The Hudson River Park Trust finally found a solution for the crumbling Pier 54 delema - get a billionaire to foot the bill and exclude the public from having any say. The proposed
$ 170 million dollar Pier 55 project will be built between the soon-to-be-demolished Pier 54 and the already demolished Pier 56 between 13/14th Street in the West Village. (Renderings: Heatherwick Studio)
The Barry Diller-Diane von Furstenberg Family Foundation will contribute $ 130 million dollars to design and build the off-shore pier then lease it from the park trust for 20 years. The city and state are contributing $39 million for construction. The nonprofit Pier55 Inc. will run the pier’s programming and fund day-to-day operations.
The unique space will feature lush lawns, gardens and several performance spaces.
See how a confused Madelyn Wills, president and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust attempts to get around a reporter's question regarding whether the deal was done behind closed doors and misrepresents that it was discussed with many in the community including elected officials and contradicts herself all in a matter of seconds.
"The funding of this, although discussed with many in the community and many electeds was obviously a funding agreement is done not in the public….
"The Trust also said they kept and elected officials and community leaders apprized during the process," WCBS's Dick Brennan reported.
Area representative State Assemblymember Deborah Glick's has a differant view on this subject according to the NY Times.
Elected officials weren't the only ones left in the dark.
Several members of the Trust's own Advisory Council have expressed not knowing as well.
Elected officials weren't the only ones left in the dark.
Several members of the Trust's own Advisory Council have expressed not knowing as well.
The Hudson River Park Trust continues to push the Bloomberg public/private partnership agenda to abdicate its responsibility for caring for its public spaces. They approached billionaire Barry Diller more than two years ago and have been negotiating behind closed-doors since.
“Somebody’s got to pay for it. We don’t have the money,” Diana L. Taylor, the chairwoman of the Trust told the NY Times.
That statement is true because people like her partner former Michael Bloomberg and other elected officials simply refuse to allocate the necessary funds. Over the years several media outlets have erroneously reported that Hudson River Park is supposed to be self-sustaining.
Ms. Taylor famously told a group of public school parent representatives hoping to include a school during a meeting regarding the stalled redevelopment of Pier 40, "I don't give a shit I don't live around here."
The deal was supposed be announced today by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mr. Diller. - Geoffrey Croft
Manhattan
The Hudson River is about to get a spectacular new floating park, thanks to media mogul Barry Diller and his wife, celebrity fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, according to the New Yor Daily News.
The couple has partnered with the Hudson River Park Trust to build a $130 million pier and performance space to replace the unused and decaying Pier 54 at W. 13th St., Diller told the Daily News.
"There is no performance center in New York with these kinds of aspirations," said Diller, who heads media conglomerate IAC.
The plan calls for a square pier the size of two football fields to rise on stilts between the existing, but decrepit, Pier 54 and the remains of Pier 56. Both piers’ pilings will remain as a habitat for fish.
The new pier, to be known as Pier 55, will feature undulating gardens, lush lawns and pathways and a 700-seat waterfront amphitheater.
The platform would sit atop 300 mushroom-shaped concrete columns that are to range in height from 70 feet above the water to 15 feet above.
It was designed by Heatherwick Studio, the same company behind the flaming cauldron at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
"New York has always reminded me of Venice, so I am happy the time has come to properly honor its waterways," von Furstenberg said. The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation will design, build and maintain the pier — then lease it from the park trust for 20 years.
Oscar-winning movie producer Scott Rudin, theater director Stephen Daldry, and playwright George Wolfe are all on board to select acts to perform on the pier. The city and state are contributing $35 million for construction, but most of the financial burden will fall on the famous couple.
“We are so lucky as a family that we get to do this,” Diller said.
One park watchdog was more critical, saying such a project should have local input.
“Diller is obviously being extremely generous, but private citizens are being able to dictate public spaces,” said Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates.
“The public has been completely left out.” But the Hudson River Park Trust defends the partnership.
"This is not privatization," said Madelyn Wils, president and CEO of the trust.
"They're going to be operating in a public park so the park has to remain open and accessible."
The lease still must be approved by the trust’s board, and will undergo a 60-day public review. Plans will be presented to Community Board 2 next month.
For Croft, it’s too little, too late.
“It’s already a foregone conclusion,” he said.
If approved, work will begin next year with a scheduled completion date of late 2018 or early 2019.
Barry Diller, chair and Scott Rudin, vice chair of nonprofit Pier55 Inc. will run the pier’s programming and fund day-to-day operations under a 20-year lease with the Hudson River Park Trust.
The Hudson River Park Trust has rented out the former Cunard-White Star pier for events including concerts and the annual Gay Pride dance each June. In 1998 it became part of Hudson River Park.
The rusting Cunard & White Star arch at the foot of Pier 54 will be restored under the plan and will provide one of two access points to the park which will be 186 feet off-shore.
Read More:
WCBS - November 17, 2014 - By Dick Brennan
New York Daily News - November 17, 2014 - By Katherine Clarke
New York Times - November 17, 2014 - By Charles V Bagli AGLI and Robin Pogrebin
New York Post - By Steve Cuozzo November 17, 2014
"Foregone conclusion"? not how an advocate is supposed to speak.
ReplyDeleteit will NEVER EVER HAPPEN
The "foregone conclusion" comment was refering to the board of the Hudson River Park, and the community board approving this. - Geoffrey Croft
ReplyDelete