In June, the Howard Hughes Corporation, which already owns or leases large tracts of land in the South Street Seaport District, announced that it was buying an additional full block, consisting of a one-acre parking lot — bounded by Pearl, Beekman, and Water Street, as well as Peck Slip — from Milstein Properties.
The northern edge of this parcel directly fronts the Peck Slip School, and that stretch of the street was recently closed to traffic for use as an outdoor play space for students (as well as a safe area for children to be dropped off and picked up), during school days.
The possible development of the parking lot (for which Howard Hughes Corporation paid $180 million) into a new building poses multiple questions, and hints at several possibilities for the surrounding community. The new owners can, without any zoning variances, build a structure up to 120 feet tall on the parking lot, containing up to 290,000 square feet of interior space.
Howard Hughes has yet to announce any development plans for the site. But if an apartment building of the dimensions outlined above were erected on the lot, and a significant portion of those new homes were to house families with young children, that boost to the local population could (all by itself) claim a large share of all the seats in a given grade at the Peck Slip School. For a community that has been plagued for decades by chronic school crowding, this is a sobering prospect.
If the developer were granted variances from the current zoning code, it is conceivable that such a building would be taller, and contain still more apartments. But such a waiver is usually offered in exchange for a builder’s willingness to create amenities for the surrounding community. In recent years, Lower Manhattan developers have agreed to build schools, community centers, parks, libraries, and other civic facilities that are especially prized by a growing neighborhood.
Additionally, Howard Hughes Corporation has in recent years compiled an encouraging record of collaboration with the community, becoming a major supporter of the nearby South Street Seaport Museum, and consulting with local leaders, through organizations such as the Seaport Working Group.
With this in mind, the Broadsheet asked multiple community leaders and stakeholders to envision what challenges and opportunities any possible development at 250 Water Street (the address of the site) might pose.
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CB1 chair Anthony Notaro
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Anthony Notaro, chairman of Community Board 1 (CB1), said, “it is still to early to know what could happen at that site, nor would we want to negotiate at this point. But there are several needs on the east side of CB1 that have never been addressed — from more parks and open space, to a community center, to cite examples.”
He also predicted that, “any residential development will have an impact and that will weigh in any decision, and require lots of community input. I think any changes to the play street in front of Peck Slip are still a long way off, and whatever is developed there, it is paramount that the safety of the children is preserved. But CB1 will be vigilant and thorough in looking at all options proposed for that site and working with all stakeholders to look at pros and cons.”
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CB1 vice chair Paul Hovitz, who also serves as co-chair of the Youth & ducation Committee
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CB1 vice chair Paul Hovitz (who also co-chairs that panel’s Youth & Education Committee, said, “Howard Hughes has told CB1’s leadership that they intend to work with the community on the development site in an attempt to satisfy the needs of the community. There seems to be a legitimate attempt to work with the City. But there is so much involved here, including the City’s expectation that HHC will save the Seaport Museum from yet another bankruptcy and provide funding.”
“In terms of amenities,” he added, “we have so little that a community center, parks, and ball fields all come to mind. We are at the beginning of the process. I believe that Howard Hughes Corporation is listening, but the end result remains to be seen. I expect much rush to judgment, but as before, understand that so much of this is in the hands of our elected officials and City agencies.”
Tricia Joyce, chair of CB1’s Youth & Education Committee, expressed concern about the fate of the play street on Peck Slip. “This is another example of the potential pitfalls from a lack of planning. We have had to garner our infrastructure ourselves, as residents, in the years after September 11, 2001. As a result, it has been piecemeal and always behind schedule. By the time new schools are built, everyone is so relieved that they are open, with children in the seats, then we realize that expected facilities — such as gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias, and recess areas — have either been shortchanged or forgotten in efforts to find, approve, fund and build the spaces out quickly.”
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Tricia Joyce, chair of CB1’s Youth & Education Committee
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“This was the case with the Peck Slip School,” Ms. Joyce continued. “The play space that the School Construction Authority built for the school, located on the upper floors, was too small to hold a full grade of children, which is the minimum number that needs to be there at one time. In addition, the school was not built with a gym and an auditorium, but instead a ‘gymatorium’ — a combination of those two important spaces. As a result, the children did not have adequate space for recess and recreation. The school called upon us to help them advocate to close the street in front, so the children would have adequate space to do that. In other words, this wasn’t an amenity.”
