Chelsea Park will be great, but Trust can still do more

Volume Number 1 Issue Number 2| October 6 - 12, 2006

Editorial

Chelsea Park will be great, but Trust can still do more

Just as the Greenwich Village segment of the Hudson River Park has been a smashing success since opening three years ago, the park’s Chelsea section is sure to be sensational. Sections of the riverside park in Chelsea are near to opening, with 26th to 29th Sts. possibly opening before the end of this year; while Pier 64, a new 700-foot-long pier at W. 24th St., could be ready for public use by spring 2007.

The Chelsea section will feature lawns, trees, flowers, sculpture, a unique waterwheel, a skateboard park and much more — in short, it’s going to bring life and fun to this section of some of the greatest waterfront in the world.

The Hudson River Park Trust, the state-city authority building the 5-mile-long, $400 million waterfront park, for the most part, has been doing a fine job. Notably, the Trust recently moved forcefully to evict Basketball City from Pier 63 at W. 23rd St. for overstaying its lease — which will now allow a park to be built there as well.

Yet, while the park’s construction in Chelsea, Tribeca and further up in Hell’s Kitchen is progressing apace, we still think the Trust can do better.

For example, the Trust recently released a new request for proposals, or R.F.P., for developers for Pier 40 at W. Houston St. in the Village. A date of Nov. 17 has been set for submissions from developers seeking a Pier 40 master lease of up to 49 years. The R.F.P. states the winning bidder will be picked within 90 days of the submission deadline. The revenue from the current long-term parking of 2,000 cars on Pier 40 accounts for 40 percent of the revenue of Hudson River Park, intended to be a self-supporting park. Any replacement use will have to equal the $5 million the parking generates, the R.F.P. states.

Downtowners highly value Pier 40’s parking and the 3.5-acre sports field in the pier’s courtyard, which is heavily used by youth sports leagues. In short, there’s great concern about what this R.F.P. could mean for the pier — and the community.

The Trust is said to be issuing the Pier 40 R.F.P. because the pier needs $30 million in repairs — which the chosen developer would have to foot.

The Trust should clearly lay out the park’s budget — listing how much revenue each “commercial node” in the park, such as Piers 40 and 57, at W. 15th St., are expected to generate.

Unfortunately, the Trust appears to want to push through the Pier 40 process with a minimum of public conversation. We can only conclude this urgency is because the administration in Albany will change when Governor Pataki leaves office at year’s end.

But this process shouldn’t be rushed — and the Trust should open its books to the public. By clearly laying out its financials, a clearer — and more rational — path to the park’s major development projects will be achieved.