Michael Fortenbaugh at a North Cove rally Dec. 15.
BY JOSH ROGERS AND DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | Downtown leaders are calling on the Battery Park City Authority to take a new look at finding an operator for its marina while also paying more attention to the community’s needs.
The authority last month appeared to be on the verge of giving the boot to North Cove Marina Management and its leader, Michael Fortenbaugh.
A longtime neighborhood resident, Fortenbaugh has been a fixture at the marina for 20 years, the last 10 of which he managed North Cove in addition to running a sailing school there.
His lease is set to expire Jan. 1, and the authority has agreed to allow him to stay another 90 days (after first offering 60), but they pointedly asked for the marina keys back in December.
Community Board 1 passed a resolution Dec. 18 asking the authority to start a new, transparent request for proposal process, or R.F.P., increasing the emphasis on community-based programming. The current R.F.P. weighs this programming by 15 percent.
The authority expects to vote sometime in January.
This week, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Sen. Daniel Squadron, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Borough President Gale Brewer and Councilmember Margaret Chin wrote the state authority asking the B.P.CA. to heed the community board’s advice.
“When a [community] board speaks with a unanimous voice, we believe that its position must be given serious consideration,” the politicians wrote.
Although the local elected leaders have previously praised Fortenbaugh’s past work, the letter marked a shift because the officials contacted the authority directly — something some had been wary of doing previously out of concerns about exercising undue influence.
Fortenbaugh and supporters showed up in full force at Community Board 1’s monthly meeting on Dec. 18.
“Brookfield is one of the companies who’s trying to take over the marina; we’re just asking for an open process,” Fortenbaugh said of the corporation that owns the World Financial Center office complex overlooking the marina.
Teens and pre-teens that had participated in the sailing school said that they have learned leadership skills, wanted to see this opportunity available for other kids, and asked that the Battery Park City Authority postpone their decision until the community is heard.
They also had a petition of over 250 signatures — in addition to the over thousand that has been signed as part of the Committee to Save North Cove.
“This process needs to be opened up and have community involvement and understand what the various bids are for the site,” said Andrew Zangle, a member of Fortenbaugh’s sailing club. “They can’t make this place a corporate place, it needs to be community sailing like it is.”
Another member, Steve Rawlings, emphasized that community-based sailing is part of the proposals that the B.P.C.A. is considering.
“But what Michael has built here is community-based sailing. You can’t buy it. Is a corporation going to go get it?” he said. “Please pass the resolution in support of Michael and then do more. Don’t let the Battery Park Authority give the cove to a big corporation.”
“This whole experience of Michael is very hard for me to swallow,” said Bob Townley, a C.B. 1 member. “The Battery Park City Authority does what they want … They’re making another mistake here.”
Townley called on elected officials to “put this one of the carpet” and “tell Dennis Mehiel [the authority’s chairperson] that they’re not going to stand for this or there’s going to be some repercussions.”
C.B. 1 unanimously passed a resolution that strongly urges elected officials to reach out to the B.C.P.A. and that the authority modify the R.F.P. so that there is “greater weight given to the ‘community-based’ programming criteria.”
The authority has said little on the matter in recent weeks and declined to comment Dec. 30.
Fortenbaugh has asked the authority to stay through the 2015 season, but officials have told him they will not consider any of his proposals.
“It’s too late in the process for any of these bidders to set up all of these programs we run and it’s too late for us to find a new location,” Fortenbaugh told Downtown Express Tuesday.
He said even though tensions have been heightened in recent weeks, he thinks the authority and he could still work together if they were to decide to let him stay.
“If they’re mad we had a rally [Dec. 15], I’m sorry,” he said, “but if government has a problem with people getting involved, than government has the problem.”
