Supporters Rally to Keep Fortenbaugh as Operator of BPC Marina
Roland Lewis, president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, addresses a rally supporting Michael Fortenbaugh's continued operation of the North Cove Marina. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib
Nearly 200 people gathered near Battery Park City’s North Cove Marina Monday night to rally behind Michael Fortenbaugh, the man who is fighting to continue operating the marina and the popular sailing club and school he has established there.
Holding signs saying “Keep North Cove Control Local” and “Save North Cove Marina,” the crowd listened as one speaker after another lauded Fortenbaugh, a 20-year Battery Park City resident, for his community-friendly operation and calling on the Battery Park City Authority to renew the lease of his company, North Cove Marina Management, Inc., as the operator for the next 10 years.
Fortenbaugh’s 10-year lease to run the marina expires on Dec. 31. He was informed by the authority last week that, as an “interim measure,” it will take over the marina on Jan. 1. Fortenbaugh believes that Brookfield Properties, which runs the World Financial Center, may be favored by the authority to win the lease. Global Yachting, whose chairman, Andrew Farkas, is a billionaire real estate investor with close ties to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is also thought to have responded to the request for proposals.
The authority, which delayed its vote this month because it lacked a quorum, is expected to announce the winning operator in January.
Many of those at the rally were members of the Manhattan Yacht Club or had attended the Manhattan Sailing School or the children’s sailing camp, all begun by Fortenbaugh.
Paula Galloway, whose now-grown children learned to sail at the school, called Fortenbaugh “an integral part of the community.”
“We cannot let anything happen to him or this marina,” she told the crowd. “This is our marina and it's very hard to think that he’s not going to be here.”
“It’s a beautiful sight,” Roland Lewis, president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, said, gesturing to the nearby marina that, during the sailing season, is filled with a wide assortment of vessels, from the club’s tiny sail boats to giant yachts. “It’s an important sight. It needs to continue.”
Calling this a “difficult time,” Fortenbaugh told his supporters, “Asking for help is not really my thing but there’s something more important than business success. What’s more important is community.”
He recalled that soon after he was selected by the authority in 2004 to take over the marina’s operation—a time when it had yet to recover from the Sept. 11 attacks—Brookfield Properties sought to house Cirque du Soleil over a portion of the marina. There had also been plans, fought by the community, for the marina to become a docking base for ferry companies.
“[Brookfield] could have come in here and said, ‘Let’s support everything that you’re doing and make it even better," Fortenbaugh told the crowd. “We’ll contribute to the kids program, we’ll make these things happen.’”
“But they didn’t say that,” Fortenbaugh added. “I think they’re trying to take over everything that we’ve done.”
A spokeswoman for Brookfield Properties declined to comment.