By Lincoln Anderson
On Tuesday evening, Councilmember Alan Gerson said he still did not have a final answer on whether the cost of moving the Washington Square fountain 20 feet to the east would be excessive or justified. He said he would have an answer on Wednesday.
Gerson said his office met with two architects from the A.I.A. center on LaGuardia Pl. who are “totally uninvolved” with the park renovation project to get their assessments. Gerson said the two experts have questions for the Parks Department concerning the fountain’s so-called ring foundation.
“That’s the crux of the disagreement,” Gerson said, referring to the ring foundation under the fountain, “and whether the Parks Department is right in saying that the plumbing work that everyone agrees needs to be done” would actually cost more if the fountain is left in place. If the substructure is in good enough shape and the new plumbing could be installed without too much cost, then, Gerson said — reiterating his warning of last week — he would be compelled to take “further action” against the renovation project.
