Rec Bubble Plan Deflated

Downtown’s hopes to erect a kids’ recreation bubble in Tribeca were dashed last month when a foundation declined to fund the project.

Community Board 1 had raised $900,000 for the bubble and secured a preliminary agreement from the city to use Site 5B, the lot along Warren Street between Greenwich and West streets. But the Robin Hood Foundation, which had indicated last fall that it would donate $1 million from its relief fund for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, informed the board that it would not provide the funds.

"The foundation no longer felt that we could justify this as Sept. 11–related," said Shawn Pattison, a Robin Hood spokesman. "We agreed to this back in November, when the fires were still burning. The community estimated that a safe, enclosed play space could open in February when children returned to their schools."

The project was delayed largely because CB1 had difficulty gaining control of the site. The most recent estimate was that the bubble could be up and in use in October.

"I’m disappointed," said Madelyn Wils, CB1’s chair, adding that a backup plan to create an outdoor recreation space on Site 5B also fell through.

Developer Edward Minskoff, in the meantime, is eager to build on the site. (See story, "Minskoff Determined to Build His Tower.")

"If we could have moved faster, we might have been successful," Wils said, "but because Minskoff is marketing so hard and the city felt they gave [the bubble] a good try, they didn’t want to do it any more."