Hopes to Hear Seaport Plans Are Dashed

By Andrea Appleton
POSTED MARCH 2, 2007

Hoping, finally, to learn the plans for Pier 17 and other properties in the South Street Seaport area, nearly 200 people showed up on Feb. 26 for a long-awaited presentation by the leaseholder, General Growth Properties (GGP). But to their disappointment, the plans GGP unveiled were sketchy at best.

What they did see at the Community Board 1-sponsored meeting were historical photos, bullet-pointed goals, site constraints, and a few indefinite proposals. Presenters were careful to emphasize their interest in working with the community.

“So, that’s basically where we’re at at this point,” concluded Michael McNaughton, GGP vice president,  “and we just wanted to share and listen to your comments.” Of those, there were plenty. Some of the strongest comments concerned the “Distribution of Density” part of the presentation. Here, Greg Pasquarelli of SHoP Architects, hired for the project, discussed a conceptual ‘exercise.’ “Let’s just say you took 400,000 square feet of space,” he said, indicating a diagram of the pier.

He pointed out that one could build a low flat building that would leave only a small wedge of open space.

“But what if we made it a little taller?” he asked, showing a slide with an enormous tower. “You get a lot of open space.” (Pasquarelli stressed that all sizes and location were strictly conceptual.)

“We can use markets, we can use recreation for families,” said CB1 member  Paul Hovitz, “but no, we do not need tall buildings.”

“We’ve had several experiences of looking for amenities and exchanging them for horrors we were not anticipating,” echoed resident Patricia Ryan. “We have to be very careful with what we are going to buy these amenities with.”

“There’s no plan, no decision, nothing in our back pocket that we didn’t show you tonight,” responded John Alschuler, of the consulting firm HR&A. “What GGP is doing now is just exploring a wide range of options.” Among those options was a proposal to dismantle the Tin Building, which Pasquarelli said is in bad condition and blocks river views down Beekman Street. It would be reassembled either farther out on the pier, or between Beekman and Fulton Streets. Pasquarelli also mentioned the possibility of reinstalling the Fulton Ferry Landing.

Residents worried that local businesses would be priced out by the development. Others asked for ballfields, cultural spaces, and broader support for the Seaport Museum, including a place to dock ships. Several Pier 17 retail tenants complained they were being shoved out to make way for the new development.

According to McNaughton, the development is a “multi-year” project, not including the time allotted for construction.

Whatever GGP eventually proposes will be subject not only to approval by the city, but to local regulation.

“This is one of the most legislated pieces of property in all of Manhattan,” Pasquarelli noted, citing the area’s complex overlay of districts and subdistricts.

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