Pier 76, the former site of a notorious NYPD tow depot, has cleared another hurdle on the road to becoming a green parkland thanks to a law passed in Albany that allows for its redevelopment.
Assemblyman Tony Simone, who sponsored the new bill along with local politicians Linda Rosenthal and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, has lived near the river in Hell’s Kitchen for nearly three decades. “I’ve always headed south. I want to stay up here and enjoy the park,” he told us. “I want to be able to take Radar (his dog) here to the park.”
The pier in front of the Javits Center is currently mostly empty except for an industrial-style scaffold. While Hudson River Park south of the 30s is filled with lush green spaces for locals and tourists alike to enjoy, Hell’s Kitchen’s waterfront is largely inhospitable. Cruise terminals and a helipad dominate the landscape – with the exception of Pier 84, Clinton Cove, and the soon-to-be fully opened Pier 97.
“We’ve taken the brunt of all the commercial piers,” Simone said. “We should also have more greenery.”
Under Simone’s bill, up to 50% of the park could be used for commercial purposes, including office towers up to 185 feet tall (about 18.5 stories) (not including building services), the same height as the Javits Center. The bill specifically prohibits casinos, hotels and residential buildings on the pier.
“My wish would be if it was 75% park,” Simone said. However, he decided not to require 75% park in his bill because “I don’t think it would have been politically feasible. I think we would have faced resistance from the (Hudson River Park) Trust.”
The argument for commercial development, Simone said, is that because the park is a public-private partnership, unlike a city-controlled park, it will have to raise money for its own upkeep. That includes an estimated $150 million needed to rebuild the pier and repair its underwater piers. Many, if not most, piers along the river have some form of commercial use, whether it’s a floating restaurant or an entertainment venue like City Winery.
At a meeting in January, Noreen Doyle, CEO of Hudson River Park (HRPK), told Community Board 4 that commercial use at Pier 76 was necessary to “fill the gap” in the budget, and that “a pizza place is not going to cut it.”
Simone said: “I wouldn’t mind if this pier had a lot of greenery, but also maybe a beer hall, maybe a nice restaurant with some kind of profit-making business, and I hope it takes up a very small part of the pier.”
In a statement, HRPK told W42ST: “Following an extensive public engagement process the Trust initiated last summer, this legislation would provide the Trust with additional flexibility in our redevelopment of Pier 76, which emphasizes high-quality public open space and supports the overall care and maintenance of Hudson River Park.”
Tom Fox, founding chairman of the Hudson River Park Conservancy, called the law a “huge disappointment” and compared it to “cutting off your right arm to save your left” because he said any commercial development would be detrimental.
Fox has long advocated for raising revenue from property owners near the park through a neighborhood improvement area, a plan the trust itself briefly supported in 2008.
“I don’t think there should be any commercial activity, maybe hot dog stands or food stalls,” Fox said. “Especially when you look across the street and see 26 million square feet of built space in Hudson Yards that are doing nothing for Hudson River Park. You would think it would be in their interest to get involved and spend money on the park.”
The same law that allows the redevelopment of Pier 76 also provides for the formation of a working group if the Trust issues a request for proposals for a new helipad or for relocation of the current helipad between 29th and 33rd streets.
The original plan was to ban the helicopters from the river completely, but that was ultimately not possible, says Simone.
“We didn’t want the legislation to end up stalling,” he said, “because we wanted to make sure the park didn’t lose another year.”
Simone added: “Like my colleagues, I firmly believe that a helipad does not belong in a public park.”
The bill will now go to Gov. Kathy Hochul for her signature. If enacted, it could take several years to fully redevelop Pier 76, Simone said, and the public will have an opportunity to voice its priorities for the future.
