An 1865 map of Lower Manhattan below 14th Street showing land reclamation along the shoreline.[1]
The expansion of the land area of Lower Manhattan in New York City by land reclamation has, over time, greatly altered Manhattan Island's shorelines on the Hudson and East rivers; as well as those of the Upper New York Bay. The extension of the island began with European colonialization and continued in the 20th century.[2][3] Incremental encroachment as well as major infrastructure have added acreage to the island. Since the passage of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 all projects which extend into navigable waterways follow federal regulation and are overseen by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[4]
Shoreline circa 1600, based on the Viele Map published in 1865
The original shoreline on the East Side generally ran along contemporary Pearl and Cherry streets and on the West Side was roughly today's Greenwich Street.[4] Encroachment began in the 17th-century Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam.[2] The real estate law mechanism of water lots encouraged commercial land growth through the Dongan Charter of 1686 and the Montgomerie Charter of 1731.[5] By the 19th century 137 acres (55 ha) of land had been created by landfill, the disposal of waste.[6] By the early 20th century the expansion had obliterated the extensive oyster beds which once covered much of the estuary floor.[7][8] It is estimated that by the 1970s, 1400 to 2225 acres of the entire Manhattan landmass, has been created by reclamation.[4] Another estimate is that 3,000 acres, or 29% of the entire land area, had been created by reclamation.[9]
In the 21st century, largely in response to Hurricane Sandy (2012) and to a lesser degree Hurricane Ida (2021), projects along the shoreline have been proposed as part of climate change adaptation to mitigate the effects to Manhattan Island by improved resilience.[10] Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency programs, which involve fortifying and extending the shoreline, are being implemented.
Proposals for expansion encompassing Governors Island, which lies off the southern tip of Manhattan, have circulated since the early 20th century.[11]
^"Below Fourteenth Street on Viele (1865) map", Topographical map of the City of New York : showing original water courses and made land LCN g3804n.ct002003
^ abFarberov, Snejana (June 16, 2013). "How Hurricane Sandy flooded New York back to its 17th century shape as it inundated 400 years of reclaimed land". The Daily Mail.
^Lobell, Jarrett A.. (2010-07-13) Archaeology Magazine – The Hidden History of New York's Harbor – Archaeology Magazine Archive. Archive.archaeology.org. Retrieved on 2022-01-18.
^ abcButtenwieser, Ann L. (1999), Manhattan Water-Bound: Manhattan's Waterfront from the Seventeenth Century to the Present, Syracuse University Press, ISBN 9780815628019
^Cantwell, Anne-Marie E.; Wall, Diana diZerega (October 1, 2003). Unearthing Gotham: The Archaeology of New York City. Yale University Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-300-09799-3.
^Kaiser-Schatzlein, Robin (April 24, 2021). "The History of New York, Told Through Its Trash". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
^"History on the Half-Shell: The Story of New York City and Its Oysters". The New York Public Library.
^Kurlanksy, Mark (2007), The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, Random House Publishing Group, 2007, ISBN 9780345476395
^Cite error: The named reference Up&Out was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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