Water World

My two favorite parts of New York are Central Park and New York Harbor. Being close to water has always been something that has attracted me, and am now enjoying the mesmerizing view and activity every day. Yesterday I watched a cruise ship come in, and soon there will be sailboats. A sure sign of a new season.

In 2004, I moved to California and The Museum of Modern Art temporarily moved to Queens during a major building renovation on West 53rd Street. We're both back so I made my reacquaintance with the "new" MOMA a couple days ago as I really wanted to go to a new exhibit called "Rising Currents".

The exhibit features the work of five teams of architects who were asked to imagine new ways to re-envision the coastline around New York Harbor to address climate change, sea-level rise and its impact upon New York City.

This video explains the vision behind the project. One of the architecture teams, whose work is above, even incorporated oysters as part of 'soft' infrastructure. Fabien Cousteau, a friend as well as grandson of the legendary Jacques Cousteau, is planning an 'oyster planting' program in conjunction with the New York Harbor school this June which will contribute to the harbor's health and restoration (oysters are the classic 'bottom feeders'). Fabien had told me at one time New York Harbor held the largest oyster population in the world, though had no idea these little creatures had other potential benefits as well, such as storm barriers.

The exhibit was very though provoking, and a lot to take in, and I'm planning to return to learn a little more.

This note on the MOMA's exhibition sight caught my eye: "As in past economic recessions, construction has slowed dramatically in New York, and much of the city's remarkable pool of architectural talent is available to focus on innovation."

When certain plans don't work out, interesting what you can become available for, in the larger sense...