Heat is on for planned Frying Pan summer reopening

Chelsea Now photo by Jefferson Siegel

John Krevey, owner and operator of the Frying Pan, stands aboard his vessel now docked at Pier 66, shown in the background. The boat has been held in limbo during negotiations with the Hudson River Park Trust and city in its bid to reopen following a move from Pier 63.

By Patrick Hedlund

Fans waiting to board the popular Frying Pan boat/bar might not have to wait much longer for its planned summer reopening, which could come this weekend or early next week as the venue awaits clearance from the city.

After spending a decade at Pier 63 at W. 23rd St.—playing host to nightlong dance parties, film screenings and serving as kayak storage for Hudson River seafarers—the lightship/barge combo moved north to Pier 66 between 25th and 26th Sts. last spring with the hopes of reopening soon thereafter. Owner John Krevey had been trying since then to secure the appropriate permits and lease agreements with various agencies, and expects the Department of Buildings to issue a Certificate of Occupancy by latest next Tuesday so he can open the restaurant/bar to the public.

The Hudson River Park Trust—the state-city authority that oversees the park and piers, and forced the Frying Pan north to Pier 66 due to ongoing construction work on the park—had been negotiating with Krevey on a lease for the new docking area, technically at Pier 66a.

But Krevey, who resuscitated the former floating lighthouse after bringing it to Chelsea from the Chesapeake Bay, said that while the Trust has been mostly cooperative, one person on the authority has been hurting his progress. He claimed that HRPT vice president Noreen Doyle was slow in moving along lease negotiations and has refused to grant the Frying Pan use of a special water hose he wants to begin operations.

“She’s a polite person, and she has her feelings about not wanting us in the Park, and I can understand that,” Krevey told Chelsea Now on Wednesday, the same day a story broke in the daily newspaper AM New York stating that the Frying Pan planned to reopen this week. “She’s the one giving us the hard time.”

However, Trust president Connie Fishman refuted Krevey’s claim, stating Doyle has only aided the process in order for it to fully comply with the authority’s regulations, as well as those of the city and state.

“Unfortunately, it’s not the Wild West atmosphere it used to be, and everybody has to follow the rules now,” Fishman said, contending that Doyle “is the most sympathetic person to him and his facility.”

Trust spokesperson Chris Martin added the authority views the Frying Pan as an amenity to the Park, and that the two have been negotiating “steadily” to meet various city and state requirements.

“We want to get it open as soon as possible,” Martin maintained. “We’ve definitely been working hard to get that done.”

Krevey added that the venue can operate using water storage tanks while it waits to clear up the hose issue, and that once the Certificate of Occupancy is delivered, the “old rusty junk pile” can be restored to its former maritime glory. Visitors wanting to enjoy a burger and beer on the Hudson have been waiting since May, the time Krevey told the New York Times he would be up and running.

“A great number of people in Chelsea love it, and they are disappointed,” said Robert Trentlyon, a longtime Park advocate and founder of the Chelsea Waterside Park Association.

When and it does open, though, visitors will only be able to party until 1 a.m. in accordance with park rules.

“We want it to open,” Fishman added. “We were also the people who went out there on the weekend.”

— with additional reporting by Fahima Haque