Frano Violich, Principal at Kennedy & Violich Architecture, discusses the overview of East 34th Street. In 2000, the architects looked at the master plan that included 6 different ferry landings from Yankee Stadium to the Battery Maritime Building but the focus of the whole project was 34th St. An inter-modal public Ferry Terminal at E 34th St with ferry boat docking facilities, waterfront improvements and amenities is under construction as part of the comprehensive East River Ferry Project in Manhattan. The project expands regional waterway causes by accommodating high speed Ferry service to La Guardia Airport, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey.
The Ferry Terminal design encourages public use of the waterfront through pedestrian, train, bike, and vehicular connections from the City to the Riverfront. It offers commuters an alternate and sustainable means of transportation within Manhattan, and serves as a public safety corridor in times of emergency.
The design of the 34th Street Ferry Terminal takes a non nostalgic attitude toward the NYC Riverfront. Pier 34 is redesigned and expanded to provide passengers with ticketing and waiting facilities and public access to three high speed ferry berths. KVA secured grant monies from New York State agencies for off-grid sustainable energy generation including hi-torque urban wind turbines and solar-powered solid state lighting. The architecture integrates information from New York City’s existing and underutilized maritime GPS to provide electronic way finding signage, intelligent real-time transportation scheduling (ITS), wireless public messaging and information access systems for commuters and waterfront residents.