 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
BPCA to submit first plans for revamped Pier A in August
The Authority signed a 49-year lease, with renewal options, in May, and was given 90 days to produce at least an initial outline of its renovation plans. EDC vice president Patrick O’Sullivan told committee members the pier, a 120-year-old, three-story structure that juts into the Hudson at the north end of Battery Park, would likely be turned into a mixed-use commercial center, with stores, restaurants and office spaces, and possible visitors center. “I think we’re all in agreement that we want to see a good mix of uses in there that will serve both tourists and residents of the area,” O’Sullivan said. To date, the only entities the Authority is sure it would like to have in the space are the operators of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferries. The Authority’s lease stipulates that it must at least try to convince the National Parks Service, which oversees the ferry service, to move the boats from their current location just south of Castle Clinton into the new Pier A. O’Sullivan said the BPCA and EDC have yet to enter into negotiations with the Parks Pervice, and hope to start sometime later this summer. Sue Long, the Authority’s vice president of strategic planning, said the BPCA would begin surveying area residents and visitors about the kinds of retail businesses they would like to see in the renovated building. Battery Park City Committee chairwoman Linda Belfer said she wants her committee weigh in on those decisions, as well. “We should be part of the design process, because it’s going to be in our front yard,” committee chairwoman Linda Belfer said. Most committee members seemed open to suggestions about what should go on the pier, but Battery Park City resident and CB1 member Tom Goodkind said he knows what he doesn’t want there. “I, for one, would prefer not to have store after store selling souvenirs and trinkets to tourists,” Goodkind said. “We wouldn’t want to see it become just a huge tourist magnet.” Originally built in 1886, just after the Brooklyn Bridge, to service other docks in the harbor, Pier A was a docking station for the police harbour patrol and later a headquarters for fireboats. The clock tower was erected in 1919 as one of the city’s first memorials to veterans of the First World War. When Battery Park City was formed in the 1970s, control of Pier A, which is immediately to south of the neighborhood, was retained by the city. The pier, which is listed on the National Historic Registry, has gone unused for decades, however, and has fallen into disrepair. An effort in the 1990s to revive the pier stalled over a disagreement between the city and Wings Point, a private developer. Wings Point spent $20 million in renovations before the city barred it from the pier for failing to pay its rent.
[Home][Back][Search][Contact] The Tribeca Trib · 401 Broadway, 5th Floor · New York, NY · 10013 · 212.219.9709 |
