The BroadsheetDAILY May 16, 2019

Hudson River Park Trust Seeks Amended Legislation to Allow Development on Pier 40

The 14-acre former cruise ship terminal situated along the Hudson River waterfront, near West Houston Street, has evolved into a much-prized recreational facility. But Pier 40’s rotting underpinnings require extensive (and expensive) rehabilitation. This, in turn, creates pressure to develop commercial space on the structure, to help the facility pay for itself, as well as subsidize the rest of the Hudson River Park.

The Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT), in collaboration with local elected officials, is seeking to revise its enabling legislation to allow for commercial development at Pier 40, the massive former cruise ship terminal on the Hudson River waterfront, adjacent to Houston Street, which covers 14 acres and now houses athletic and recreational facilities.

“The major issue is that there need to be changes to the legislation that created the Hudson River Park, because Pier 40 is sinking,” explained Anthony Notaro, chair of Community Board 1 (CB1) at an April 26 meeting. “They need to have a revenue stream not only to rebuild it, but to sustain it. But there are active ballfields there, to which we need to maintain access.”

	Anthony Notaro

This revelation comes more than a year after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced, in April, 2018, to much fanfare, that he was pledging $50 million to complete the Hudson River Park, which was originally slated for completion in 2006. But that offer came with a large string attached: his political sparring partner, Mayor Bill de Blasio, was required to match this with $50 million in City funding.

That total of $100 million was described by both the Governor’s and the Mayor’s representatives as being sufficient to “finish” the park, but this appeared unlikely from the outset. Although the HPRT estimates that more than 77 percent of its original plan is now complete, it also projected that the total price tag to finish the remaining portions at approximately $617 million.

That noted, the HPRT has other significant sources of revenue. A large new residential and retail complex will soon rise on the site of St. John’s Terminal, a former rail freight facility adjacent to Pier 40 (straddling Houston Street, stretching from Vandam to Clarkson Streets). This project would not have been possible without a transfer of 200,000 square feet of air rights from Pier 40, for which the HPRT was paid $100 million. This payout is expect to cover most of the cost of rehabilitating the underwater supporting structure of Pier 40, which has been deteriorating for decades. Work on shoring up the Pier (estimated to cost $104 million) began in late 2018.

	Playing soccer on Pier 40

But significant additional air rights remain within Pier 40. Although it would be difficult for HPRT to sell these to another developer outside of the Park (its enabling legislation bans transfers more than one block away from the waterfront), these rights could allow the development of new space on the Pier itself. The Trust plans to preserve the current, recreational uses of Pier 40, which serves as an athletic facility for many local sports leagues, while also adding commercial uses, which could include offices, retail space, or a hotel.

“Pier 40 is a very key element of the Hudson River Park,” observed Paul Goldstein, who chairs CB1’s Waterfront Committee, at the April 26 meeting. “It not only serves many communities with recreational facilities, including our leagues down here, but it is also one of the designated sites to generate revenue for the Park, which is supposed to maintain itself and pay for future development.”

“Coming up with a plan to maintain that flow of cash and to continue to improve that pier is vital, but it has been a very difficult issue,” he continued. Community Board 2 (CB2), which has jurisdiction over Pier 40, “has turned down at least two development proposals that they found inappropriate. Following that, there has been discussion with CB2 and some of the local elected officials about a tentative plan to put commercial office space on the Pier. That seemed to be the use that the different entities had some common agreement on.”

“Obviously, there’s a lot to be worked out on the details,” Mr. Goldstein added. “One of the bottom lines is that has to go through the State legislature, because the Hudson River Park Act is a State law. And this use, commercial development, is not allowed now. So they would have to amend the Act. They have until basically mid-June to do so. The elected officials have given us the impression that they would like to get something done.”

Apart from development at Pier 40, the Trust also expects to derive significant revenue from the imminent redevelopment of Pier 57, near 15th Street, where Google has signed on as an anchor tenant. The planned office-and-retail complex, which will encompass 480,000 square feet of space, which will eventually contribute several million dollars per year to the HRPT’s balance sheet.

