BY LUCAS ROPEK | Passions, like the tide, sometimes run high — especially when waterfront property is involved. And although the reception from local residents was decidedly choppy during a Feb. 3 presentation to Community Board 4 (CB4), it seems as if there will be smooth sailing ahead for plans to revitalize Pier 57.
Development firm Youngwoo & Associates and RXR Realty are poised to transform the archaic, semi-abandoned structure (at W. 15th St., in Hudson River Park) into a multifaceted complex that includes a public park, retail shops, and a foodie-focused “hawker’s market” curated by peripatetic celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain (host of the CNN travel and food show “Parts Unknown”).
Despite Bourdain’s star power — and the promise of economic benefit — locals have regarded the plans with concern since Youngwoo approached the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) in 2009 about leasing the property.
The public comment period, which began on Dec. 17, extends through Feb. 16. Though an official public hearing on the pier occurred on Jan. 20, the CB4 meeting served as another opportunity for neighborhood residents, board members and developers to discuss the project before HRPT officially approves it.
Noreen Doyle, Executive Vice President of HRPT, began the meeting by expressing her support for the renovations. “This is a really exciting project for the Hudson River Park, and we think it’s equally exciting for the surrounding neighborhood, the community board, and for the city as a whole,” she said, before turning things over to Seth Pinsky, Executive Vice President and Investment Manager of RXR Realty.
Pinsky then gave an extensive PowerPoint presentation addressing key components of the project.
“These are the conditions of the pier today,” said Pinsky, displaying images of the building’s empty and dilapidated basements. “As you can see, there’s really nothing in it. It’s an impressive structure, but it needs a full reworking,” he said, noting that one of the pier’s most recent uses was as a storage area for MTA buses.
Key to this “reworking” are the addition of mezzanines to each of the pier’s two already extant levels, a move that would transform it into a four-story structure. Pinsky took residents through the proposed building, explaining each individual level’s function as he went.
On the ground floor will be the market area, which Pinsky likened to Pike Place (a farmers market in Seattle). Though “still evolving” conceptually, the developers want to transform the space into a kind of seaside bazaar, replete with fishmongers, food vendors, and fine dining establishments.
Below the market will be a caisson, or basement area, where an internal roadway will be used to deliver goods for the retail and restaurant venues. The deliveries will flow into entrances on W. 16th St., but gated entrances will also be available on W. 17th St., in the event of overflow.
Adjacent to the market, 34,000 square feet of new esplanade space, will be added, creating a publicly accessible walkway that will wrap all the way around the pier.
Above the market, the third and fourth floors will be devoted to office space, and will host a slew of local and international businesses. The developers believe the offices will be a means of driving traffic to the pier on a yearlong basis, since they predict the pier’s largest influx of patrons will occur during the summer months. Google has already signed a lease for 250,000 square feet of the venue.
Above the office areas is the roof — what Pinsky called “one of the most exciting” aspects of the project.
The roof will be around 90,000 square feet, and will be used as a public park where summer events, outdoor movies, and potentially concerts will be hosted and made available to the general public, free of charge. The park will have lawns, walkways, and an elevated pavilion that will include a restaurant, concession stand, and survey vantage points from which to view the sea and city. It will also purportedly be used to host the Tribeca Film Festival in the coming years.
Even with these grand plans, locals still expressed concerns regarding the extent to which the development would benefit the surrounding community.
Miguel Acevedo, President of the Fulton Tenants Association asked whether jobs from the construction and maintenance of the new project would go to Chelsea’s low-income residents. “I support the project, but there are a lot of unemployed people living in this community,” Acevedo said, before inquiring whether developers would assist in employing residents.
Greg Clancy, Vice President of Development at RXR Realty, responded to Acevedo’s comments, saying that the project’s construction would be facilitated by the city’s unions. “We will work with the community board and community groups, and we are open to this conversation,” Clancy said, in reference to the prospect of future jobs.
Several board members also questioned whether the retail area would be accommodating to local rather than international business, to which Pinsky conceded that he was unsure what the ratio would be in the future.
Gwen Billig, a member of CB4’s Waterfront, Parks & Environment Committee, asked the developers if the current plan included areas for nonprofits, community and youth groups, or “educational” facilities. Pinsky cited a “requirement in our lease that there be a certain amount of space devoted to cultural and educational and entertainment use,” but noted that out of the 110,000 square feet devoted to public use, “We don’t currently have space reserved for community space…what we have is a pretty tight program, and there’s a lot of public amenities already. But, again, that’s something we’re happy to have conversations about.”
Concerns over noise, the height and dimensions of the pier’s façade, and traffic flow surrounding the structure, were also broached. The developers and the Trust promised that these factors would not be a problem for locals.
Not everyone could be sated by these promises, however.
Melvin Stevens, local resident, and easily the most vociferous opponent to the deal, let loose during the public comment section, claiming that the developments were “nuts.” Stevens accused HRPT of “selling out” the river’s waterfront to the real estate developers, and pleaded that the board vote to deny the 97-year lease, so as to leave the river as an “object of reverence.” Stevens ended on a firm note: “Hands off our Hudson,” he said.
Numerous concerns expressed at the meeting notwithstanding, CB4 Chair Delores Rubin, in a Feb. 7 phone interview, told Chelsea Now that HRPT had always been very transparent with the Board about the project, and that, for the most part, the renovations are popular with the board members. “There hasn’t been any resistance from the community board,” Rubin said. “We’re actually very pleased that this historic pier will once again be useable, and that there is a very large amount of the project that is dedicated to open, public space.”
A Feb. 9 letter — addressed to HRPT President and CEO Madelyn Wils and signed by Rubin, along with members of CB4’s Transportation Planning and Waterfront, Parks & Environment committees — expressed the board’s pleasure “that HRPT is entering into a formal lease for Pier 57 so that the revitalization of this pier may now start,” but suggested the lease include “stipulations that the vast majority of the deliveries would be done overnight to minimize potential conflicts with the bikeway.”
CB4 also urged HRPT to install solar voltaic collectors on the roof and deploy small wind turbines. “These types of installations,” they noted, “will save on the cost of electricity use at the pier and will also serve as educational examples to others if installed in this prominent location.” Other suggestions included the incorporation of a rainwater capture system for use in cleaning, the watering of plants, and the HVAC water supply.
HRPT and the pier’s operators were also urged to “focus on hiring local residents, both for the construction phase of this project and once Pier 57 is up and running.” Further advocacy for local representation came in the form of a request that “the operators of Pier 57 give priority to artists residing or working in the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen/Chelsea district for future art installations on this site.”
The public comment period is open until Tues., Feb. 16. Send an email to Pier57comments@hrpt.ny.gov or mail to Amy Jedlicka, Esq., Hudson River Park Trust, Pier 40, 2nd Floor, 353 West St., New York, NY, 10014.
