46 • MarineNews • June, 2005
"in getting this park built. They've been
behind marinas consistently - it's part of
their legislation. But they have to comply
with the Army Corps and the DEC too."
Many have described the Park trust as
indifferent to ship restoration, and even
hostile. "They told me they didn't want the
restorers to create 'another Tamaroa inci-
dent,'" said one restorer incredulously. "I
told them, 'the Tamaroa was your boat.
That was your incident. Our boats are
being taken care of. All of them.'"
But John Krevey believes the spirit was
willing in the Park management. On
March 17, a plan was laid-out that Hunt-
ley Gill calls "breathtaking" - DEC pro-
posed moving Pier 63 three blocks north-
ward, to the old transfer station at Pier
66A. "It's a railroad float bridge," said Mr.
Krevey. "What could be more appropriate
for a railroad barge - and an 1887 railroad
tug?" Mr. Krevey tells us the old structure
was saved from demolition and rehabbed
largely through a campaign of Tom Flagg,
whose books on past New York Harbor
rail operations are considered definitive of
the subject. In union with a pier made
from a railroad float, the sculpture of the
bridge adopts its own diorama, to be pop-
ulated with period pieces spanning the
19th and 20th century. Kingston gets its
workboat historical center, and New York
gets its workboat historical center. That
creates quite a corridor for maritime buffs,
history buffs, culture buffs of all stripes.
More approvals must be issued, includ-
ing an assessment by the National Marine
Fisheries, whose concerns, according to
Mr. Krevey, include the breeding of
striped bass, who might want to look at
shading issues and other effects the float-
ing installation would have on migratory
patterns. "I'm told [Congressman] Jerry
Nadler has agreed to send a letter in sup-
port of the concept" which, Mr. Krevey
anticipates, will start taking form around
Thanksgiving. Congressman Nadler has
more than an historical interest in rail
transport around the harbor. He considers
vehicular congestion - too many trucks on
the bridges and streets - among the high-
est priorities, and is author of a grand
scheme to surmount it. He's calling for a
cross-harbor tunnel for rail, from
Greenville to a location in Queens. If it
were begun tomorrow, it would require $7
billion, and would take 25 years to enter
full service. The pollution and congestion
would be much worse then, of course, but
they're already considered intolerable. Is
there an interim solution, a source of relief
for the short term? The New York State
DOT reminds us that one tug and barge
can move the volumetric capacity of
sixty-four eighteen-wheelers. New York
Cross Harbor Rail continues hauling
cocoa and coffee on rail floats between
Greenville and Red Hook, and the City
built - though has never used - two
carfloat bridges at 65th Street in Brook-
lyn. Let's say all of these facts are dots.
What does it take for planners to connect
them? Ferries made a big comeback in
New York - what other harbor resources
deserve revisiting?
If Pier 63 goes to the old transfer station
at 66A, and the Harvey goes with it, a lot
of old things will be new again. The John
J. Harvey never really retired so much as
it made a career change. It went from
fighting fires to igniting ideas.
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