BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | After security guards barred Michael Fortenbaugh on Jan. 1 from entering the North Cove Marina, he said Tuesday he and his staff have regained access. But the date of Jan. 20 looms as he said the Battery Park City Authority said he must remove vessels by then or risk losing them.
The request for proposals, or R.F.P., process for a marina operator that began in October has snowballed into a battle over community input and transparency over public parkland.
Fortenbaugh’s North Cove Marina Management has run the marina for the past ten years and his lease expired on Dec. 31. The B.P.C.A. board did not have enough members present to vote on the next operator at its December meeting, and the authority assumed control of the marina this year.
Last month, Community Board 1 called on the B.P.C.A. to withdraw its R.F.P. and begin the process again with more community input and transparency. Elected officials, in a joint letter Dec. 29 letter, backed C.B. 1’s resolution, calling for a new R.F.P. Community-based programming was given only a 15 percent weight under the first request.
At Community Board 1’s Battery Park Committee meeting Tues., Jan. 6, Fortenbaugh said that the authority has asked for an additional $10,000 security deposit as well as $10 million in insurance for each vessel.
“They don’t want to have any discussion — they’re just telling us the way it is going to be,” he said. “I appreciate that the authority is a very powerful agency. I appreciate that we’re just a small business. That’s okay. I think there should be some dialogue.”
He has asked to stay at least through this summer sailing season, saying a new operator could not set up as many programs in time, and he has not been given enough time to find a new home for his sailing school, which he has run near his Battery Park City home for 20 years.
Robin Forst, vice president of external relations for the B.P.C.A., read a prepared statement at the meeting, but refused to answer questions.
“We understand that this is an important community issue but there is some incorrect information circulating … The B.P.C.A. became the marina’s operator on the first of January when the prior license agreement expired. As the now owner and operator, it is our obligation to protect both the asset and its visitors. To that end, Ted Wallace was hired as interim director of marina operations. FJC was hired to provide security at the marina …
“While chains have been installed at all vacant slips as a safety precaution, access to go to the marina has not been restricted … The B.P.C.A took great care in including language in the R.F.P. that not only recognized the need for community-based programming, which accounts for 15 percent of the overall valuation criteria but specifically requires in addition to this programming that quote the marina must include a sailing school intended to be available to the general public at reasonable cost.”
“It seems to me that they’ve ignored our resolution,” said Ninfa Segarra, committee member. “We need to continue to put on record our concern here. We’re not less concerned, we’re actually more concerned.”
The committee discussed passing another resolution to keep the spotlight on the issue.
“We have to keep in the public eye so that our elected officials don’t move away from the issue,“ said Segarra, who was also a deputy mayor in the Giuliani administration. “This is very important to us.”
Lucille Songhai, director of community affairs for Borough President Gale Brewer, said that they are working with the B.P.C.A. to set up a meeting with elected officials.
Brewer’s office met with Fortenbaugh in December.
“It was very evident that it was a very urgent manner and we’re frankly very concerned to see the escalation of security officers,” said Songhai. “From all of us, we want to make sure we are speaking with one voice and that reflect[s] the wants of the community.”
Anthony Notaro, the Board 1 committee’s chairperson, said, “We are very disappointed. We see in this process and the R.F.P. itself as flawed … The commercialization of the public parkland cannot go on under our watch. We expected this to be an open, transparent and community-focused process and it’s not that.”
Committee member Tom Goodkind suggested that C.B. 1’s December resolution be sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appoints B.P.C.A. board members.
“I would like to hear the governor’s acknowledgement of the statement because it is a state agency,” said Tammy Meltzer. “I would like to at least hear the governor’s acknowledgement of our community outpouring.”
The governor’s office did not respond to Downtown Express’ questions on North Cove.
Meltzer and other members said it was troubling that there has been no date set for the next B.P.C.A meeting.
“I’m not having the faith in the authority that they’re actually going to set up the time to have a meeting with the elected officials and take community input before their next meeting,” she said.
Meltzer said that the authority has “snubbed back and said, ‘too bad, so sad’ ” by naming an interim operator and bringing security guards to the marina.
“They have responded in a way, not anything of what we would have hoped or dreamed,” she said. “Instead they’ve actually said, ‘you know what, thank you and no thank you, we’re doing what we want to do.’ ”
Fortenbaugh said he doesn’t understand how things have gone so wrong, but “the spirit of what is going on is very clear.”
The B.P.C. committee passed a resolution asking that the B.P.C.A. respond to the C.B. 1’s December resolution, called again for the authority to withdraw the R.F.P. and to send the resolution to the governor’s office.
