Stantec landscape architect Mike Russel explains the three design concepts for South End Ave. to Battery Park City residents at the July 25 open house.
BY ALEX ELLEFSON
The Battery Park City Authority hosted the first of two open houses Monday night to solicit feedback for a possible overhaul of South End Ave. that could replace the neighborhood’s covered arcades with retail space.
Locals stopped by to peruse three design concepts drawn up by Stantec, a consulting group, based on a survey of residents, workers, business owners and tourists. The designs included traffic-calming measures to make the area more pedestrian friendly, and possible changes to the recessed pedestrian arcades aimed at increasing storefront visibility.
Among responses from the 568 residents surveyed, only one-third reported being satisfied with the retail options in the neighborhood, while just 21 percent found the storefronts attractive. But 58 percent of respondents said they feel covered arcades have a positive impact by providing shelter from wind and rain.
One of the top complaints by residents was a perceived lack of quality and affordable grocery options, and the survey also found a desire for different types of restaurants as well as a need for a hardware store.
Meanwhile, business owners wanted better visibility and more clarity about signage regulations.
The survey, which was commissioned after an earlier traffic safety study by the city’s Department of Transportation, also found that most residents said South End Ave. was tough for pedestrians, while 57 percent complained of a lack of public spaces to sit and relax.
Gwen Dawson, the BPCA’s vice president for real property, said at last week’s BPC town hall that the survey followed up on the DOT study in order to take a “holistic look at the corridor” by addressing quality-of-life issues as well as traffic safety.
But some residents at the town hall scorned the survey’s small sample size and criticized the BPCA for unveiling the project during the summer, when many neighbors are out of town.
“Why are we rushing into something in the summer when a lot of people aren’t around to look at them?” asked resident Denise Cordivano, who is also the director of the Battery Park City Day Nursery at 215 South End Ave..
Dawson said there will be additional opportunities for public engagement before any decision is made regarding changes to South End Ave.. The authority plans to use feedback provided at the two summer open houses to come up with two concepts by the fall. The board will vote on those choices after receiving additional input from the community, government agencies and other stakeholders, she said.
The July 25 open house was sparsely attended — though that could be due to the thundershowers that doused the city Monday evening. Those who made it were able to speak with Stantec representatives about the designs and place Post-it notes with their feedback on the three presentations.
Measures meant to improve traffic safety included narrowing South End Ave. to allow for sidewalk extensions and creating dedicated areas for commercial vehicles to make the roadway less chaotic. The biggest gap between the three designs were concepts related to slowing traffic. One design called for bulb-outs, which narrow the roadway at crossings to improve the visibility of pedestrians. Another suggested planted medians near Rector Place and Liberty Street. A third option raised a portion of the road and a crosswalk to create something similar to a speed hump.
The designs offered three different approaches to making arcaded storefronts more attractive and visible. Of those, only one called for filling in the arcades with retail space. The other designs asked for arched ceilings and enlarged openings or the addition of awnings, as well as allowing exterior signage.
The Battery Park City Authority is mulling an overhaul of South End Ave. that may involve eliminating pedestrian arcades like this one at the southeast corner of South End Ave. and West Thames St.
But the option of filling in the covered arcades with sidewalk-adjacent storefronts was a nonstarter for some residents.
“It’s not worth it if we lose the arcades,” said Julie Brown, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years. “Sometimes I cross the street just to walk under the arcades. They are great for Battery Park City. They provide shade and protection from the wind and rain.”
Others saw the project as a ploy by the authority to take over public space for commercial use — similar to the recently passed zoning text amendment allowing retail infill in the pedestrian arcades along Water St. in the Financial District.
“Clearly, this is about retail space and all that fun stuff. Let’s call it what it is,” said Don Lee, a Battery Park City resident who is also a candidate for State Assembly.
But BPCA spokesman Nicholas Sbordone said changes to the arcades are necessary to entice the sort of businesses residents want.
“We can’t compel certain businesses to come here,” he explained. “The best we can do is foster the conditions that would lead to businesses wanting to come in.”
Resident Frances Misciagna worried changes to make the arcaded storefronts more attractive might raise the rents and drive out some of the local businesses that give the neighborhood its character.
“We might get a lot of high-end businesses and lose some of our mom-and-pop shops,” she said.
The next open house will be held on Monday, Aug. 1, from 5–8 p.m. at 6 River Terrace.
