The grass field used as intended

April 28, 2012

In the first two years of the new West Thames Park grass field, the BPCA did not take ownership of it and the field was ruined by adults in cleated shoes playing organized soccer. This year, so far, it seems that field is receiving the proper use as it was intended.

Asphalt Green pool filled as a PR maneuver to deflect the fact that the center will not be ready this season

April 26, 2012 By Steven Greer, MD

A local printed flier featured today yet another pro-BPCA fluff piece highlighting the positives of the Asphalt Green athletic center. We previously reported how the BPCA Gayle Horwitz blamed the city for the long delays, then reported on the real reasons for the delays.

In the article today, the BPCA reached out to the sympathetic venue of the flier that relies on the BPCA for stories and advertising revenue, to place a story about an alternate site for swimming classes far Uptown on 91st street. Instead of expressing the true outrage of the community that our own swimming pool will not be ready this season, the article simply mentioned, “Anne Fenton, special assistant to Authority President Gayle Horwitz, said she realizes that the timetable is of special concern to parents…. “Construction is progressing toward completion,” said Matthew Monahan, the Battery Park City Authority’s senior vice president of public affairs. “Last week, the contractors filled the pool with 186,000 gallons of water, as well as installing a heat and natural gas meter. The boiler is running, which is working to dehumidify the plywood sub-floor in the gymnasium. In the next week and a half, the floor is expected to dry-out enough so that contractors can lay down the hardwood floor and it will stay down without buckling.”

Rather than representing true progress in construction, the filling of the pool is likely a PR ploy to give the appearance to passerby’s, who can look through the sidewalk windows and see the pool, that “It’s almost ready.” In fact, Ms. Horwitz informed the community (see video below) at the town hall meeting that the pool would soon be filled, and proceeded to follow that announcement with “(However) I cannot give any updates as to when (asphalt green will be completed).”

The Asphalt Green complex, and the far more expensive and even longer delayed Pier A in the South, are both being hampered by the mass firing of the 19 BPCA employees, many of whom were the only dedicated construction staff capable of navigating the city bureaucracy. Chairman Bill Thompson is in charge of the BPCA and is also running for Mayor in 2013.

A letter to Speaker Silver and Senator Squadron about jackhammer noise on West Thames and Battery Place

April 18, 2012

Speaker Silver, Senator Squadron

I am writing to on behalf of thousands of people in Battery Park City because the BPCA, Mayor’s office, and city DOT are completely unresponsive. We have a major noise problem down here involving loud jackhammers (see video of similar incident in 2009 at same location) that have somehow been granted working permits by the city DOT to operate throughout the early morning hours. In addition, they have road paving crews which also make “beep beep” loud noises whenever they back up. I understand that similar work is taking place in the Financial District.

In the case of this work taking place on West Thames and Battery Place, this is completely optional, non-emergent, work that does not need to take place overnight. The DOT seems to be operating without any accountability and exhibiting hubris.

We plan to start gathering local residents who cannot sleep due to this construction and protest on the scene. BatteryPark.TV will film this. If you would like to join us, please do so. Again, we appeal to you at the State level because our city is thumbing their collective noses at us.

Kind Regards

Steven Greer, MD

(Speaker Silver’s office replied informing us that he has already requested the DOT to cease approving work permits for hours after 6:00 PM. His letter can be viewed here.)

Update: 10:22 PM, April 18

The construction crews were not present for the first time in weeks. The work is not completed, so that is not the explanation. It is likely that the DOT got the message.

State Senator Daniel Squadron discusses his plan to change the structure of the BPCA

Speaker Sheldon Silver and Inspector Winski discuss Night Out

(viewable in 1080iHD)

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and First Precinct Commanding Officer Inspector Winski discuss Night Out: The annual community outreach event of the NYPD. This year, Battery Park resident Anthony Notaro received a community achievement award. Speaker Silver also discussed the soon to open September 11th Memorial and Freedom Tower nearby.

Restaurant food trash still a problem attracting rats

April 16, 2012

A surgeon and his wife who live in 2 River Terraces asked BatteryPark.TV to assist them with a trash problem. The neighboring French bakery, Le Pain Quotidien, leaves food trash on the sidewalk, sometimes open loaves of bread, for the rats to eat. The growing rodent problem has been a top priority for the BPCA, and CEO Gayle Horwitz has explained, “We hired the world’s leading authority on rats” to study the problem.

