Lower Manhattan’s only ice rink will open the day after Thanksgiving at Pier 17 in South St. Seaport.
The 8,000-square-foot rink with room for up to 325 skaters will be open to the public seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 28 through Feb. 28. The entrance fee will be $5, with rental skates available for another $7.
General Growth Properties, the owner of the Seaport, announced the plans to Community Board 1’s Youth and Education Committee Tuesday night.
“Everyone is enthusiastic about the ice rink,” said Liat Silberman, a P.S. 234 parent, after the meeting. “Everyone’s really excited.”
Next to the rink, General Growth is building a 3,500-square-foot pavilion lobby with skate rentals, lockers and a snack shop. Private and group skating lessons will be available, and live music will fill the rink throughout the holiday season.
This rink looks significantly bigger than the one the Rouse Company, former owners of the Seaport, built on Pier 17 about a decade ago. General Growth wants to make the ice rink an annual feature, though it would have to move onto the mainland in 2010 if General Growth moves forward with its proposed redevelopment of Pier 17.
Silberman said General Growth’s decision to build the rink came out of discussions with community residents. General Growth is inviting local groups to plan free skating events on the rink, according to a press release.
The rink will be managed by Upsilon Ventures, L.L.C., the same people who run the Bryant Park rink. The Downtown Alliance is co-sponsoring the program.
— Julie Shapiro
