Community Board 1 (CB1) is calling upon the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio and elected officials representing Lower Manhattan to reconvene the Seaport Working Group, a panel of local leaders and stakeholders that met over a four-month period in 2014 and reviewed development proposals for the South Street Seaport. At the end of its deliberations, the Working Group issued a list of eight “guiding principles” to provide a consensus framework for building plans in the historic neighborhood.
“The rationale is that it’s not done yet,” explained Marco Pasanella, chairman of CB1’s Seaport/Civic Center Committee. “We’re approaching the completion of Pier 17, but there’s more to be discussed.”
An illustration of the developer’s plan for a tall residential tower on the waterfront, at the site of the Seaport’s New Market Building. This scheme was later scaled back, and now been abandoned entirely, although Howard Hughes still wants to demolish the New Market Building, and the company has hinted that it may propose another building for the site
This was a reference to one major component of the plan by developer Howard Hughes Corporation to transform the neighborhood: the renovation of the giant dock alongside the Brooklyn Bridge into an upscale retail destination is now nearing its end. Another facet of the plan already in progress is the rebuilding of the Fulton Marketplace (the buildings west of Pier 17), where a 40,000 square feet luxury iPic cinema, featuring plush seating as well as restaurant style food-and-drink service, is scheduled to open later this year. Further from fruition is the company’s desire to move and raise above the reach of floodwaters the landmarked Tin Building, which is slated to become a food and dining hub. Howard Hughes has cleared several regulatory hurdles for this proposal, but has yet to break ground.
An architect’s vision for the renovated Pier 17, which is now nearing completion.
And other parts of the the company’s vision have stalled in the planning phase. Among these is the scheme to demolish the nearby New Market Building (which local preservationists regard as having enormous historic value) and erect on its site a tall residential tower. Howard Hughes appears to have abandoned the hope of building a skyscraper there, although it continues to allege that the New Market building is in a state of dangerous disrepair and must be torn down. The company has also said it may propose other plans for the site at some point in the future.
The Seaport Working Group, while lacking any formal authority, had a mandate to make recommendations prior to the City’s Universal Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process that, once completed, would allow work to begin. Several of the panel’s recommendations have subsequently been implemented, at least in part. These include the call for alternatives to the Hughes Corporation’s plan for a large tower on the site of the New Market Building, the resurrection of the South Street Seaport Museum, the creation of new local transportation options (such as the ongoing proliferation of ferry service along the East River), and fostering public access to the waterfront (which is taking shape in the gradual development of the East River Blueway).
The resolution discussed at the April 26 CB1 meeting, which passed unanimously, calls upon elected officials and City Hall to, “reconvene the Seaport Working Group with the goal of establishing a planning framework for consideration of future developments in the South Street Seaport.”