Old tensions between the Battery Park City Authority and Community Board 1 resurfaced again Tuesday night.
At the board’s Battery Park City Committee meeting Dec. 2, Robin Forst, vice president of external relations, was slated to present, but was unable to attend due to an illness. B.P.C. Committee members were upset that no one was sent in her place.
Forst was supposed to give an update about whether the B.P.C.A. plans, as is expected, to announce Dec. 4 who has won the bid for the North Cove marina.
There are several vying for the marina’s R.F.P., request for proposals, which includes Michael Fortenbaugh, president of North Cove Management, who has been operating out of the marina for the past ten years. Fortenbaugh is also the landlord to Thomas Berton, of Manhattan by Sail, which operate tours in his historic schooner Shearwater.
Berton told the committee that his operation and that of another historic ship, the Ventura, were not mentioned in the R.F.P. and if it goes to someone other than Fortenbaugh, it is unclear what would happen.
“There’s as an R.F.P. that is going to yield results for years to come, and it’s going to freeze out the only affordable amenity,” said Jeffrey Mihok, committee member.
Mihok said that the bigger issue is that the authority should have informed the community board about the R.F.P. as well as given updates.
“The authority did not solicit any direct input from the community board,” said Tammy Meltzer, committee member.
The committee’s chairperson Anthony Notaro said that this was another example of the bad relationship between the community board and the authority, which was the subject of a report last year.
The committee passed one resolution that endorses the type of operation that Berton runs. A second resolution was also passed that there needs to be improved communication between the authority and the community board as well as more C.B.1 representation on the B.P.C.A’s board.
— DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC
READ WHO SAYS THE BPCA SENT NORTH COVE THE “WORST HOLIDAY PRESENT YOU CAN GET”