The BPCA has established trash compacting sites whereby the local apartment buildings can take their trash and avoid this sidewalk problem reminiscent of Naples, Italy.  However, the BPCA explained to us today that private restaurants and stores are not part of this trash compacting program. The general manager of  Le Pain Quotidien had no idea that trash compactors even existed.

Open loaves of bread in the trash of Le Pain Quotidien by 2 River Terrace

The lunatics are on the grass

April 14, 2012  By Steven Greer

Saturday was a stunningly beautiful, blue sky, 70 degree day in Battery Park, but the West Thames Park grass field was still not opened despite having been ready for months. All of the grass fields in BPC are still closed.

Tess Huxley, the head of the Parks Conservancy, explained at the recent BPCA town hall that all of the fields needed time to establish roots. In fact, any golf course greens keeper or sports field professional caretaker would have been able to open the fields long ago, even after seeding in the Fall.

The mistake that Tess Huxley’s crew makes is that they fail to properly close the fields during rain, or to properly rest the fields when obvious wear and tear begins to burn out the grass. They have an “all or nothing” mentality: either shut down all grass fields or keep them all open no matter how conditions change.

As a result of this incompetence by the BPC Parks, residents are deprived of one the main attractions that draws people to the area to pay such high property taxes. The parks in BPC are only opened half of the year under the current management. This leads some to call for replacing the grass with unhealthy hideous artificial turf.

Some have speculated whether the real agenda of the BPCA, which never wanted to assume control the West Thames grass field, is to create a false problem of short annual usage time of the grass field, which then makes converting it to an artificial turf field a viable option. However, the residents overwhelmingly prefer the idea of having the grass field with no organized soccer allowed, and the large artificial turf fields at Asphalt Green are ample for organized sports.

In the classic album Dark Side of the Moon, Roger Waters wrote the lyric “The lunatics are on the grass” referring to overly strict caretakers of a London lawn who fanatically kept people off of the grass. In our case, we have Tess Huxley and her boss, Gayle Horwitz, as our lunatics running the grass lawns.

(Click images to expand)

Children unable to play on West Thames lawn, on April 14 2012

Error in the Broadsheet: There are not two residents in BPC who serve on the BPCA board

April 12 2012  By Steven Greer

The April 11th BroadsheetDaily had a crucial error in the article about Senator Squadron’s appearance at the CB1 meeting to discuss restructuring the BPCA. The Broadsheet wrote, “Under the scheme that has governed the community for more than a decade, appointees to the board of the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. The seven-member board currently includes two residents of Battery Park City.”

As previously reported by BatteryPark.TV, BPCA board member Robert Muller has sold his apartment at 200 Rector Place and no longer lives in BPC. Moreover, prior to that, he lived in his Park Avenue apartment near 56th Street, and was only a token resident of BPC as property owner only.

BatteryPark.TV informed the Broadsheet publisher of this error. Our letter was not published.

The Broadsheet article also emphasized that restructuring the BPCA would be “likely to fail” in a vote. BP.TV ran into Senator Squadron after the CB1 meeting and asked him whether his proposal had any political viability. He said that the appearance of Mayor Bloomberg’s staff member (see video below) was a very positive sign, indicating that the city would be in favor of his plans.

The real reasons Asphalt Green is delayed by six months and counting

April 10, 2012  By Steven Greer

At the recent Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) town hall meeting, CEO Gayle Horwitz blamed the city for the long delays in opening of the Asphalt Green community center. She said that building inspectors were not looking at the proper boilers, etc. (see full video of her talk, below). However, sources close to the BPCA told BatteryPark.TV that the loss of the dedicated construction and architect crew of the BPCA, caused by the mass firing of 19 staff by Chairman Bill Thompson and CEO Horwitz, are the real causes for the construction delays.

Kevin Finnegan was the acting head of construction projects for the BPCA before he was fired last November. Kevin Chin was also on the construction team, along with two architects, Stephanie Gelb and Peter McCourt. All four were part of the 19 fired on the same day, without warning, last November.

