CB1 Priority: Waterfront Over Maritime Building by Barry Owens Concerned that the time and money spent on constructing a pedestrian plaza in front of the Battery Maritime Building will come at the expense of immediate improvements to the East River waterfront as a whole, Community Board 1 will consider a resolution this month that lists the plaza project as the lowest of its priorities. City planners call the plaza "critical" to the success of the East River waterfront as it would connect Lower Manhattan's west side with the east through Battery Park. But the millions of dollars the project would consume is a concern for board members who point out that not a single dollar has been secured or promised for the revitalization of the East River waterfront. Linda Roche, who chairs the board's Waterfront Committee, said it would be a wasted effort to build a pedestrian link to nowhere. "If there is nothing to connect it to, what is the benefit?" she said. The full board will consider the resolution when it meets Nov. 16. Robert Balder, director of Lower Manhattan development for the Mayor's office, said the cost of the full project and a way to pay for it were yet to be determined. The first phase of the plan is expected to cost about $100 million, he said. That phase, presented to the board four months ago, includes creating an inviting walkway below the FDR Drive by softening the gloom with lighting, retail pavilions and cafes. Landscaping would be added, with a beach area beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, rows of trees along the water and a reflecting pool at a rebuilt Peck Slip among the proposals. The plan calls for rebuilding Pier 15 as a maritime pier, though board members have said that they would prefer the area include space for active recreation. On Oct. 6, the city planners and architects who are reinventing the waterfront unveiled their long-term visions, which include wide platforms of green space built out onto the water and residential towers cantilevered over the FDR Drive to help pay for them. The plan would call for the construction of up to seven residential buildings over the drive. The ground floor of each would remain public space, as would the lawns that could front them. Planners concede the concept is "controversial." The board has yet to take a position. "Let's focus for now on things that can actually happen in our lifetime," said Roche.