Will Villagers Sink Related’s Pier 40 Plan?
With final bids due Friday for the proposed redevelopment of Hudson River Park’s Pier 40, the West Village community seems all but too eager to shut the door on Related Companies' proposed park and waterside entertainment complex. Instead, many seem to be opting for a community plan that mostly preserves the giant working pier-turned-parking lot and ball field complex while still generating enough money to survive.
Not that Related isn’t trying to be loved.
The firm, with money to be made on its proposal that includes Cirque du Soleil, has thrown bone after bone to the community, claiming in its plan to have more parking than currently exists; two acres more of sports fields and basketball courts (both of which are all free); and a dog run. Earlier this month they presented a plan [PDF] with reduced entertainment space, a move that comes on top of dropping a night club and a beach club.
But this is the West Village with which Related is contending, and in the home of Jane Jacobs, the prospect of some 2.5 million annual visitors and tourists—along with the traffic, attitude, and related development they may bring—apparently doesn’t sit too well.
Last night, a Community Board 2 committee recommended that the Hudson River Park Trust board vote down both Related’s proposal and a more modest plan by the Camp Group that mostly leaves the pier intact but adds restrictions on the playing fields.
Now the ball falls into the court of the Hudson River Park Trust board, controlled by Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Spitzer, and Borough President Scott Stringer; it's slated to vote on the Related and Camp Group proposals on Jan. 31.
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That pier is a disaster, I hope HRPT does something there....
Get real. Development is good and inevitable. Progress is just that. Progress. Whether it is on the Westside of Manhattan or the ravaged real estate of the south Bronx or decimated Beirut.
You know, having more activities, more instantly recognizable fun things to do isn't seen as anathema in most cities. Most cities would jump at this sort of development, and I know I'd be more than happy to have the option of Cirque and a "beach club" -- it'd make life that much more varied and interesting. At the end of the day, entertainment options in the city aren't infinite and something new and patently interesting beats the crap out of the soccer field and parking lot the selfish West Village will insist on in order to keep "capitalism" out.
I know I'm being selfish when I say: I do love my cheap parking. That parking is city-owned and the cheapest around, as far as I know. God love 'em! It'd be good to have that pier developed, though, and it won't be hard to provide as much or more parking. The parking currently rings the ball fields on a couple of levels, basically.
The complex is an eye-sore and needs a makeover. I would be happy to have something developed there that's a compromise of the 2 proposals. There needs to be secondary revenue beyond parking. I've been parking indoors at the complex for the past 4 years and the conditions are poor. Calcium deposits have ruined too many paint jobs on cars...
ANYONE opposed to a plan for rebuilding pier 40 to create HUGE amounts of free, public playing fields/courts, a dog run, a riverside performance space and public parking is CRAZY or SELFISH. i live 10 blocks from pier 40 and would LOVE to be able to go there to play frisbee with my dog. I BEG EVERYONE INVOLVED TO SUPPORT THE RELATED PROJECT TO REBUILD OF PIER 40--putting a bandaid on that old rusty mess would be a huge missed opportunity and a terrible mistake!
Community Board 2 must be kidding. That pier looks like an absolute DUMP! Some people really just don’t get it. We all WOW at what’s being developed in Dubai but wonder why similar development can’t get done here. Why anyone would want that eyesore in their backyard is beyond me! The Related proposal seems pretty intriguing.
Community Board 2 is dominated by residents who wish to preserve the low density residentail nature of their neighborhood. Although they welcomed the amenity of Hudson River Park and the way it enhances their quality of life and property values, they seem to be against any plan that attracts people to the park from outside of their neighborhood. This runs counter to the spirit of the legislation that created HRP, which required the cooperation of the entire state assembly. Pier 40 should be developed in a way that provides the greatest benefit to the broadest possible range of New Yorkers rather than preserving the advantages that the pier has to offer for those fortunate enough to live in the West Village. I hope that the political leadership finds the fortitude required to choose what's best for the city rather than cave in to preasure from the vocal locals who insist on advancing their intersts at the expence of everyone else.
The same people who want to keep the pier the ugly dump that it is now are the squatters who pay 500 a month in rent to live in the apts in the area. ATTENTION: the 70's are OVER. If you cant afford to live here or open your minds to progress...LEAVE..oh and you already missed your chance at Brooklyn,. you are welcome to whats left of Pennsylvania...BUH BYE!!!
The Community needs Related's plan.
to all you 'intellectuals' who are talking down on the people who are opposing the idea presented by Related, I ask you, do you live in this community? Do you understand that downtown Manhattan is a niche for those who want to stay away from all this ugly 'Mall-ification' of New York? Part of growing up in downtown New York is joining Little League, or the Downtown Soccer League to play at fields like Pier 40. Maybe we need a renovation, but to turn that space into a mall like area is ridiculous. We dont want our community to be commercialized.
I understand the whole idea of development and progress. I used to be one of those people who thought all new development was good. But by living in this community, and seeing all of these new major buildings going up, destroying the nice older ones, and seeing the local businesses being taken out by the large mega stores, you begin to understand why these people, as Patty Cake puts them "squatters", want to defend their community field from major developers.
And by the way, patty cake, its best you dont insult the people you are arguing against. It just brings to an emotional argument rather than a sensible, and factual one.
Children are entitled to recreation and entertainment, not just adults and dogs. Most of the previous posters don't seem to understand that. The fields at Pier 40 provide rare recreational space for children and childrens' leagues. The fields draw from a large part of lower Manhattan and the West Side. This is not simply a West Village resource; it is important for any family that doesn't live near Central Park.
Manhattan has no shortage of theaters and cinemas, but has utterly inadequate recreational space for children. Entertainment venues can be built anywhere. Playing fields cannot.
To passersby, Pier 40 may look like an eyesore, and that can be fixed. But anyone who thinks it's an eyesore should see the faces of the children as they enter the green fields of Pier 40. And anyone who thinks those fields can survive as a place for children in conjunction with a major entertainment venue is ignoring the lessons of history, sociology and economics.
Please, bear in mind that Pier 40 is also home to biz kids and Floating the Apple and New York Kayak. We have been paying rent on Pier 40 since 2001. Biz kids is a fabulous acting school that occupies a small part of the south side of the pier. Hudson River Park Trust Act says quite clearly that the park will include water related and arts education on Pier 40. We fulfill that requirement. The West Village has lost 3 theaters and 3 cabarets in the past few years. (Venues used by and for young performers) It would be fabulous to have Theater for Young Audiences as well as a spot like "milk and cookies" so children could have birthday parties and see a show in our neighborhood.
I work with a LGBT Organization and this pier is amazingly huge. We could use it for community based orgs. A better area for the children to play. A 24 hour facility for LGBT youth. There's much more to life than restuarants and movie theatres. What happened to helping the community? What happened to having a safe, comfortable and quiet spot for everyone?