A source close to the BPCA, who has been following the construction of the Asphalt Green complex, said, “The boiler and fire inspection folks are always a nightmare to deal with. Everyone in the city has the same issue, and they had the same problem at Site 3. But you can work through the bureaucracy and get it done. You mean to tell me that they had to use temporary heat all winter because they couldn’t get a boiler inspection? That is simply not credible. The real problem is that the building was still open… I went by a few months ago and the building wasn’t even closed up on the ball field side. I drove by again this week and it was still partially open. That indicates slow construction on BPCA’s part… To blame it on the city’s permitting process is ludicrous.

            I noticed she also brought up Con Ed as a potential obstacle going forward. Again, they can be frustrating but you just have to work it. But you also need experienced managers who can pick up the phone and make the right calls. She fired them…

            There are many reasons why the building was going slowly, but they come down to a failure to make timely decisions with regard to coordination issues with the developer of the base building. This is something I heard time and again from (BPCA staff). I would not doubt if there are also delays due to fire code issues. The plans for the community center were filed on the last day that the old city code was in effect, but were not stamped in by the fire department until a few days later. So you have a situation where it is unclear whether the new code or the old one is controlling. This is an issue that needed to be resolved last year so that the fire department and building department do not come in at the last minute and say the community center is out of compliance. If you start hearing about the “failure” of the fire department and building department to sign off on a temporary certificate of occupancy, you can bet it is over some code issues…

            Pier A is also going slow as molasses and with significant cost overruns, and again BPCA has not P.E.s or architects on staff to provide proper direction. It would be like you opening up a medical clinic and staffing it with nothing but nurses and physician assistants. They can handle a lot of stuff, but when the big issues arise it is essential to have an M.D. on hand.”

BatteryPark.TV spoke with Kevin Finnegan, one of the BPCA construction experts fired last year. He said that the Asphalt Green construction is more complicated than if it were a standalone building since it is attached to a residential apartment building, and “You’re going to have a lot of confusion about the permits, when they have to be filed, which ones have to be filed, etc.”.

When asked whether the loss of the dedicated construction staff had contributed to city building permit construction delays and confusion, he explained that his job role often required him to act as an expeditor between the third party construction crew and the city. “The BPCA uses the LiRo Group as an outside consultant for construction projects and a separate “expeditor firm”. Frank Franco is the senior person at LiRo. Whether some of the continuity got lost when we were let go…on a project this complex, Frank would have called up, explained the problem, and I would have called the city and had the permit issue likely handled in a day. In fact, we did this with the ball fields. There actually was not an address that existed so no permits were able to submitted…If we had gone through the normal routes, it would have taken six or seven weeks…by me making a phone call to the Department of Buildings, we had it straightened out in a day. We had a permit the next morning. Very much so, that is what would have happened here at the (Asphalt Green community center had we been still employed at the BPCA).”

Mr. Finnegan could not comment on whether any actual physical construction problems arose since he left the project back in November and has not visited the site since then. When asked about construction delays at Pier A, Mr. Finnegan laughed and said, “On that one, (our in-house architects who were fired) could have helped out a lot.”

The Battery Park City Authority exists to oversee the construction of the area, yet the current leadership of the BPCA lack construction experience. CEO Horwitz has experience in the Macy’s retail store, then at the City Comptroller office under Bill Thompson. Chairman Bill Thompson is a lifelong politician and running for New York City Mayor in 2013 as he maintains his full-time job at the BPCA.

Why is Pier A delayed? Follow the money

January 5, 2012  By Steven Greer, MD

We had an interesting conversation with The New York Times reporter, Patrick McGeehan, who has covered Pier A and the Maritime Building for years. Unbeknownst to many, the BPCA is seeking a bizarre new source of additional funding for the stalled Pier A project.

A controversial federal plan allows foreigners with wealth to invest in developmental projects in exchange for green cards. According to the WSJ, “The so-called EB-5 visa is awarded to foreigners who invest $500,000 to $1 million in U.S. businesses; $500,000 is required if the investment is made in a high-unemployment or rural area. The investors must document that their investment created at least 10 jobs before they are granted green cards, which allow permanent residence in the U.S.”

