Community Board 1 (CB1) will host a Town Hall meeting tonight (Monday, December 4) to discuss the impact of plans to create an event and performance venue capable of hosting more than 4,000 people on the roof of Pier 17, in the South Street Seaport. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in the Community Room of Southbridge Towers, at 90 Beekman Street (between Gold and Pearl Streets).
As CB1 chair Anthony Notaro observed at the Board’s November 28 full meeting, tonight’s session will look at, “what the impact of the operation of events on their rooftop will be.”
The 2012 version of HHC’s plan for the Pier 17 rooftop included a small concert venue, holding up to 600 people, and a restaurant.
These concerns stem from the ongoing evolution of the plan, by the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) — which has been designated by the City’s Economic Development Corporation to redevelop the Seaport — since 2012. The original iteration of HHC’s vision for the rooftop was for a pavilion that could hold a maximum of 600 people, alongside a smaller restaurant.
Each year since 2012, however, new rendering and documents filed with the City have increased the size of the events venue, and some have been tantamount to requests to increase the height of the building, as well.
David Sheldon, a member of the Save Our Seaport (SOS) neighborhood preservation group, notes that, “in 2012, the City Planning Commission mandated that, ‘the new Pier 17 Building will remain within a maximum roof height of 77 feet, one inch and have a flat roof. But HHC is now asking the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for a ‘temporary outdoor’ rooftop that would be 103 feet, four inches when raised — a full 28′ higher than permitted.”
By 2015, this plan had grown to include a permanent metal and glass canopy that would cover the entire 40,000-square-foot roof, allowing for much large concerts, throughout the year.
He adds that, “protection of the commitment for public open space is another concern for SOS. In 2012, CB1 was told that there would be 40,000 square feet of public access on the rooftop. Now we learn that there will only be a public corridor around the indoor restaurant and patio totaling 10,000 square feet. Additionally, the ‘privatized’ portions of the rooftop will only be made available for no rental charge to a community based organization — such as the PTA of the neighborhood school or a youth center — up to four occasions a year.”
These concerns were anticipated in 2013, by then-CB1 chair Catherine McVay Hughes, in testimony before the City Council, when she said, “public spaces of Pier 17 should not become de facto private space. The public should have access to the roof at a variety of times of the year, week, and day. For example, the roof should not be rented out to the private sector every Thursday through Sunday from Spring through Fall.”
Many critics of the plan to redevelop the Seaport note that it is public land that HHC is leasing from the City.
A 2010 concert at Pier 17 was expected to draw an audience of 6,000, but more than 20,000 showed up. When police ordered the event cancelled for safety reasons, the crowd rioted.
CB1 members have also voiced concerns about the crowds and noise that events hosting more than 4,000 people would cause, citing worries over both quality of life and public safety. These criticisms have been spurred, in part, by memories of a 2010 concert at Pier 17 that went badly awry. An audience of 6,000 was expected, but more than 20,000 showed up — leading police to order the event’s abrupt cancellation. This sparked a small riot that included enraged fans throwing bottles and chairs, while breaking into fistfights, which resulted in six injuries and multiple arrests. The crowd dispersed only after police armed with batons and mace waded into its center, as two NYPD helicopters hovered overhead, sweeping the area with spotlights.