Tire Swing Park: The victim of two feuding bureaucracies

August 26^th, 2010

The new Tire Swing Park by West Thames has had as controversial of a launch as its planning stage. First, opponents of the park raised concerns over the iconic swinging tire and forced it to be removed. Then, the drainage of the rubberized surface by the kid’s waterfall was backing up and creating a pond.

As a result, the BPCA never assumed responsibility for the park from the DOT as promised on the day of the ribbon cutting.

As the two bureaucracies feuded and played “hot potato” with the troubled park, the expensively sodded playing field became the neglected child in an ugly divorce. The DOT was watering the field too much and the BPCA Parks Conservancy people did not close the grass field occasionally to protect it from overuse, as they do with adjacent grass lots in the parks.

Rector Park grass field closed for protection

Hence, 40% or so of the field is now completely dead and all mud.

Re-sodding would cost $30,000 for a private project, but likely $100,000 for a State contract. This is in addition to the $9 Million cost of building the park (that many did not want and preferred the original shaded, more natural, park with a real tire swing!)

BatteryPark.TV emailed and called the Region 11 of the New York State DOT media relations staff nearly a dozen times and received no reply. Only after contacting the Director, Phillip Eng, did we get some answers. They wrote:

From the DOT: I am writing in response to your questions regarding West Thames Park. First, my apologies for not getting back to you yesterday. As you saw from my response e-mail, I was on vacation the past week, and I was very busy catching up on other calls and e-mails.  Also, I wanted to touch base with the Route 9A project team to see if there had been any communication with you before I spoke with you.

Next, as part of my discussion with the project team, we visited the park today, and I saw that the drainage issue has been repaired. Perhaps you’ve seen the holes the team drilled in the safety surface to improve the drainage.  These holes were drilled last week, and the parents in the park told us they have been pleased with the performance of the drain since that time.  This is only a temporary measure, and we will look to do something more permanent after Labor Day, when the Parks Conservancy is expected to shut off the water features of the park for the season.

Regarding the lawn, as we have noted in the past, it was constructed to Parks Conservancy standards, and the responsibility for closing the lawn to rest the grass is theirs. We have been involved with testing of the grass and soil to determine if there are any changes that would be necessary to either the grass or soil.  We are expecting the results of those tests within the next few days, and we will be discussing the results with the Parks Conservancy and the BPC Committee of Community Board 1.

Finally, the park is already partially under the authority of the Parks Conservancy. They are already tending to the sand, cleaning and policing the park, and performing other operational functions. We will continue to work with them on construction “punch list” items, such as the lawn and the drainage, to ensure a smooth transition.

I hope this is helpful.  Please feel free to let me know if you need any additional information.

Adam Levine

The History of BPC by Ed Koch

October 29

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.

Why the DOT should not be in the landscaping business

Update: DOT to make corrections to Tire Swing Park

August 7, 2010

As a result of the BatteryPark.TV report on the construction flaws and suboptimal management of the lawn of the newly opened $9 Million Tire Swing Park on West Thames Street, the DOT will me rectifying the situation. New drainage pipes will be installed to alleviate the poorly draining kid shower and fountain (see below), and the sprinkling schedule of the lawn will be curtailed. A DOT official was scouting out the area on Saturday.

To see what the lawn looked like just one month ago, click here.

August 4, 2010

The new grass lawn adjacent to the West Thames Tire Swing Park is deteriorating rapidly. Normal recreational use that should be easily withstood by a grass field is causing worn out mud patches. BatteryPark.TV has learned that this is due to some design problems.

During construction, heavy equipment weighing many tons was used and this compacted the soil causing poor drainage of the field. In addition, the soil mixture of sand versus organic matter was likely improperly chosen for an “active use” field. To compound the problem, the sprinkler system is being activated when the field is already excessively moist.

Another problem leading to grass death is caused by dog owners crossing over the footbridge and allowing their pets to urinate on the lawn, causing circular dead spots of grass. A fence was suppose to go up, but for unknown reasons was not placed.

None of these problems are insurmountable and could be alleviated easily. If half of the lawn were closed once a week on a slow day, such as Monday, as golf courses do, it would allow the dead spots to regenerate. A short area of fencing by the steps of the bridge would divert the dogs, and the sprinklers could be more optimally scheduled.

The BPCA has not yet taken full custodianship of the care of the park and the State DOT is the agency responsible for the care of the field to date. As with many government agencies, the DOT is dropping the ball and the expensive new lawn is falling apart before our eyes.

Dead grass spots caused by dog urine

Tire Swing Park Ribbon Cutting

July 1, 2010

The new Tire Swing Park was officially opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony. While the play area has been open since Memorial Day, the grass lawn was just opened up. Officials from the State DOT, BPCA and CB1 spoke, but no State or City elected officials presented.

