Thanks to New York City's deadening zoning rules, public waterfronts have often been dullsville: unbending bulkheads, forbidding railings, and nary a spot to quaff a beer. A new proposal now under review by city officials would, for the first time in 15 years, revamp the way developer-built public waterfront spaces are designed, owned, and managed. The Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront (above) has been something of a test case for the city's new rules, and while the result has been generally deemed a great leap forward, the zoning could still take a few tweaks to get us beyond high-and-dry.
Image credit: Courtesy FXFowle