Paul Goldstein

In the longer term, HRPT hopes eventually take over Pier 76 (in the West 30s, adjacent to the Javits Convention Center), which currently functions as the New York City tow pound. This facility currently encloses 245,000 square feet, and adjoins an upland, open-space area of another 55,000 square feet. From this total, the Trust hopes to create slightly more than 178,000 square feet (or just over four acres) of new parkland, while setting aside 122,000 square feet for commercial development.

At the Park’s southern extremity, HPRT officials have spoken publicly about the possibility of selling unused air rights from the Park’s Tribeca section to any possible redevelopment of the Borough of Manhattan Community College Campus.

Overall, the Trust estimates that it already has commitments for approximately $426 million of the $617 million it will need to complete the Park in the next ten years, or some 69 percent of the total. These have come from sources such as air rights sales, private donations, and appropriations from the City and State.

The remaining gap of $189 million, or 31 percent of the total cost, would be more than half bridged by the $100-million allocation that the State and City announced in 2018. But, with a remaining deficit of almost $90 million, this subsidy would not, by itself, quite live up to the billing of “finishing the Hudson River Park” that the Governor and the Mayor have boasted of.

Wherever the funding to complete the Park comes from, however, allocating resources to HPRT appears to be a sound investment. A 2016 analysis from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) concluded that the $720 million earmarked for the Hudson River Park since construction began in 1998 has yielded $1.121 billion in indirect economic benefits for New York City (as well as another $305 million in similar benefits for the State as a whole), while new building projects adjacent to the Park represent one-fourth of all the newly created square feet of property in Manhattan built between 2000 and 2014.

During those years, RPA also concluded, property tax contributions within the Hudson River Park neighborhood grew 28 percent faster than in Manhattan as a whole. The same report also noted that the Park directly generates more than 3,000 full- and part-time jobs — a figure that is projected to swell to approximately 5,000 jobs over in the next few years.

Renewed Concerns about Emergency Response Time in Lower Manhattan

May 10 at West and Murray Streets: Pedestrian Sarah Chan is run over with enough force to sever her foot.

“When I got the 911 operator on the phone, she transferred me to another operator, who asked for the location of the accident. I explained that we were in front of 325 South End Avenue, in Manhattan. But this operator kept repeating that help was on the way to 32 South Street in Brooklyn. I kept telling her this was incorrect, but she kept repeating ‘South Street in Brooklyn.’ Then she said they would call me back.”

RE: Time Runs Out for Landmarked Clock Tower

(BroadsheetDAILY APRIL 9, 2019  by Matthew Fenton)

The single most devastating decision to the cause of preservation in the history of the New York City Landmarks Law and, without a doubt, the most disappointing in my 27+ year career as an attorney.

My heart breaks at the notion that a last-of-its-kind, 120-year old tower clock and its surrounding suite — both designated by the Landmark Preservation Commission as an historic interior landmark — will, absent reversal through reargument (the motion for which is still pending), soon be converted into a luxury condo, all so that a developer will be able to receive an additional $20+ Million of profit.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission, prior to this instance, had never approved conversion of an interior landmark into a private apartment.

Absent reversal, it won’t be the last.

BPCA Taps Engineering Firm to Design Resiliency Measure for Neighborhood’s Northern Section

The Battery Park City Authority has hired an engineering firm to begin designing resiliency measures for the community’s northern border, and extending into Tribeca.

At the Authority’s March 26 board meeting, Gwen Dawson, the BPCA’s vice president for real property, explained, “this project will address the area that runs essentially from the North Promenade, just west of Stuyvesant High School, eastward across Route 9A and eastward from there to about West Broadway.”

This is one of four separate (but related) resiliency plans the BPCA is in various stages of implementing. The others cover the community’s southern border(around Wagner Park and Pier A), its western waterfront (the length of the Esplanade, from Wagner Park, to Rockefeller Park), and the ballfields (along with the adjacent Asphalt Green community center).

To read more…

Concert Venue Big Enough to Host 3,000 People Planned for Financial District

	A rendering of how the trading floor might appear if converted into a traditional department store – a prospect that seems less likely with the recent closure of the Saks Women’s Store at nearby Brookfield Place.

Plans are under way to develop an 80,000-square-foot concert and performance venue on the former trading floor of the American Stock Exchange building, in the Financial District.