The Maritime Building in the Battery Park and the Pier A, now under the BPCA jurisdiction, are both part of this new green-card-for-investing EB-5 visa program. Documents related to the proposed funding of the Roosevelt Island college campus also revealed other programs trying to capture funding, such as Pier A, according to testimony by Senator Schumer (courtesy of Mr. McGeehan of the NYT). The BPCA applied for the program in 2011. It is unknown whether any of these funding developments have led to the construction delays.

These latest financial developments are just part of a long convoluted and embarrassing history of this stalled project and eyesore to our community. In 2007, the BPCA assumed control after deputy Mayor Doctoroff brokered a deal to rid the city of the headache. A cap of $30 Million dollars was established for renovation, mostly funded by the city EDC.

It is unknown whether this $30 Million figure thrown about so often in reports is really in the bank accounts of the BPCA available for spending, whether it was delivered and squandered, or any of the details of how this amount was or was not spent. BPCA Chairman Bill Thompson and CEO Gayle Horwitz did not reply to our questions.

A source close to the BPCA told BatteryPark.TV, ” BPCA has gotten some of the money. What happened was that EDC authorized the $30 million, then reimburses BPCA on a periodic basis as the work is done. So BPCA has gotten some of the money, though I could not tell you how much. Nor do I know if EDC has officially raised the threshold to $36 million.”

Prior to the BPCA assuming control, decades of unsuccessful plans had come and gone. A Staten Island development firm called Wings Point had been in charge and failed miserably. Of note, the managing partner of Wings Point also created the BillyBey ferry company when it bought the New York Waterway routes.

Pier A

Pier A plans are “A slap in the face to Italian Americans”

Update: June 25, 2011 The oyster bar wins

It appears as if the BPCA is not backing down on it’s subversive plans to turn Pier A into a for-profit bar (see below). John Fratta, leading opponent to the bar plan and champion of the idea to make Pier A an Italian Heritage museum, was rebuffed by the BPCA. His group had requested via Freedom of Information Act the details of how it came to be that the Poulakakos family was awarded the plan to make the pier a restaurant and bar. He organized a small press conference event today at the pier in protest. Based on our sources within the CB1, there seems to be little resistance to the oyster bar plan.

March 29, 2011

John Fratta, CB1 Chairman of the Seaport/Civic Center Committee explain why the CB1 opposes the current BPCA plans to turn over the Pier A to a private restaurant group led by the Poulakakos family. He is leading a drive to convert the Pier A into an Italian American heritage museum to compliment nearby Jewish and Irish museums. Mr. Fratta calls the current plans, “A slap in the face to Italian Americans”.

Niether the BPCA nor the Poulakakos family accepted our offer to be interviewed.

(The video can be viewed in 1080i HD by clicking the YouTube settings)

The Irish Hunger Memorial Mr. Fratta mentioned

Is the Battery Park Broadsheet in alliance with the BPCA?

April 6, 2012  By Steven Greer, MD

Within the past week, two public meetings have been held that discuss the fate of The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA). The Town Hall meeting exposed many embarrassing problems for the BPCA, such as the delayed opening of the Asphalt Green complex, the fact that the PEP are not allowed to issue tickets to speeding electric scooters used on the sidewalks by deliverymen, and the calls for changes in leadership structure at the BPCA to have actual residents of Battery Park City sit on the board. A few days later at the monthly BPC section of the Community Board 1, State Senator Daniel Squadron appeared to discuss his proposals to overhaul the BPCA.

BatteryPark.TV extensively covered both events with video footage. However, The Battery Park Broadsheet did not post any reports despite having the founder and senior editor of the site, Robert Simko, present at each meeting with his camera. Instead, the Battery Park Broadsheet has featured articles on a variety of mundane local topics, such as sailing classes, a Pace University study on traffic flow, and the funding of a subway station on Fulton Street.

Is the Broadsheet, run by founder Robert Simko, incompetent, or has this omission of coverage of important stories critical to the senior leadership of the BPCA been an intentional act of journalistic bias? Is the Broadsheet simply an extension of the BPCA?

BatteryPark.TV asked The Broadsheet’s owner and senior editor, Robert Simko, why his “newspaper” has not covered the stories in question. He replied, “I am a small paper in a big downtown neighborhood with many stories to cover and can’t always give the resources necessary  to properly cover any one story…to be honest, we are not friends (believe me!) with the BPCA!”

