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Anable Basin

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Coordinates: 40°44′56″N 73°57′22″W / 40.74880°N 73.95622°W / 40.74880; -73.95622
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Anable Basin
Eleventh Street Basin
A view of Manhattan from Anable Basin
Anable Basin is located in New York City
Anable Basin
Anable Basin
Coordinates40°44′56″N 73°57′22″W / 40.74880°N 73.95622°W / 40.74880; -73.95622
TypeArtificial inlet
Part ofEast River
Built1868 (1868)
Max. length500 feet (150 m)

Anable Basin (also known as Eleventh Street Basin) is a 500-foot-long (150 m) artificial inlet of the East River located in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City.[1] It was carved in 1868 to serve the large concentrations of industrial firms in the neighborhood.

A public walkway along the southwest side of the basin was constructed as part of the Queens West development in 2012. The basin contains several private vessels, the former Water's Edge restaurant, a former Prudence Island ferry boat, and a floating dock owned by Long Island City Community Boathouse, used for its kayaking programs.[2] In November 2018 it was announced that Amazon would be building its large Amazon HQ2 campus on the land surrounding the basin. However, these plans have since been canceled.

Etymology

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The basin's namesake is Henry Sheldon Anable,[3] who was also the basin's financier.[4] Anable was a prominent figure in local business and politics in 1860s, the time of the basin's creation.[5] He was the nephew-in-law of then-president of Union College, Eliphalet Nott, who owned much of the land around Hunter's Point.[4]

Anable's ancestors were among the early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts, arriving in 1623.[6] He is a descendant of Anthony Annable[6] who was a passenger of the Anne, which was the third ship to arrive in the Plymouth Colony.

History

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The short channel just south of Roosevelt Island (then Blackwell Island), is the Anable Basin. The larger channel in the corner of this 1912 map is Newtown Creek.

The inlet was carved in 1868 at a time when Long Island City was home to numerous oil refineries and factories.[4][1] At the time of the canal's creation, a mastodon bone was found on the site of the basin.[4][7]

For much of the 20th century, the major industrial property on the basin was Pepsi-Cola, which had its bottling plant at the point where Anable Basin meets the East River. In 1937 the prolific advertising firm Artkraft-Strauss Sign Corporation installed the cursive ruby-colored neon-on-metal Pepsi-Cola sign atop the bottling plant and it became an instant point of reference for Manhattan residents and passing ships.[8] When the bottling plant was demolished in 1999, the iconic 120-foot-long sign was dismantled and reassembled at a nearby site by Rockrose Development Corporation. The sign is an official city landmark and part of Gantry Plaza State Park, which lines the shore of East River between Anable Basin and Hunters Point.[9]

In 1980, Water's Edge, a waterfront restaurant specializing in wedding venue, opened on the north side of the basin.[10] It operated for over 30 years, until the then-owner was indicted for bribery and fraud charges.[11][12] A new eatery, Anable Basin Sailing Bar & Grill, has since opened across the street. The eatery offers mooring for vessels, picnic tables by the waterfront and a mixture of American and ethnic dishes including ćevapi, a Bosnian sausage.[13]

Redevelopment

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In 2017, local real estate firms TF Cornerstone and Plaxall separately submitted proposals to the city to rezone the area around Anable Basin for development.[14][15] TF Cornerstone's plan for 1,000 apartments and a light manufacturing complex was submitted in July,[14] while Plaxall submitted its plan for a 700-foot (210 m) tower in December.[15] The following year, the northern end of the Basin became part of the planned Amazon HQ2 Long Island City campus.[16][17] Due to community opposition, Amazon withdrew its plans to build the Amazon HQ2 campus in February 2019.[18]

According to The City, following Amazon's decision to not try to build a second headquarters near Anable Basin, the New York City Council invited three property developers to prepare plans for future development of the neighborhood.[19][20][21] The three developers were TF Cornerstone, Simon Baron Development, and L&L Mag. A spokesman for city council explained “One of the main problems we had with Amazon’s proposal was the lack of community engagement. We’re happy that these stakeholders are being proactive, we look forward to being active participants in the process.”[19] The Justice For All Coalition has called for any future development to be solely not-for-profit enterprises, and to restrict future commercial development.[21]

The group Your LIC, which was composed of TF Cornerstone, Plaxall, Simon Baron Development, and L&L Mag, announced in May 2020 that they wanted to develop up to 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of space on a 28-acre (11 ha) area composed of their individual holdings around Anable Basin. The plan would include up to 15 towers of between 400 and 700 feet (120 and 210 m), as well as 7 acres (2.8 ha) of open space, three schools, and 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of arts and culture space; half of the total new development space would be commercially zoned. The plan would require that the property be rezoned, and environmental scoping and land-use review would have to be conducted over the next year.[22][23]

Art and culture

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In October 2007, artist Chico MacMurtrie introduced the sculpture A Tree for Anable Basin in the basin. The 24-foot-high aluminum tree was set atop a floating island planted with native grass species. MacMurtrie is the founder of the Brooklyn-based workshop Amorphic Robot Works.[24][25]

In August 2012, to showcase sustainable agriculture, Cooper Union architecture student Karim Ahmed designed a hydroponic garden atop a 20-foot raft that was launched in the Anable Basin. Waterpod, as the project was called, grew sunflowers, kale, corn, and a baby nectarine tree. The project was inspired by the chinampa floating farms used in Aztec society.[26] Ahmed's raft was moored at the northwest corner of the basin where Anable Basin Sailing Bar & Grill is located.

