The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved a proposal by the Howard Hughes Corporation, the real estate firm that is redeveloping the South Street Seaport, and the City’s Parks Department, to create a new outdoor restaurant underneath the FDR Drive.
At a Tuesday hearing, the LPC praised the modifications to a 2019 proposal that would have placed a much larger structure (also beneath the FDR Drive) at the intersection of South and John Streets, blocking the view corridor of the East River, and eclipsing the historic tall ships docked on the waterfront. Community Board 1 (CB1) strongly opposed that version of the plan, and the LPC was guided by the Board’s judgment.
The new proposal calls for an oak-framed pavilion that will be 11 feet tall and 76 feet long, situated between FDR Drive, at South and Fulton Streets, in front of the historic (and newly refurbished) Tin Building. Open patios will extend from the north and south ends of pavilion, where food and drink will be served year-round. (Removable panels will provide shelter from the elements during cold-weather months.)
Kelly Carrol, the Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach for the Historic Districts Council, voiced concern the proposed structure will block views of the landmarked Tin Building from Fulton Street, and suggested that that the new pavilion would work better in front of the nearby New Market Building, which is slated to be torn down.
“Once the New Market Building is demolished, there will be waterfront dining views available as the applicant initially desired,” she said, in a reference to the original rationale for placing the structure at the foot of John Street.
George Giaquinto, Howard Hughes Corporation’s vice president for development, countered that, “with respect to the recommendation by the Historic Districts Council, the New Market Site is not part of our leasehold with the City, so we have no ability to recommend anything in that location.”
After a discussion in which several members of the LPC praised Howard Hughes and the Parks Department for agreeing to move the project from John Street to Fulton Street, the panel voted to approve the design, while also suggesting a few minor revisions, such as the treatment of windows.
In this action, the LPC was also guided by CB1, which enacted a resolution in February, noting, “the proposed structure is actually 1,000 square feet smaller than the John Street proposal;” that, “the current proposal’s location is much better than previously proposed,” and that, “the new design is also an improvement from those proposed in the past.” The resolution went on to recommend that the LPC (which has jurisdiction over the Historic District in which the site is located) approve the plan.
CB1 voiced one lingering cavil about the current plan, which was partially addressed at Tuesday’s meeting. The ten-year lease and concession that the Parks Department plans to grant to South Street Limited Partnership (the Howard Hughes subsidiary that will operate the restaurant) is expected to generate considerable revenue. The Parks Department initially planned to collect and absorb these funds into its own budget.
But CB1’s resolution noted that, “while the City is proposing that licensing fees… resulting from this concession go to the Parks Department and [CB1] recognizes their need for funds, we do feel that a much more urgent need at this time is operating revenue for the South Street Seaport Museum, so that this vital cultural institution at the Seaport can remain in existence and operation.” The same measure concludes that CB1, “recommends that the revenue received by the City from this concession be given to the South Street Seaport Museum for their operational needs.”
Joy Gutierrez, who oversees revenue and concessions for the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, explained that whiles these funds will not be earmarked for the Seaport Museum, they will be allocated locally. “It is important to note,” she said, “that unlike most Parks concessions, whose license fees go into the City’s General Fund, the license fees paid here will all go back into the surrounding park land, including 50 percent of proceeds going to improvements of the Imagination Playground, and the other 50 percent going towards maintenance operations of the East River Esplanade.”
Matthew Fenton
