Gansevoort Peninsula in the Hudson River this week. As part of a major project to restore and protect Hudson River Park's 400-acre Estuarine Sanctuary, the reef-like system includes hundreds of submerged "reef balls" and "gabions" seeded with baby oysters. Ultimately, the project aims to create an oyster reef complex, improve habitats for organisms found in the river, and help mitigate the effect of storm surges.
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Uncategorized

Habitat enhancement project adds 11 million oysters to New York Harbor

Photo credit: Max Guliani/Hudson River Park

December 13, 2021

Habitat enhancement project adds 11 million oysters to New York Harbor

By Michelle Cohen

The Tribeca Habitat Enhancement Project announced it has completed what has been the largest habitat enhancement project to date, and the first large-scale restoration initiative in Hudson River Park's 400-acre Estuarine Sanctuary between Pier 26 and Pier 34. A key indicator of the project's success: the installation of 11.2 million juvenile oysters to help support marine life in the Hudson River.
Many oysters, this way

Architecture And Design

Construction set to begin at huge South Bronx complex with Universal Hip Hop Museum

Rendering courtesy of S9 Architecture

January 6, 2021

Construction set to begin at huge South Bronx complex with Universal Hip Hop Museum

By Devin Gannon

Construction of the South Bronx mixed-use project that will have over 1,000 units of housing, a waterfront esplanade, and a permanent home for the Universal Hip Hop Museum is set to begin in the coming weeks. Developed by L+M Development Partners, Type A Projects, BronxWorks, and the city of New York in a public-private partnership, the project, known as Bronx Point, secured $349 million in financing last week. S9 Architecture is leading the design of the 22-story development, with the publicly-accessible open space along the Harlem River designed by Marvel Architects and Abel Bainnson Butz.
More this way

Shuck yeah! The Billion Oyster Project is throwing a virtual party next week

Photo by Viviana Rishe on Unsplash

September 18, 2020

Shuck yeah! The Billion Oyster Project is throwing a virtual party next week

By Dana Schulz

Did you know that when Henry Hudson first arrived on the shores of New York Habor in 1609, he encountered 220,000 acres of oyster beds--nearly half the oyster population of the entire world! In recent years, however, that number had almost entirely diminished, which is where the Billion Oyster Project came in. Since 2014, they've been working to restore oyster reefs to the harbor with the goal of adding one billion oysters by 2035. Their work hasn't stopped during COVID, and this year, the nonprofit's annual party is going virtual. Next Thursday, join the Billion Oyster Party for a shucking lesson (don't worry, you'll get your mollusks in the mail!), food demonstrations, timely discussions, and more.
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Events & Things To Do

June 3, 2015

Pommes Frites Finds Cheaper Rent in the West Village; What Keeps New Yorkers Up at Night

By Dana Schulz

Priced out of the East Village following the Second Avenue explosion, everyone’s favorite French fry spot Pommes Frites will move to MacDougal Street. We can hear the NYU students cheering now. [DNAinfo] What’s scarier, getting trapped in an elevator or priced out of an apartment? Here’s a list of New Yorkers’ worst nightmares. [The Awl] Support […]

Uncategorized

Ruffle Bar and Robbins Reef: NYC’s Forgotten Oyster Islands

Ruffle Bar via Frogma

April 15, 2015

Ruffle Bar and Robbins Reef: NYC’s Forgotten Oyster Islands

By Dana Schulz

Today, when most New Yorkers think of oysters it has to do with the latest happy hour offering the underwater delicacies for $1, but back in the 19th century oysters were big business in New York City, as residents ate about a million a year. In fact, oyster reefs once covered more than 220,000 acres of the Hudson River estuary and it was estimated that the New York Harbor was home to half of the world's oysters. Not only were they tasty treats, but they filtered water and provided shelter for other marine species. They were sold from street carts as well as restaurants, and even the poorest New Yorkers enjoyed them regularly. Though we know the shores of Manhattan, especially along today's Meatpacking District and in the Financial District near aptly named Pearl Street, were chock full of oysters, there were also a couple of islands that played a part in New York's oyster culture, namely Ruffle Bar, a sandbar in Jamaica Bay, and Robbins Reef, a reef off Staten Island marked with a lighthouse.
Find out about these two forgotten islands

History

Living Breakwaters: An Award-Winning Project Brings ‘Oyster-tecture’ to the Shores of Staten Island

Image courtesy of SCAPE / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PLLC

January 28, 2015

Living Breakwaters: An Award-Winning Project Brings ‘Oyster-tecture’ to the Shores of Staten Island

By Michelle Cohen

We know what you're thinking: what is oyster-tecture, anyway? Just ask Kate Orff, landscape architect and the founding principal of SCAPE Studio. SCAPE is a landscape architecture and urban design office based in Manhattan and specializing in urban ecology, site design, and strategic planning. Kate is also an associate professor of architecture and urban design at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where she founded the Urban Landscape Lab, which is dedicated to affecting positive social and ecological change in the joint built-natural environment. But the Living Breakwaters project may be the SCAPE team’s most impactful yet. The “Oyster-tecture” concept was developed as part of the MoMA Rising Currents Exhibition in 2010, with the idea of an oyster hatchery/eco-park in the Gowanus interior that would eventually generate a wave-attenuating reef in the Gowanus Bay. Describing the project as, “a process for generating new cultural and environmental narratives,” Kate envisioned a new “reef culture” functioning both as ecological sanctuary and public recreation space.
Find out more about what oysters and other creatures can do for NYC

Billion Oyster Project

New underwater habitat with 20 million juvenile oysters deployed at NYC’s Gansevoort Peninsula

Habitat enhancement project adds 11 million oysters to New York Harbor

Construction set to begin at huge South Bronx complex with Universal Hip Hop Museum

Shuck yeah! The Billion Oyster Project is throwing a virtual party next week

Pommes Frites Finds Cheaper Rent in the West Village; What Keeps New Yorkers Up at Night

Ruffle Bar and Robbins Reef: NYC’s Forgotten Oyster Islands

Living Breakwaters: An Award-Winning Project Brings ‘Oyster-tecture’ to the Shores of Staten Island

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