Representatives of Live Nation Entertainment, a firm that owns or operates more than 200 venues throughout North America and Europe, including the outdoor concert space on the roof of Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport, came before Community Board 1 (CB1) on Wednesday evening to explain their plans.

A historical view of the structure’s legacy trading floor

BPCA Awards Underwater Contract to Firm That Promises Peace and Quiet

A barge moored in South Cove, conducting pile remediation work on the underwater columns that support the Esplanade.

The Battery Park City Authority is continuing a decade-long project to shore up the underwater columns that support the Esplanade, but has found a way to do it without keeping residents up at night.

At the April 23 meeting of the BPCA’s board, Gwen Dawson, the Authority’s vice president of real property, explained, “the esplanade of Battery Park City rests on a relieving platform which is supported by 3100 total concrete piles. We initiated a program in 2007 to perform certain remediation steps on these piles, to wrap them in fiberglass, to make sure that their lives could be extended — we are told up to an additional 30 to 50 years.”

The Taste of Tribeca in 2006

Saturday (May 18) will mark the 25th anniversary of Taste of Tribeca, the street food fair that raises money for two beloved local public schools: P.S. 234 and P.S. 150.

Come to Duane Street (between Greenwich and Hudson Streets), from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm, for gastronomic wonders from 60 of Tribeca’s top chefs and restaurants — including seven that have been participating since 1994: Bouley, Bubby’s Tribeca, Duane Park Patisserie, Gigino Trattoria, The Odeon, Tribeca Grill, and Walker’s.

Tickets, priced at $45 in advance and $55 on the day of the event, get you six tastes and two pours on the Beer & Cider Tour, and are on sale now at www.tasteoftribeca.com.

On May 22, the Battery Park City Seniors group will host a memorial service for Arlene Kalfus, who died tragically on April 4, when she was struck by a bus on South End Avenue.

Ms. Kalfus, a long-time resident of Gateway Plaza, was a longtime contributor to Battery Park City Seniors, whose loss is acutely felt, both because of her many volunteer activities and her dry sense of humor.

The service will be held in the Battery Park City Authority’s community room, located within 200 Rector Place.

(Please use the entrance on the west side of the building, facing West Thames Park.)

Anyone planning to attend is asked to R.S.V.P. to Philomena Pinto at JPinto8925@aol.com.

Monday, May 20, 2019 at 3 PM

The Civic Engagement Commission will hold its first public meeting on Monday, May 20, 2019 at 3:00 pm at The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building – 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007.

In November 2018, New York City voters approved Charter revisions that established the New York City Civic Engagement Commission, which can be found in Chapter 76 of the New York City Charter. The Commission’s purpose is to enhance civic participation through a variety of initiatives, including participatory budgeting, expanded poll site interpretation and assistance to community boards.

For more information about the Commission please visit the Commission’s website.

The meeting is open to the public. Because this is a public meeting and not a public hearing, the public will have the opportunity to observe the Commission’s discussions, but not testify before it.

What if I need assistance to participate in the meeting? The meeting location is accessible to individuals using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. Free induction loop systems and ASL interpreters will be available upon request. Free interpretation services will be available in Spanish and other languages upon request. Please make any such requests or other accessibility requests by 2:00 pm no later than Thursday, May 16, 2019 by emailing civicengagement@cityhall.nyc.gov or calling (212) 676-4939.

Jose Bayona

Director of Community & Ethnic Media

Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio

Amazon Opens High-Tech Retail Outlet in Brookfield Place, But Will Accept Low-Tech Form of Payment

	Retail, Reimagined: The Amazon Go store in Brookfield Place

New York politicians still smarting over Amazon’s decision to cancel plans for a corporate headquarters in Long Island City can console themselves that the online retail giant has at least opened a 1,300-square-foot bricks-and-mortar store in Lower Manhattan.

On Tuesday, Amazon debuted the first East Coast location of its Go chain, on the upper level of Battery Park City’s Brookfield Place. The experimental retail brand amounts to a revolutionary reimagining of the traditional storefront, by eliminating cash, cashiers, and even automated checkout kiosks.