In October 2016, The Plaxall Gallery was opened by LIC Artists Inc., a 12,000-square-foot converted waterfront warehouse donated by Plaxall Inc. and is home to three art galleries, a 90-seat theatre, outdoor event space and is located on the Anable Basin in Long Island City and over the years has become an important institution for the surrounding artistic community. In April 2020 the space was taken over by Culture Lab LIC, a new nonprofit arts and community organization.

In June 2017, local art curator Brandon Stosuy in collaboration with Matthew Barney and a group of other artists installed a Trump countdown clock at the entrance of Anable Basin, visible from Manhattan. The art piece counted down the days and hours remaining in U.S. president Donald Trump's first presidency.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kadinsky, Sergey (2016). Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs. New York, NY: Countryman Press. pp. 92–94. ISBN 978-1-58157-566-8.
  2. ^ "DIRECTIONS". LIC Community Boathouse. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  3. ^ "History Topics: Names of Long Island City". Greater Astoria Historical Society. 2007. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Seyfried, Vincent F. (1984). "300 Years of Long Island City 1630-1930". p. 92. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  5. ^ Stadler, Derek (May 4, 2014). "The History of Long Island City: Details of its Short-Lived Days as Both an Incorporated Municipality and the Major Western Terminus of the Long Island Rail Road". Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  6. ^ a b John Matthews (June 2009). Complete American Armoury and Blue Book. ISBN 9780806345734. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  7. ^ D.D. Parmelee (1868). "The Tibia of An Elephant". Annual Report of the American Institute of the City of New York. American Institute of the City of New York. p. 1021. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  8. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (February 25, 2009). "Letter by Letter, Pepsi Rejoins Skyline". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  9. ^ Dunlap, David W. (April 12, 2016). "Pepsi-Cola Sign in Queens Gains Landmark Status". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  10. ^ "About Us". Water's Edge Restaurant. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  11. ^ Dai, Serena (November 2, 2015). "LIC Restaurant Water's Edge Closes After Unpaid Employees Walk Out". Eater NY. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  12. ^ Evelly, Jeanmarie (November 3, 2015). "Troubled LIC Wedding Venue Water's Edge to Reopen Friday, New Manager Says". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  13. ^ "Home". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Hughes, C. J. (July 28, 2017). "Queens High-Rises to Have Industrial Space Downstairs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  15. ^ a b Hughes, C. J. (November 14, 2017). "A 700-Foot Tower Is Proposed for Queens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  16. ^ "Amazon's proposal for NYC HQ2" (PDF). November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  17. ^ J. David Goodman (November 13, 2018). "Amazon Is Getting at Least $1.7 Billion to Come to Queens. Now Comes the Fight Over Whether It's Worth It". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved November 14, 2018. Yes, they were circumventing the usual land-use process and essentially eliminating any veto power by the City Council. But, Mr. de Blasio said, the project was so large, Amazon "needed a certain amount of certainty."
  18. ^ Goodman, J. David; Weise, Karen. "Why the Amazon Deal Collapsed: A Tech Giant Stumbles in N.Y.'s Raucous Political Arena". The New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  19. ^ a b Christine Chung (November 14, 2019). "A YEAR AFTER AMAZON PICKED LIC, SUSPICIONS CLOUD FUTURE". The City. Retrieved November 14, 2019. At stake is the future of the LIC waterfront near the Anable Basin, an inlet of the East River, which became a battleground where Amazon opponents, fearing gentrification, squared off against supporters who pointed to a potential economic boon for New Yorkers.
  20. ^ Amy Plitt; Caroline Spivack (November 14, 2019). "Developing Long Island City's waterfront a year after Amazon: Assessing Long Island City's future a year after Amazon". Curbed NY. Retrieved November 14, 2019. Now, three real estate firms—TF Cornerstone, Simon Baron Development, and L&L Mag— have launched the "Your LIC" public engagement effort, which will feature four public meetings and an online conversation, to gather community input on the future of some 28 acres of waterfront land, THE CITY reports.
  21. ^ a b Mariah Brown (October 30, 2019). "Long Island City Landowners Team-Up On Former Amazon Site". Globe Street. New York City. Retrieved November 14, 2019. Toward the end of summer, landlords who include real estate firms Simon Baron Development, TF Cornerstone and L&L Mag united for a discussion about developing the site slated for Amazon's headquarters, and in and around the waterfront, Matthew Baron, president of Simon Baron Development, tells GlobeSt.com.
  22. ^ Acevedo, Angélica (May 25, 2020). "Your LIC stakeholders look to develop up to 15 buildings in Anable Basin". QNS.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  23. ^ Murray, Christian (May 21, 2020). "Developers Unveil Big Plans for LIC Waterfront, Up to 12 Million Square Feet Planned". LIC Post. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  24. ^ Chung, Jen (October 30, 2007). "Anable Tree Floats in the East River". Gothamist. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  25. ^ Lee, Jennifer 8. (October 30, 2007). "Condos With Water Views, for the Birds". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Karim (July 24, 2012). "A Floating Garden". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  27. ^ Evelly, Jeanmarie (October 13, 2017). "Giant Clock on East River Counts Down Days Left in President Trump's Term". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
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