Seaport deal?
Councilmember Margaret Chin told UnderCover Tuesday that a deal appears to be close to approve Howard Hughes Corp.’s plan to redevelop the South Street Seaport’s Pier 17.
She did not rule out a full Council vote as soon as Wed., March 20.
“We’re trying to make sure everything is put together,” she said March 19, but said she had not agreed to anything as of yet.
She did not disclose the deal’s terms and did say it was not finalized. She also said the New Market and Tin sites were not part of the negotiations since it was separate from the land use application.
Previously, Chin has asked Hughes to allow Pier 17 tenants to stay through the busy summer season before it is demolished. She has also asked for an increase in public access and other design adjustments, along the lines of other opponents.
If the deal is approved, it will likely be opposed by at least some in the Seaport who saw little in the Hughes plan they liked.
After we spoke to Chin, Community Board 1’s Paul Hovitz said at the board’s Seaport Committee meeting that Chin and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn would be at a City Hall press conference Wed., 10 a.m. to announce a new food market to open at the Tin and New Market buildings.
The Hughes firm has an option to develop those two sites also, and the market might be part of the deal to win Council approval.
For her part, Quinn has long had her eye on opening a permanent food market at the Seaport.
Funny Run for Charity
“Daily Show” host Jon Stewart will be serving something besides his usual satire next month. As honorary chairman of the first 9/11 Memorial Run/Walk and Family Day, Stewart will lend his support to the September 11 Memorial & Museum.
On Sun., April 21, (the four-year anniversary of the date that President Obama signed a law designating Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance) participants will run/walk a historic route that begins at on Pier 57 in Hudson River Park to raise funds for the Memorial.
“As a resident of Lower Manhattan, I remember how we all came together after the 2001 attacks to recover, rebuild and remember,” Stewart, a memorial board member and Tribeca resident, said in a statement. “Let’s come together again… Get out there and run, walk, serve.”
Family Day is free, and will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Vesey St. between Church and Broadway.
