The Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects-led redesign of Pier 42 is progressing slowly through various community board committees and city agencies, but is looking more or less like a forgone conclusion at this point. However, at a Community Board 3 meeting last night, some Lower East Side residents showed up to express their dismay about the types of amenities that will be offered at the refurbished pier. Via Bowery Boogie:
Led by a vocal Nancy Ortiz – Vladeck Houses Resident Association President – many in the room relayed their feelings of being disenfranchised from the overall master plan. She immediately went on the offensive and noted that the approximate 10,000 families living in the immediate vicinity don't benefit from amenities like a kayak area [...] Ortiz noted that "we are a community tired of being ignored … [kayaks] don't fit into the demographic of our community." The Lower East Siders in attendance called instead for a public pool or roller rink, and Ortiz accused the pier planners of trying to appeal too much to outsiders rather than serving the community. While earlier in the process, the architects and city made an effort to get input from the people who live around Pier 42, it appears that the two groups now find themselves at odds. Less so with the Community Board, which unanimously approved the plan for Phase 1.
· CB3 Committee Approves Phase 1 of Pier 42 Park Plan [Bowery Boogie]
· Pier 42 coverage [Curbed]
Loading comments...