As the city and state battle over the income generated from Battery Park City, some have tried to have the South Cove water area filled in and developed into more unsightly crackerbox condo units for pure tax generation benefits. One argument in favor of doing this has been that South Cove collects trash from the Hudson.
On March 6, these two photos were taken. South Cove was actually debris-free, while the North Cove marina was full of driftwood and trash.
Construction on Route 9A, also known as The West Side Highway, and closure of the pedestrian bridge south of Albany Street have created a very dangerous situation. The ground-level crossing of The West Side Highway at Albany Street can be a death trap.
In February of 2009, Battery Park City resident Marilyn Feng was killed and her boyfriend seriously injured when a drunk driver struck the couple. Ms. Feng was an intern in Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer’s office. In late September of 2009, another pedestrian was struck by a motorist, but he survived.
Funding for the permanent pedestrian overpass has been cancelled. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer discusses the problem.
James Gill, Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, gives a tour of the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City. The memorial was built in 2002 and features a reconstructed ancient stone house brought over from Ireland, along with authentic flowers and grasses on a manmade hillside. Along the path are stones representing different regions in Ireland, such as Dublin and Meath. At the top, one can view the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: the first places seen in America by many Irish immigrants.
New York City Council takes advice from Community Boards on matters such as liquor licenses and construction permits. Community Board 1 oversees lower Manhattan and is divided into subcommittees by region, such as Battery Park, Tribeca, Financial District, etc. Tribeca committee Chairman Peter Braus explains how the system works.
BatteyrPark.TV is very pleased to feature The Craobh Naithí Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which is an organization based in Dublin, Ireland that teaches and promotes traditional Irish music. The group is on a New York tour and stopped by the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City.
For more information, contact the CCE North American Public relations Officer, Paul Keating, at 201-965-6598
The dangers of the Albany St/West Side Highway crossing have been well documented. Not so well appreciated are the dangers at the other end where Albany meets South End Avenue. Drivers making turns onto Albany are too occupied by looking down South End for other cars that they neglect to yield for pedestrians crossing Albany who have the white walk sign. The problem is particularly bad in the early evening.
BatteryPark.TV spent a mere five minutes filming the problem on a crude cell phone camera. Within that time, numerous cars violated the law and could have run over a pedestrian who was not paying attention.
If the NYPD posted patrol personnel, it could possibly earn more than $100,000 in revenue per year. Rather than ticket parked cars and do nothing to improve safety, perhaps the NYPD should try targeting more dangerous areas where moving violations are concentrated. Just a friendly suggestion: earn revenue and please the community.
When it rains it pours. In addition to the horrendous bad publicity that Goldman Sachs has endured on the national scene leading to an apology by the CEO, their new several-billion-dollar skyscraper headquarters being completed in Battery Park City is angering the community.
The Community Board 1 meeting tonight was heavily attended and the two main topics were related to Goldman Sachs problems. First, the early-morning New York Waterway ferries added to help with the new Goldman employees coming from New Jersey are rattling the windows of the Gateway Plaza residents. Executives from the ferry company explained the situation for an hour (see video).
Secondly, the new Goldman building yet again created a major safety hazard from falling debris. This time, a cracked window fell several hundred feet causing a rerouting of the West Side highway. Previously, a heavy steel plate speared the grass of the ball fields as it fell from the construction tower and a falling object broke the glass of the awning adjacent to the movie theater entrance. A hammer also fell this year.
In the second part of our interview with Ed Koch, he discussed the growing homeless problem in Battery Park and how it is similar to New York City in the late 70’s when he was Mayor and the City was near bankruptcy. He also discusses the upcoming NY Governor’s election.
Wasting no time, the DOT began construction on the new “Tire Swing Park” preventing any further delays from opposition groups. The current estimated budget is approximately $9 Million for the project. Despite opposition from residents, the project is proceeding with “Plan A” which cuts down all of the trees and has the maximal loss of grass field space to make way for the “Pataki Promenade” granite walkway parallel to the West Side Highway Route 9A.
The project is scheduled to be completed by Memorial Day, 2010. Near-term upside to the plan is that it will greatly expand the space allotted to the community gardens and level the grass playing field. The major downside to the plan, and reason for opposition from parents, is the loss of the large pear trees that provide great shade, and the down time from construction, of course.
Matt Fenton has an interesting article in the Broadsheet about how State and City employees are parking their cars in no-parking zones on West Thames. The cars post government affiliations on their dashboard to avoid getting ticketed. Some use handicap passes.
The controversy is whether these car operators are really on government jobs and really handicapped or are just abusing the system while regular Joe’s like us get expensive tickets on the other side of the street.
As an update, we did notice this handicapped car was ticketed.
For the first time this decade, multiple homeless individuals are making the parks in Battery Park City their preferred location during the day. In particular, Wagner Park in front of the Jewish Heritage Museum is a popular spot.
James VarnHagen of the New York City Rescue Mission explains the reasons for this growing homeless problem. A key homeless shelter near BPC, the John Hughes shelter, did not receive a city grant and had to shut down causing many of the people that used to rely on it to spill into the park system. In addition, the budgetary problems of the city and increased unemployment have caused a 20% increase in homeless as the city shelters become overburdened.
To learn more and how to help, you may view the video now.
Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York City and former U.S. Congressman, now partner at law firm Bryan Cave LLP, was important in the creation of Battery Park City. BPC sits on manmade land created from the bedrock excavated during the World Trade Center construction. BPC was not converted into inhabitable city land with infrastructure until the late 1970’s.
Recently, given the City’s financial woes, there is talk of ending the Battery Park City Authority, which shares revenues between the State and City, and having the City acquire all of BPC. We interviewed Mr. Koch about the history of BPC and the recent issues.
- Battery Park City Authority | admin | 
March 8, 2010 2:41 pm | 
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