Critics Attack Ferry Terminal Plan for North Cove By Ronald Drenger Battery Park City residents and waterfront operators denounced a proposal recently floated by NY Waterway’s president, Arthur Imperatore, Jr., to turn Battery Park City’s scenic North Cove Marina into a temporary ferry terminal. With a NY Waterway vice president standing before them at a March 6 Community Board 1 meeting, the critics charged that NY Waterway for years has ignored concerns about the impact of pollution, wakes and noise from its ferry boats. Greg White, an officer in the tenants association of Gateway Plaza, the residential complex adjacent to North Cove, said the association was "extremely concerned" about the prospective NY Waterway terminal, which he said "would be an incredible burden on the community."   "Over the years we’ve had repeated problems with NY Waterway and action items that were requested of them were never done," he said. "In terms of past behavior being any predictor of future behavior, the odds are that people in Gateway Plaza have lots of reason to feel that this [terminal] is not what they want to see." Several waterfront operators, including Jim Gallagher, owner of the historic ship Yankee at Pier 25, Jim Wetteroth, who runs the Downtown Boathouse at Pier 26, and Michael Fortenbaugh, commodore of the Manhattan Yacht Club, based in North Cove before Sept. 11, complained that wakes from NY Waterway boats are now worse than ever. NY Waterway vice president Donald Liloia insisted that the company operates responsibly and he deflected questions about the ferry terminal idea, saying NY Waterway has no "formal plan" to create a "major hub" in North Cove. He claimed that existing terminals behind the Mercantile Exchange and at Pier A, just north of Battery Park, will accommodate the anticipated increase in ferry ridership from New Jersey as more workers return to the World Financial Center.   Liloia acknowledged, though, that his company was in discussions with the city about creating a shuttle boat service limited to Lower Manhattan that would operate out of North Cove, with departures about once every 15 minutes during peak hours and once every half an hour off-peak. Imperatore had been scheduled to appear at the meeting but did not attend. In a recent interview with the Trib , he presented a different picture, confirming that he hoped to use the cove as a ferry terminal because there was not enough room at existing landings. "We’re the primary means of mass transit access to Lower Manhattan from New Jersey and we need extra docking space," he said. Construction will soon begin on a $48 million, five-slip terminal next to the World Financial Center, but it won’t be completed for a couple of years. North Cove could be used until then, Imperatore said. The existing World Financial Center terminal, just north of the marina, has only two slips, and one of them may have to be closed during construction of the new facility, he added. And arriving at North Cove would be much more convenient for Financial Center workers than arriving at the Pier A landing, which was created as an emergency measure after Sept. 11, Imperatore said. "I think the most pressing issue for Lower Manhattan is business retention, and if it’s too difficult to get people to work, companies won’t stay." But BPC residents say that rebuilding the residential community is equally important and that the North Cove marina is a valuable amenity. (The marina, now barren of the bobbing sail boats and sleek yachts that filled it before Sept. 11, is reportedly scheduled to reopen on May 1, if there are no significant changes in its use.) When word of NY Waterway’s proposal circulated late last month, opposition quickly formed, with critics saying the proposed new terminal is unnecessary and would mar a beloved spot on the lower Hudson River waterfront. "We don’t want a smoky, ferry- filled terminal at the crown jewel of the waterfront," said Fortenbaugh, a BPC resident as well as head of the Manhattan Yacht Club. "The North Cove is already a highly trafficked pedestrian area," said Tammy Meltzer, co-president of the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association. She said residents complain about noise and engine fumes from the existing ferry terminal, and "putting another one 500 feet closer to the community will only make problems worse." Imperatore disputed the notion that ferries are intrusive. "Ferry terminals attract members of the community who watch vessel traffic. It’s not an unpleasant or obnoxious use. There are emissions problems in some old boats, which we’re trying to fix, but we will make every effort not to bring those boats into North Cove." Jeff Galloway, who lives in Gateway’s 600 building and whose windows overlook North Cove, wasn’t convinced. "I find it difficult to believe that there’s no alternative," he said.