“But that was obviously not planned,” she added, “and so garnering the closure was a lengthy, arduous process that involved negotiations with not only the parking lot owner, but related City agencies and elected officials. These were tremendous drains on everyone’s time, skills, and resources. I’m not sure we would have opted to engage in such a process if we had understood that a sale of the lot was imminent. Now, to see if it is even legal or possible to keep the play street open during construction, we will have to loop in the the Police Department’s School Safety division, the Department of Education, the school administration, and our elected officials. As a community leader, this is obviously discouraging. This is not just a waste of time and resources. Now that the School has restructured to incorporate the play street, the impact of possibly losing it, on morale of the children and the overall functioning of the school, would be significant.”
Asked about the possible effect on school crowding at Peck Slip if a large apartment building is erected on the site, she answered, “it could be very significant, which is why there is proposed legislation for residential developers to contribute towards additional school seats. Also important would be the density of the building, so sunlight is preserved, as well as a plaza in front of the building, so it is set back, to help prevent encroachment.”
She further projected, “the loss of the open space will be significant. Sunlight is so important to children. A tower in this spot is out of context. Construction of this size right next to a school will have a significant affect the children’s nervous systems. We now have a glut of residential buildings Downtown and this would be an opportunity to do something different there. Perhaps the city can help with some incentives.
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Peck Slip School across the street from the Howard Hughes lot
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Emily Hellstrom, a co-president of the Peck Slip Parent Teacher Association (PTA), reflected that, “no one sees a street level parking lot in New York City anymore and thinks it is going to stay that way for long. But here is a chance to create something beautiful, useful and consistent with the character of the neighborhood, to complete and compliment the rest of this stunning historic community. I can only hope Howard Hughes had more than money in mind when they paid $180 million for the lot. Who knows, with all the vanishing parking, maybe they’ll figure out the best way to make that money back is to just keep the cars.”
Megan Malvern, also a co-president of the Peck Slip PTA, added, “I’ve lived and worked in the city for nearly 25 years, but it wasn’t until we moved to the Seaport that it actually felt like an island to me. You could sense the water and see the history all around you. Each time a monolith is built in this neighborhood, I feel our history slipping away. All of it… slipping away, right in front of our eyes at Peck Slip.”
Asked to comment on the fate of the play street in front of Peck Slip, Ms. Hellstrom said, “as we predicted when we agitated so strongly for it, the Peck Slip play street has quickly become an integral part of our school. Woven deeply into the fabric of the daily lives of our students, it ensures that kids get the exercise, stress relief and critical unstructured time that they need to become the healthy and well-rounded young citizens we have come to expect from our outstanding Downtown public schools. As such, we feel confident all stakeholders will recognize that, far from a luxury, this is a crucial space which cannot be conceded.”
Ms. Malvern added, “any construction so close to the street and the school will cause serious health concerns, especially with such young children in daily attendance. Dust, debris, noise, large construction vehicles, scaffolding, cranes, questionable contaminants in building materials — all will be at the doorstep of the school for months on end. Whatever construction, big or small, that does take place, must take into account that our children will need that space to be open, usable and safe during the school day.”
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Emily Hellstrom, co-president of the Peck Slip School Parent-Teacher’s Association
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Reflecting on the potential consequences for crowding at Peck Slip, Ms. Hellstrom observed that, “we know that City Planning, the Department of Education, the School Construction Authority, and other agencies are slow to recognize and react to population changes. We need smart urban planning, so that infrastructure — including schools, parks and open space, and transportation facilities — can be aligned with development. Gone are the days when we can indiscriminately build without keeping in mind how people actually live here. The families of Peck Slip are the backbone of the Financial District and we hope that our City will reflect the human scale that makes this neighborhood such an incredible place to raise our children.”
Ms. Malvern commented that, “Howard Hughes has always been a strong supporter of the Peck Slip School and public education in general. And we know that they share many of our common interests. We intend to be active participants in what is sure to be a robust and important public discourse on zoning, land use, air rights, historic districting, public private partnerships and much more. And we look forward to joining in what we hope will be a productive discussion about how best to use this land that sits at the start of the Historic South Street Seaport, the birthplace of Manhattan. It is sure to be an exciting conversation.”
Ms. Hellstrom noted that, “it should come as no surprise that parents are deeply concerned about the possibility of noise, dust, chemicals, heavy machinery, and other dangers that come with building in the City, to disrupt the classroom and put our children at serious risk. We expect that Howard Hughes will make every effort to mitigate the potential for danger, but we also look to our elected officials, CB1, and other watchdogs to be vigilant in maintaining the highest possible standards, given the dramatic consequences that could result from negligence or error.”
“But many of us are also seriously concerned about the historic character of the neighborhood,” Ms. Malvern added. “Of course, change is part of this vibrant city, but many of us moved to the Seaport because of the way it felt: the cobblestone, the ships, the historic buildings, and the experience of living in one of the oldest communities in New York City.”