Harbor District

New York always had a harbor, but “Harbor District” is a name that was proposed in 2006 by the city’s Economic Development Corporation to create a “unified identity” for the area.
 
 
New York Times
City Prepares to Promote a New Tourist Site: Harbor District
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: October 7, 2006
New York City has long had a theater district, a garment district, a flower district, even a diamond district. Now, at least on paper, it has a harbor district.

That is the label the Bloomberg administration has applied to a collection of islands and waterfront parks in and around Lower Manhattan that it wants to promote as a group of recreational areas and tourist destinations. City officials recently formed a Harbor District Advisory Board and have begun searching for the first director of the harbor district and consultants to study how to better exploit it.

Yesterday, the city’s Economic Development Corporation released a request for proposals for a comprehensive study of the nine sites that make up the harbor district. It asks for suggestions on creating a “unified identity” for the sites, which include Governors Island, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Battery Park City. A second contract will be let for a consultant to draw up a marketing and branding plan for the district, said Jennifer Falk, a spokeswoman for the mayor.

Unlike the city’s other districts, which are discrete areas with common purposes, the harbor district is scattered from the western edge of Brooklyn to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. It comprises property controlled by a variety of city, state and federal agencies.
 
Gothamist
October 7, 2006
NYC Gets A New District: The Harbor District
Sometimes we think deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff is a little nuts. Take for instance his newest brain-child: The New York Harbor District. Whereas most official districts in the city are defined by geographic proximity and commercial interests the Harbor district, which recently formed an advisory board and is seeking a director and consultants to help define it, will include Governors Island, the Statue of LIberty, Ellis Island, parts of the Brooklyn waterfront and Battery Park City.