BY JOSH ROGERS | It’s not often a local community asks the city to spend less money on a project and tells officials not to worry about how long it takes to finish, but that’s exactly the message Seaport leaders are telling the city regarding the long-awaited construction of Peck Slip Plaza.
It still may turn out to be a request denied.
Community Board 1’s Seaport Committee voted Tuesday night to ask the Parks Dept. to approve a “simplified” design.
Last month, the committee’s views were clearly shifting to scaling back the plan, and this week, after a presentation by Jason Friedman, an architect and committee member, all but one member voted for his draft resolution.
Seven years ago, the board voted for the current design after working with the Parks Dept. to maximize the number of trees in the plaza — over the objections of local preservationists and the State Historic Preservation Office, which argued that large green space was not appropriate for the South Street Seaport Historic district.
“In fact the space [now] is excellent,” Paul Hovitz a board member, said of the half-acre space. “If it took them another seven years? Go ahead take the time, because everyone loves it the way it is.”
Catherine McVay Hughes, the board’s chairperson, agreed, “A lot has happened since 2007, so let’s just try and get it right this time,” she said at the Oct. 21 meeting.
The consensus is that with more children and schools nearby, more green areas in Lower Manhattan, and the growing need for open space, it makes sense to not clutter the area up.
Friedman said he hopes the space is open with cobblestones, which could allow for many uses. His slides showed different possibilities including public art and a green market.
He also showed an 1850 drawing after Peck Slip was paved over.
The one dissenter on the new approach was Joe Lerner. “To me a park means grass… just open space is not good enough.”
“I live around the corner and I miss green space — I miss it, Joe, but I also see that there s a real need in Peck Slip for this flexible community space,” said Marco Pasanella, the committee’s co-chairperson.
Assuming, Friedman’s resolution passes the full board next week, it’s far from clear the city will take the invitation to spend less than the $4 million price tag.
Parks spokespersons have not answered questions on Peck Slip over the last month.