Lower Manhattan Experiences Chain Reaction as Two Esteemed (and Non-Corporate) Booksellers Plan Local Outposts

A rendering of the South Street Seaport location planned  for McNally Jackson books.

Local connoisseurs of independent bookstores have reason to celebrate: Two highly regarded operators will be coming to Lower Manhattan soon. The first is McNally Jackson, which has confirmed that its much-delayed plan to open in the South Street Seaport will finally be realized this year.

Also coming to Downtown is the much-admired Shakespeare & Companyindependent bookstore, which already has locations on the Upper East and Upper West sides.

May 13 – 26, 2019

Corvus the Crow eyes Virgo’s jewel star, Spica

On springtime evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, extend the handle of the Big Dipper to arc to Arcturus, spike Spica and slide into the constellation  Corvus the Crow.  We sometimes call this extended arc, the spring semicircle.

At nightfall, Corvus the Crow, wings outstretched, glides in the sky above the cityscape to the south.

Latin for crow, or raven, Corvus’ four main stars form a diamond that is easily seen as a soaring bird, kite or sail.

In Greek mythology, the Crow, Apollo’s sacred bird, got into trouble that resulted in the god catapulting the offender and his companions into the sky.

Last evening, the waxing gibbous moon appeared above and to the right of Corvus.

Tonight, Corvus is directly below the moon.

City Moves Ahead with Traffic Signal for Rector Place and South End Avenue, Ten Months After Approval

May 16

Many ships pass Lower Manhattan on their way to and from the midtown Passenger Ship Terminal.  Others may be seen on their way to or from docks in Brooklyn and Bayonne.

 Stated times, when appropriate, are for passing the Colgate Clock and are based on sighting  histories, published schedules and intuition. They are also subject to tides, fog, winds, freak waves, hurricanes and the whims of upper management.

Long Overlooked Pier Becomes ‘Porch’ Overlooking East River Waterfront

	Eco-Park on the East River

Downtown’s list of great public spaces has increased by one, with the opening on April 19 of a new “Eco-Park” at Pier 35, on the East River shoreline, in the Two Bridges neighborhood. The 28,000-square-foot facility includes lawns, dunes, and a sloped concrete “urban beach,” designed to replicate the natural breeding habitat of mussels. To read more...

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New Renderings for Planned Tower at 80 South Street Show Building Taller Than One World Trade Center

	Community leaders fear that the number of apartments contained in a building this large could overwhelm local infrastructure

The on-again/off-again skyscraper proposed for 80 South Street, in the Seaport District may be on again.

Contract Alleges That Developer Cut Corners on Foundation, Resulting in Dangerous Tilt

	One Seaport

A 670-foot residential building now under construction in the South Street Seaport neighborhood is leaning precipitously north and east, according to a lawsuit filed against the developer by one of its former contractors. The tower, known as One Seaport, is located at 161 Maiden Lane (on the corner of South Street) and is 58 stories tall.

In a story first reported by the Commercial Observer, a suit filed in March with the New York State Supreme Court by building contractor Pizzarottialleges that the 161 Maiden Lane, “is leaning, as a rigid body, outside of its vertical control,” and, “is now exhibiting a bowing or curve in its verticality that is due entirely to said leaning.” The suit also claims that, “the building… has settled and moved to such a degree that the structure is encroaching on a neighboring property line.”

Local Resident Oversaw Move of Holocaust Freight Car to Lower Manhattan

In nearly 40 years of involvement in logistics, almost all of it in the field of fine art transportation, participating in this move was professionally the most significant, and personally the most emotional, project I have ever undertaken.

The rail car is on loan from the Auschwitz Museum in Poland, to an exhibition services company in Spain, which is co-sponsoring the new exhibition, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago, Not Far Away,” with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Lower Manhattan Site of First Synagogue in North America Honored by Street Co-Naming

City Council member Margaret Chin and community leaders gathered in the Financial Districton Monday afternoon to commemorate the long-overlooked site of America’s first Jewish temple, the Mill Street Synagogue, located on what is now South William Street. The thoroughfare was co-named “Mill Street Synagogue/Seixas Way,” in a nod to the temple’s first cleric, who was also a patriot leader during the American Revolution.

To read more…

	John Watts     Why isn’t he smiling?