BatteryPark.TV has learned that several stories related to the BPCA which were first reported in The Broadsheet were the result of the BPCA staff proactively reaching out to freelance reporters for the Broadsheet. In stark contrast, BatteryPark.TV cannot have a single email or call returned by anyone at the BPCA, likely as a result of our critical reporting.

The Broadsheet relies heavily on the cooperation and assistance of the BPCA for the content in the printed and electronic versions. Many of the daily activities in the park and other postings come from the Parks Conservancy of the BPCA. In addition, the BPCA has provided revenue for The Broadsheet on the form of advertisements.

BatteryPark.TV currently does not accept advertising and is supported by grants and philanthropy, despite receiving unsolicited requests on a routine basis from entities wishing to advertise. BP.TV forwards advertising inquiries to The Broadsheet. Moreover, BatteryPark.TV has never received any government handouts from entities like the Downtown Alliance, LMDC, or the BPCA. As a result, BP.TV has a unique freedom of bias to cover the corruption in local politics and bureaucracies like no other news source that has ever existed in Battery Park City.

The Broadsheet provides many useful services to the community. However, loyal readers of The Broadsheet should be aware of the bias of omission in coverage of the BPCA and demand better from Mr. Simko.

The reason that skateboard vandalism and speeding mopeds are a menace to BPC

March 31, 2012 By Steven Greer, MD

The BPCA held a town hall meeting on March 29th, and two of the biggest concerns from the community were the growing problems of skateboarders vandalizing the parks, and food deliverymen speeding on electric mopeds, jeopardizing the safety of pedestrians. The parks PEP have the authority to issue tickets to these offenders, as well as confiscate and impound the mopeds.

If just a few deliverymen lost their mopeds or received a ticket, word would get out and there would likely be a dramatic reduction in violations. Likewise, if just a few teenagers were summonsed to juvenile court for skateboard vandalism, their social networks would spread the word quickly that BPC is not a soft target.

However, the PEPs have been hamstrung by BPCA CEO Gayle Horwitz and are forbidden from issuing tickets. Why? We explain in this video segment.

Ferry boat pollution discussed at BPCA town hall meeting

BPCA’s Gayle Horwitz blames the city for long delays in her Asphalt Green center

http://youtu.be/bOlLdVLyj9Q

BatteryPark.TV gets results: PEPs address several problems

March 25, 2012

In collaboration with BatteryPark.TV, the park ranger PEPs have been effectively dealing with several problems plaguing the area. PEP Captain Falcon wrote:

Dear Sir,

We thank you for your email regarding noise/dog barking. We expect you may have seen our immediate response as of late. We have made contact with the owners of the Bloodhound you described and they have been cooperative. They assure us they will be mindful of their neighbors and will work with their dog. They even mentioned that they are contemplating professional training.

In reference to your additional concern regarding Livery cabs illegally parked. We have addressed this issue as they occur and will continue to address this in our jurisdiction adjacent to parks as it occurs. We have also referred your concern to our Liaison at NYPD Street Traffic Enforcement Unit in which we have seen their immediate response as well.

We are pleased to serve and assist in all community concerns.

All the best,

Captain Ed Falcon

The dog nuisance to which Captain Falcon refers is a large bloodhound owned by residents in the Financial District who bring their pet to the West Thames dog run every night in the evening and allow it to bark uncontrollably for 30-minutes.

Jeff Galloway, founder of the Battery Park City Dog Association and member of the Community Board, was alerted of these problems and refused to act. He replied, “The BPC dog runs have always been open 24 hours. I believe “ssshh” signs are posted telling people to be respectful of neighbors during late hours. Although there has been an occasional incident over the years, by and large there have been hardly any complaints from neighbors. My apartment overlooks the Kowsky Plaza Sirius Dog Run and it’s extremely rare that there is noise in the late night. The (policy of having no closing times on the dog parks) was set during the public comment process when each of the dog runs were being planned. Much of the other park area in BPC is also open 24 hours.”

The town car, or Livery cab, problem refers to our previous reporting seen here. State Assembly Speaker Silver is also assisting us.

