James Gill, who chaired the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) from 1996 through 2010, died last weekend, at age 86. He presided over the community during two booms and two busts. In the prosperous years of the late 1990s, he forged ahead with plans to develop still-vacant parcels of land throughout the neighborhood. At the time, he was fond of telling anybody who would listen that he got headaches when he didn’t hear the sound of pile drivers.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which laid waste to the neighborhood, he brought missionary zeal to the task of encouraging displaced residents to return, while also enticing new residents to replace those who did not come back. And this was true for businesses, as well as residents: Mr. Gill worked with City and State officials to lure Goldman Sachs to build its new headquarters building in Battery Park City, at the corner of West and Vesey Streets.
As Lower Manhattan rebounded in the years that followed, along with the national economy, he resumed the breakneck pace of development, assigning the final lots in Battery Park City’s north neighborhood to residential builders. By the time his tenure drew to a close, the Authority was buffeted by another economic downturn, this one related to the financial crisis resulting from banks’ profligate issuance of sub-prime mortgages. Ironically, this crisis harmed the BPCA’s fiscal prospects not in the slightest. Its primary impact upon the Authority was that the City and State, needing to plug holes in their hemorrhaging balance sheets, prevailed upon the agency to issue $861 million in new debt, so that City Hall and Albany could split these funds.
Tim Carey, who served as the BPCA’s president during the first half of Mr. Gill’s tenure as chairman, reflects that, “Jim Gill lived an extraordinary life. We, who served with him, at the Battery Park City Authority were fortunate to have a leader who led with his heart and believed in ‘the greater good,’ rather than ‘the bottom line.’ As we literally dug ourselves out from the attack on 9/11, Jim’s main concerns were the residents, staff and first responders. When others said, ‘no one will ever live in Battery Park City again,” Jim led us during the rescue, recovery and rebuilding and he helped develop a ‘Welcome Home’ plan.”
James Cavanaugh was appointed president of the BPCA during the second half of Mr. Gill’s time as chairman. He remembers that, “James Gill loved Battery Park City in a very personal way. He would walk the grounds, especially the parks, several times a week, and would sometimes bring his grandchildren to community events. He’d always stop and engage the staff, just to let them know they were appreciated. He knew his job was to make a profit for the City and State Governments, but he also believed his mission was to provide community amenities and services. That’s why for every high rise and office building that went up, there was also a park, a library, a community center, dog run, or a school.”
James Gill with Senator Al D’Amato and Mayor Ed Koch
Mr. Carey continues, “of all his accomplishment as chairman, the development of the BPCA environmental guidelines, which led to the construction of the Solaire, the first “green” residential building in the nation,” was perhaps the most enduring. The Solaire went on to become the first apartment building in America to earn gold status from the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, which oversees and certifies the development of sustainable buildings. This standards set by the Solaire and later Battery Park City “green” buildings became widely copied throughout the United States.
Mr. Cavanaugh observes that Mr. Gill’s legacy will also consist of, “the innovative design of Teardrop Park, the revitalization of North Cove Marina as a community facility, and the rent stabilization program at Gateway, which all happened under his chairmanship.”
To this list, Mr. Carey adds, “the Irish Hunger Memorial, new parks, community centers, schools and ball fields. He was always proud that all we accomplished was with the support of the community he had grown to love. Without his leadership, Battery Park City would not exist as the special place it is today.”