Pataki Details $800 Million Funding By Etta Sanders The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) has committed more than $500 million of long-sought-after funds for parks, cultural organizations, waterfront improvements and a new school Downtown. The allocations for community projects, announced by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg on May 25, represent more than 60 percent of the remaining $800 million dollars in federal community development block grants that were awarded for Downtown revitalization after Sept 11. The other $300 million will be put towards the World Trade Center memorial—the only portion of the remaining federal funds allocated for use on the site itself. The funding decisions were foreshadowed in a speech by Pataki earlier in the month, and closely mirrored the mayor’s “Vision for Lower Manhattan” and recommendations made by Community Board 1. “It sounds like we did pretty well,” said Paul Goldstein, CB1’s district manager. “Obviously we’re thrilled to get many of our highest priorities funded. I think it’s going to have a big impact on our neighborhood.” The LMDC’s allocations included: $150 million to create recreational and cultural spaces along the East River waterfront from the Battery up to East River Park. $70 million to complete the Tribeca section of Hudson River Park. $20 million for the creation and renovation of parks in Tribeca, the Financial District, Chinatown and the Lower East Side. $38 million for improvements to Fulton Street, including a new park at Delury Plaza, and grants and incentives for improvements to retail spaces and the restoration of building facades. $40 million towards a bus garage, a new park and an upgraded pedestrian path across West Street in the area near the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. $20 million for a new kindergarten-to-8th-grade school. $15 million for the rebuilding of Borough of Manhattan’s Fiterman Hall at West Broadway and Park Place. $15 million for security and streetscape improvements around the New York Stock Exchange. $32 million for improvements near the Brooklyn Bridge, including relocating a Police Plaza checkpoint to open the connection between Bowery and a widened St. James Place, and making Frankfort Street two-way. $45 million to cultural institutions south of Houston Street to strengthen existing and create new facilities. Tom Healy, president of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, said the grants represented “a strong vote of confidence about how important the arts are to the economy and the flourishing of the neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan.” Another $45 million was set aside for unspecified “community enhancement.” One of those projects could be the new Manhattan Youth community center slated for the residential building under construction at Chambers and West Streets. At a public forum about the remaining federal funds last month, several people advocated funding for the center, but Bob Townley, Manhattan Youth’s director, said he had not been told of any forthcoming LMDC grant. Councilman Alan Gerson said that he was “tentatively happy” with the allocations, but that some of the money should be used for health facilities, including NYU Downtown Hospital, and for protections from the dust and noise of multiple construction projects. Notably missing from the spending list were the rail link from Lower Manhattan to Kennedy Airport and public infrastructure projects on the trade center site. Community and civic groups have been critical of the use of federal block grant money for those purposes. The LMDC did not increase the $50 million it had previously allocated for the creation and preservation of subsidized housing, which will likely disappoint housing advocates.