Pier 40 at Houston Street is turning into a waterfront money pit for the Hudson River Park, and the trust that controls the entire park is thinking of shutting it down—its playing fields, the parking, everything, all or in parts—to staunch the fiscal drain the pier poses to the entire park. "If it was my decision right now, I would completely cut [Pier 40] off and say ‘Not one more dime goes into that pier, period," said park board chair Diana Taylor at a recent public meeting and reported in The Tribeca Trib. The problem is that Pier 40 is deteriorating—its pilings need shoring up, concrete is crumbling so badly that large sections of parking areas have been cordoned off—and repairs are expected to cost tens of millions of dollars, which would drain the Hudson River Park Trust of all its resources.
Over the last few years a number of proposals have been floated to shore up the pier's fiscal and physical condition, including a transformation into a circus-like Vegas on the Hudson, the construction of a Major League Soccer stadium, and even developing a 30-story residential tower at the site. Despite the many schemes, nothing has come to pass, and now park trust members are considering the phased shutdown of the Pier to make necessary repairs to keep important community amenities like the playing fields open while limiting the financial damage the pier is doing to the rest of the park.
· Thinking the Unthinkable: Phased Shut Down of Pier 40 [TribecaTrib]
· Pier 40 [HudsonRiverPark]
· Pier 40 coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...