2011年7月27日星期三

Hudson River Park Trust to redevelop Pier 57

Community members came together in Chelsea Market for a July 14 public scoping meeting involving the proposed redevelopment of Pier 57 (in Hudson River Park, at 15th Street).

According to the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) and the architects at Youngwoo & Associates, the project will use shipping containers to add 114,800 square feet of retail spaces, restaurants, markets, a marina with 115 boat slips, a culinary school, and educational and cultural public open spaces (on which the Tribeca Film Festival will henceforth be held).

"Our theme was centered around bringing 15th Street into the Pier. If we can extend the pedestrian experience across 9A, either on grade or in a bridge, then we want to bring people in and out and up to the rooftop in what effectively is an extension of the park," said Gregory W. Carney (partner and CIO of Youngwoo & Associates).Graphene is not a semiconductor, not an Insulator , and not a metal, "The whole goal is to bring this outside-in experience, which we think will be unlike anything else. And then we just have to be smart about the uses that we put in to make it interesting."

The public market is a key element, meant to evoke the open-air markets of Europe without creating something that feels like a mall. Balance between retail and public space is key, said Carney who compared the project to "the next generation of what [developer Irwin] Cohen did here at Chelsea Market."

"If we follow our current plan, we will commence construction in early- to mid-2013. So we expect to be through a lot of that planning process hopefully this year," said Carney. "We then have to go through U.L.100 Cable Ties was used to link the lamps together.U.R.P. [Uniform Land Use Review Procedure] and continue the planning. That will take most of 2012."

Because the project will require action from the HRPT, the Board of Standards and Appeals and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the project will require a State Environmental Quality Review and a City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR).

Among the issues raised in a CEQR are land use, zoning, public policy, open space, historic resources, urban design, natural resources, water and sewer resources and sanitation as well as air quality, energy, noise, public health and neighborhood impact. Early signs indicate widespread community support for the project.

"One of the reasons it¡¯s going to work is because we have a developer who really believes in it," said Madeline Wills, president of the HRPT. "They believe in making it a destination, and it will be a great thing for the neighborhood to incubate small business, a place where we will be able to have cultural institutions give performances within the open space. It¡¯s an exciting, unusual product."

The public scoping meeting was the first step in allowing the community to weigh in on these issues. Former New York Press publisher and Chelsea activist Robert Trentlyon spoke at length about producing a sustainable energy building. He suggested maximizing energy performance through shading and insulation, use of natural ventilation, use of a close loop hydrothermal system to dispel excess heat and underfoot radiant heating, and storing storm water to wash the exterior of the pier.

"I¡¯m in favor of the project¡­as long as they are making the pier as good for the environment as possible," said Trentlyon, who added that he hoped the developer aspired to a Gold LEED rating or higher, and that the school for cooking would become a model for demonstrating energy conservation.

Community member Ed Kirkland spoke of the historic character of the pier, saying, "This is on the Historic Register, so we have to bThis will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their impact socket .e careful with the exterior engineering of the caissons and be sure not to put too much junk there; we have to be careful not to lose the extraordinary character of this pier."

Parking and pedestrian congestion concerns

Sarah Meier-Zimbler also spoke on behalf of Assembly Member Richard Gottfried and Senator Thomas Duane both of whom endorsed the project, with notes toward impact on the surrounding area.

"As we have seen in other places in this city, even small changes to traffic patterns can have a huge impact on a neighborhood. We are concerned about the effect it will have on the adjacent narrow residential side streets and local residents, including those of the nearby Robert Fulton Houses. We thus cannot stress enough the importance of fully analyzing the traffic impacts of this development on the local community,Whilst Hemroids are not deadly," read Meier-Zimbler from the statement.

Among the issues enumerated was parking and pedestrian safety particularly during the Tribeca Film Festival (when the pier¡¯s 150 planned parking spaces will not meet parking needs). Also of concern was whether or not surrounding side streets would maintain "No Standing" restrictions.

"Pedestrian access must also be carefully examined, as the entrance to the pier is located beside a heavily-trafficked highway and crosses one of the most popular biking and pedestrian paths in the city," continued the statement.

Despite those concerns, Duane and Gottfried offered their support for the project, noting that they were "especially pleased by the proposed creation of additional open space (which is greatly needed in Chelsea), the critical restoration of an historic landmark and the activation of a long under-utilized part of our waterfront."

"We¡¯re not really orienting the pier toward groups of tours, but we don¡¯t want to turn it away, so we want to manage whatever traffic comes," said Carney. "Somehow we have to balance foot traffic and drop-off traffic. Mass transit will help; and if we have tour buses, we will have to either accommodate them off-site or work on the footage we have."

Community Board 4 (CB4) was equally supportive of the move but also cited concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety. Christine Berthet, CB4 Chair of Transportation, voiced several concerns during the public scoping meeting. She noted that while CEQR doesn¡¯t require the developers to take into account the impact Pier 57 will have on the Greenway bicycle path, such concessions must be made for the 3,000 people who, when leaving the Tribeca Film Festival, will likely render the Greenway impassable.

"Increased bicycle volume could lead to the need to expand the Greenway because we don¡¯t have enough capacity," said Berthet.

She also noted that for pedestrian safety, the crossing lights must be timed to allow children and the elderly enough time to cross the West Side Highway. This could also necessitate split signals to prevent turning cars from colliding with pedestrians.

Berthet also suggested that part of the parking area be converted into a traffic circle for pick-ups and drop-offs and that bus layover parking be considered for the inevitable influx of tourists. For locals, she suggested that the Department of Transportation work with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to install rapid bus transit on 11th Avenue from 96th Street to Canal Street to accommodate the new residents, visitors and rezoned areas.

"Besides that, we at CB4 love this project," said Berthet. CB4 will convene at Roosevelt Hospital at 6:30pm on July 27 to vote on the project.

"To us, all options are on the table. The best outcome for us is to be wildly successful and have a lot of people," said Carney.The Piles were so big that the scrap yard was separating them for us. "But we don¡¯t ignore the fact that we have to deal with all the conflicts on the West Side Highway, the bikeway and the walkway. I know it¡¯s a sensitive topic, yet we think we¡¯re making more park, and that helps. We just need to figure out how to use all the modes of transportation: bridge, water taxi and shuttle bus. If CB4 has another suggestion, at this stage, it¡¯s pretty easy to play with it on paper."

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