Expanding bus service between Jamaica and Flushing, extending the Air Train route to make traveling to the Resorts World Casino easier, adding hotels, office space and retail -- these are just some of the ideas the Regional Plan Association envisions as possibilities for the future of Jamaica.

Hulking and obsolete, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center may not look like a well-stuffed piggy bank.

But it is. Or could be.

At a recent meeting of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Regional Economic Development Council for New York City, Regional Plan Association President Robert Yaro proposed selling Javits for redevelopment--netting the state $4 billion.

Despite once being a legendary city for food manufacturing -- Clarence Birdseye invented flash freezing here, for example -- New York for decades saw food processing slowly decline. Storied companies, like Stella d'Oro, Old London, Bazzini Nuts, and Schaefer Beer left the city. City officials used almost every tool at their disposal to stem the tide -- nearly always unsuccessfully.

Yet even as brand-name, commercial companies were moving out to the drumbeat of apocalyptic headlines, a food revolution had started and today continues to transform the rules and the dynamics of New York's $5 billion food processing industry.

The view from pier six on the Brooklyn side of the East river is breathtaking: the majestic skyline of downtown Manhattan boasts its latest addition, a new residential tower designed by Frank Gehry. In the distance to the right, the spires of the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings reflect the sunlight as if dipped in molten gold.

But the pier itself is not such a happy sight. A wasteland of concrete, rusty steel frames, rotting blocks of wood and mounds of gravel, it is testament to the decline of this stretch of Brooklyn, as well as to the neglect that for many years has defined New York's relationship with its waterfront.

New York arose from its seaport and invested in and invented pioneer advances in shipping. In each era, the New York-New Jersey region has reconfigured its shoreline and piers to accommodate these advances. The early decades of the 21st century are no different, with both new trading patterns and larger ships requiring a comprehensive strategy for ensuring that the seaport continues to support a vibrant and diverse regional economy.

At a key moment of opportunity and challenge for the east coast's largest seaport, "A Port for the 21st Century" explored the past, present, and future of the seaport, foundation of the region's goods movement and multi-billion dollar logistics and maritime industries.

Moderator: Hope Cohen, Associate Director, Center for Urban Innovation, Regional Plan Association