BY SEAN EGAN | In a development sure to please the determined coalition of preservation-minded Chelsea residents who have consistently attended recent Community Board 4 (CB4) committee meetings, the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) has abandoned its plan to erect a beer garden on Hudson River Park’s Pier 62. Last week’s announcement comes with the cooperation of Merchants Hospitality, the company scheduled to manage the beer garden, which has withdrawn its application for a full liquor license.
This information was passed along to CB4 via a letter drafted by Madelyn Wils, the President and CEO of HRPT. It was addressed to CB4 Chair Christine Berthet and the co-chairs of CB4’s Waterfront, Parks & Environment (WPE) committee, and cc’d to Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, Councilmember Corey Johnson, and State Senator Brad Hoylman — all of whom have come out against the beer garden in recent months.
Prior to the Wed., Nov. 25 decision by HRPT, Merchants had been scheduled to present their case for acquiring a full liquor license at CB4’s Dec. 2 full board meeting — despite the fact that both the WPE and Business Licenses & Permits (BLP) committees had drafted letters expressing their firm disapproval of the whole endeavor at their respective meetings last month. The item pertaining to Merchants’ liquor license has subsequently been removed from the full board meeting’s agenda.
“We went through the public process. We had a lot of opposition from the community, as well as some support,” said Christine Berthet in a phone interview with Chelsea Now, noting that residents wanted to keep the area of the park as a refuge — “which was in conflict with the understanding of Hudson River Park Trust, that really the park users wanted more animation and more activation. So I think there was a disconnect there,” she said.
“Based on the feedback concerning the noise, concerning pedestrian traffic, concerning deliveries, concerning bathroom access, garbage access and other things, the residents had expressed that they didn’t feel this was in the interest of the community,” Berthet continued. “[HRPT] felt that it was best for, and more in line with, their commitment and mission that they would not force that issue, especially since it was not motivated by revenue. It was really motivated by programming.”
In HRPT’s letter, Wils outlined the general progression of events regarding the beer garden’s development, beginning with the informal support it received from CB4 in 2013 that prompted them to seek a Request for Proposals. She proceeded to note “over the last several months, CB4 has made it clear that it no longer supports the project,” despite concessions made by Merchants that were made as a “direct response to community feedback.”
However, Wils reiterated a stance that HRPT has taken throughout the last few weeks. “It was certainly never our intention to cause so much tension and controversy with what was intended as an amenity concession. All along, we believed a family friendly beer garden would be a desirable use in an underutilized section of the park,” the letter reads, citing significant community support. “We still very much believe that. However, some projects are not worth pursuing.”
The concluding paragraph begins, “With this issue behind us, we look forward to continuing our long and productive relationship together.”
It’s worth noting that the letter remains ambiguous as to whether or not HRPT will be seeking to replace the proposed beer garden with some other concession on Pier 62 — though Berthet reports that there hasn’t been any talk of the Trust doing anything else with the space yet.
“The community board and HRPT have talked about getting together early next year, and having a little bit of a community consultation about what would be best for that space, if anything,” said Berthet. “CB4 represents the community, so we need to have the community feedback to represent something.”
When reached for further comment, Wils’ press contact declined to comment beyond the provided letter — highlighting a sticking point many have had with the Trust throughout the beer garden process.
“Transparency has been a real issue with the HRPT,” commented Leslie Doyel, Co-President of Save Chelsea, a community advocacy group.
Shortly before HRPT sent their letter, Save Chelsea, in conjunction with Chelsea Waterside Park Association and the Council of Chelsea Block Associations, drafted an online petition, which launched on Mon., Nov. 23. In it, the three groups, which have been active in the effort to stop progress on the beer garden and were well represented at community meetings concerning it, outlined their grievances against the proposed use of the park space, touching on many of the most common arguments against the beer garden — including its proximity to a children’s carousel and a skate park, the loss of a tranquil green area, and the privatization of public park space.
Though it is unclear if there was any direct correlation between the petition and HRPT’s reversal, as of press time, the petition had managed to garner 143 signatures — with many of the signees leaving strongly worded oppositional comments.
“Personally I feel really proud of the community for coming together like this,” Doyel said. “People need a place to go and stand by the river, and contemplate, or think, or be with their kids, or dogs. And so I think we all agree that this should be left. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — it’s very wonderful just as it is.
Still though, Save Chelsea is prepared to keep fighting, if necessary.
“While on the one hand we’re very happy that the Trust heard the community on this issue, we feel that we’ll have to remain vigilant,” Doyel noted. “I think we’ll just keep our ears to the ground.”
