Governor George Pataki announced last week he would match the city’s $15 million investment in the Hudson River Park in order to build the riverside park’s Chelsea section.
Pataki said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey would kick in $10 million to go with the previously announced $5 million from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund and $15 million from the city.
The park’s Chelsea section includes Piers 62, leased by Chelsea Piers for its roller rink, and Pier 63, home to Basketball City. Pier 63 would be converted into park space as part of the plan developed by the Hudson River Park Trust, a state-city agency.
The state and city long ago set aside $100 million a piece to design the park and build the first section in Greenwich Village. An estimated $200 million more is needed to build the rest of the park, which stretches from the Battery up to W. 57 St.
“This new, additional funding will build on our commitment to fulfill the vision of Hudson River Park and ensure a lasting legacy for our children and generations to come,” Pataki said in a prepared statement Feb. 9.
The governor said in the fall that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation would invest the money needed to build the Tribeca section of the park, estimated at $70 million. The L.M.D.C., also a state-city agency, has about $820 million left in post-9/11 funds.
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