BPCA adds the first board member who actually lives in BPC

March 19, 2012  By Steven Geer, MD

The New York legislature confirmed the first board member of the BPCA who actually lives in Battery Park City. Martha Gallo, an executive with JP Morgan, and local resident, was nominated by Governor Cuomo.

Martha Gallo, new BPCA board member

Assembly Speaker Silver posted this comment on his web site, “”I am thrilled to announce that…my recommendation of Martha Gallo to serve on that board has been confirmed. I want to thank Senator Daniel Squadron for his efforts on behalf of Martha’s nomination and for his strong commitment to the people of Battery Park City.”

Speaker Silver went on to endorse the current leadership of the BPCA who are not residents of BPC, “Martha will be a strong voice for Battery Park City residents and will be a fierce advocate for our community. With this addition, and under the extremely capable leadership of Board Chairman Bill Thompson and President Gayle Horwitz, Battery Park City residents have the talented and responsive representatives they deserve.”

A second BPCA board member, Robert Mueller, is widely credited as also being a resident of BPC. BatteryPark.TV has exclusively learned that this is not the case. In fact, Mr. Mueller is selling his BPC apartment and has purchased a new primary residence on Park Avenue and 56th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

As previously reported, State Senator Squadron is advocating for a change in leadership and structure of the BPCA to better represent to people it services and taxes. Currently, many consider the situation to be a “Taxation without representation.” On March 29th, the BPCA will host a “town hall”.

OWS demonstration fizzles on St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2012 6:00 PM

As previously reported, the OccupyWallStreet movement had planned to make the Irish Hunger Memorial the spot for their new headquarters of 2012, after having been pushed out of Zuccotti Park last year. The group had announced on websites that St. Patrick’s Day was the day for their demonstration and had applied for a permit to demonstrate from the Community Board, which was denied. After making a surprise demonstration earlier in the week, which resulted in a few dozen OWS members gathering by the North Cove Marine, the big demonstration for March 17th fizzled out.

The group started at Zuccotti Park, as planned, but then headed East, instead of coming West toward Battery Park. The large police presence likely uninfluenced their decisions.

This is a dynamic situation and could change at any moment. Stay tune to out Twittier feed @BatteryPark.TV

Police at the Irish Memorial anticipating a large OWS gathering

OccupyWallStreet proposes to encamp in Battery Park City

March 6, 2012

The monthly Community Board (CB) meeting for the BPC region was held tonight, and the main topic was the review of the application from “Occupy Wall Street” (OWS) to host their six-month anniversary march through Battery Park City that has been named “The American Spring”, similar to the “Arab Spring” that led to the violent overthrow of much of the Middle East and Northern Africa. Three people representing OWS gave a PowerPoint presentation (video to come).

The planned march would take place on St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17, beginning at Zuccotti Park and crossing West into BPC, stopping at the Irish Hunger memorial for at least several hours. There was no planned departure. Therefore, concerns were raised that the real agenda of OWS was to encamp in the region around the Irish Memorial near Goldman Sachs, World Financial Centers, and numerous residential high-rises.

Despite this imminent threat of chaos to the community, and of BPC becoming the next site of encampment for thousands of OWS, the leadership of the Battery Park City Authority was absent from the meeting. BPCA Chairman Bill Thompson and CEO Gayle Horwitz were not present for the meeting. BPCA employees Anne Fenton and Matthew Monahan were in attendance.

The OWS presentation began to drag on into a lengthy digression about hunger and social injustices when CB member Jeff Galloway interrupted and began to ask questions. Most members of the audience and the CB began by politely throwing their support for the causes represented by OWS, but then mentioning the bad experiences at negotiating with the Zuccotti Park OWS “representatives”. Jeff Galloway and Anthony Notaro mentioned that brokered deals were not honored last year, and then the excuses used were, “OWS has no leadership”.

Other concerns raised were the differences between the parks in BPC and the urban Zuccotti park. Wild birds nest in the Irish Memorial. Fish are in the nearby pond, and children play in the nearby parks. In addition, the Irish Memorial is surrounded by thousands of residents living in apartment buildings.

An edited video of the meeting will be posted shortly.

Sneak peak of the newly seeded field

West Thames grass field