Volume 22, Number 23 | The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan | October 16 – 22, 2009
The Candidates On:
Pier 40
We asked both candidates about Pier 40, the deteriorating Hudson River Park pier, which is needed to fund about 40 percent of the park’s revenue. Bill Thompson was not familiar with the details but Mayor Bloomberg cited his personal connections.
It’s “across from my building which I think, in the interest of full disclosure, I think my girlfriend is the chairman of the [Hudson River Park Trust],” Bloomberg said referring to Diana Taylor. “I can tell you it’s not been the subject of pillow talk.”
Bloomberg L.P. has office space in the St. John’s Building across from the Houston St. pier.
He said the short term 30-year lease requirement (Bloomberg mistakenly said 20 years) makes it hard to find a developer willing to invest in the repairs of at least $30 million.
“Nobody wants something else in the neighborhood that brings more traffic,” he said, “and everybody wants [park] development …. Hudson River Park is a great addition to the whole West Side.”
Sanitation garage
Mayor Bloomberg defended the city plan to build a three-district sanitation garage in Hudson Square, suggesting opponents were guilty of NIMBYism, although he said he understood that community leaders support a two-district garage.
“The basic concept is it’s got to go someplace,” he said. “Not in my backyard is something that everybody feels, me included.”
He pointed out that there will be a sanitation marine transfer station near him at E. 91st St., which is a few blocks from Gracie Mansion but about a mile and a half from his home.
Thompson said he “absolutely” would take a close look at revising the project. He did not commit to supporting the two-district Hudson Rise community alternative, but he is expected to appear at an event with its supporters on Oct. 15.
