Any way you look at it, this is not a good day for some New York City parks in terms of dollars and cents. We've already had the Governor's Island being broke thing. Now, we have more detail on the horrendous escalation in the cost of replacement parks for Yankee Stadium and some dollar figures that sort of, kind of ensure that a big part of the controversial Brooklyn Bridge Park could be a waterfront eyesore for years to come (except for the two parts that will be done in 2009 and 2010). At Yankee Stadium, the latest cost estimate for replacement parks has gone from $116 million to $195 million for reasons that in the words of the city's Independent Budget Office “remains to be explained.” An chimp taking part in an accounting experiment at the Bronx Zoo and playing with a Excel spreadsheet has been ruled out, however. One park at the Bronx Terminal Market is, uh, $79 million over budget at this point. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, where consistent math has been equally vexing, today's Post puts some numbers on yesterday's announcement that implied parts of the park would be buried at Green-Wood Cemetery.
The controversial Brooklyn Bridge Park project will cost $16.1 million a year to maintain, which would make it the city's second most expensive park per acre to operate after Bryant Park. As if the figure weren't enough to make some people scream, the funding sources--condos and hotels--are on hold. The newest cost estimate for the 85-acre park is $346.3 million. Gov. George Pataki announced the original cost as $150 million in 2002. About $230 million has been budgeted, but the nasty operating cost problem remains. The Post calculated the figure at $189,458 an acre annually for maintenance and operations, trailing only Manhattan's Bryant Park ($643,833 an acre for its 9.6 acres). By comparison, Central Park gets $30,952 an acre.
Brooklyn Bridge Park officials say it has something to do with all that water and the cost of maintaining piers. Meanwhile, in the Bronx, no one has a clue.
· Report Cites Unexplained Costs of New Parks in the Bronx [NYT]
· Stadium Parks Costs Soar [NYP]
· $16M a Year for Planned Brooklyn Park [NYP]
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