Mayor Bloomberg admits the stimulus package was wasted

August 1, 2010

Mayor Bloomberg was on NBC’s Meet the Press today. He made some insightful comments about the ineffective ARRA stimulus package that not many in the press have made. As unemployment remains high, the debate has been whether the nearly $1 Trillion stimulus package worked. That is really a false debate. The money never actually made it to jobs creation programs. Instead, the states and municipalities gobbled up the money to pay off their budget deficits and maintain their bloated entitlement programs.

In the Mayor’s words

Kill the Drill

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer discusses his “Kill the Drill” campaign to not allow near New York City’s source of water in Upstate NY a water-polluting method of drilling natural gas called hydro-fracture drilling.

The new Tire Swing Pork Park

May 8, 2010

The old “Tire Swing Park” was bulldozed last year over the protests of many families in Battery Park City. It was a park design with natural materials such as wood, sand, grass, etc. Families loved it because it offered rare shade in the summer time, among other reasons.

The new park is almost completed. The design incorporates considerable amounts of modern steel, concrete, and rubber.

The reviews are coming in, and they are not good. We realize that it might shape up over the next month.

One local resident wrote, “Not an ounce of F-en real grass!” Another wrote, “It resembles a new subway station or Frank Gehry building more than a natural playground.”

Decide for yourself. Post some comments.

St Vincent’s hospital closure: The first of many across the country?

April 7, 2010

St. Vincent’s hospital in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, is closing due to mounting debt and New York State cuts in funding. St. Vincent’s is the last tertiary care catholic hospital in the city. How can a business entity with surplus demand go out of business due to lack of revenue? The answer lies in the low payment rates.

St. Vincent’s has been an important source of care for the area. It treated the wave of AIDS patients in the 1980’s, for example. Lately, it has become a magnet for the uninsured or poorly insured Medicaid population.

Hospitals survive by cost shifting the losses from the uninsured, Medicare, and Medicaid patients to the private insurance pool. That is why private insurance hospital bills are so exorbitant. The surrounding hospitals in Manhattan were siphoning off the lucrative private insurance patients and the higher mix surgical cases (e.g. coronary cases, orthopedic and spine, etc).

Bruce Nudell, PhD, healthcare analyst at UBS commented, “Medicare believes in applying financial pressure to hospitals so that they will manage their input costs. Overall Medicare margins in hospitals tend to be negative. In 2006 and 2007, for instance, overall Medicare margins in fee for service hospitals were between -5% and -6%…Unlike Medicare margins, which are currently negative, the payment to cost ratio for commercially insured inpatients is currently positive by around 32%”

The bigger story to this closure is that St. Vincent’s will likely be just the first of many across the country. Unemployment has caused a surge in the uninsured and Medicaid patients, while at the same time state revenues are down forcing budget cuts.  In Miami, proposals were made to close two of the Jackson Memorial hospitals.  In New York, other than St. Vincent’s, layoffs are pending in the public hospitals. In San Francisco, the prestigious UCSF medical center is running a deficit of more than $200 Million, although no plans to close UCSF have been announced.

Critics of the new health insurance reform law argue that it will further stress the system with Medicare cuts and expansions of the Medicaid population. More than a dozen State Attorneys Generals have recently filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the federal government requiring states to spend more without providing federal funding.

For a thorough discussion of the looming problem in Florida, The HCC interviewed Dr. William O’Neill, Dean of Clinical Affairs at the University of Miami medical center.

Coalition to save Tire Swing Park

Battery Pork City

April 13, 2009

The New York Post writes about the corruption scandal of the BPCA

The deadly crossing

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.

Legal Professor Randy Barnett: the constitutional challenges to the healthcare reform law

April 20, 2010

The new healthcare reform law will impact local hospitals and state budgets as the number of Medicaid patients increase. The plan to close St. Vincent’s is related to Medicaid issues. Healthcare systems in states across the country are struggling and concerned about the changes in store. As a result, numerous Attorneys Generals have filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new healthcare reform law.

Georgetown Law Center Legal Theory Professor Randy Barnett discusses the core arguments being made by numerous State Attorneys Generals that the newly passed healthcare reform law is unconstitutional. In Part 1, the “commerce clause”, whether that empowers the federal government to mandate health insurance, and the tax penalty for those not purchasing insurance, are evaluated on the merits.

In Part 2, Professor Barnett discusses whether the new law infringes on the sovereignty of the states, and privacy rights of individuals. He then estimates the chances of the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Attorney General’s lawsuits.

BPC Meeting to discuss Tire Swing Park

Say goo’bye to my leetle friend

October 13, 2009

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.

Selectively enforced parking rules on West Thames

October 11

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.

NYPD 9/11 bagpipe parade 2009

The annual NYPD commemorative bagpipe parade honoring the police killed in the September 11th, 2001 attacks.

NYPD 9/11 bagpipe parade 2007

Over 60,000 views and counting (originally posted on YouTube at another location of ours)