As we reported earlier in the month, the first phase of the project to turn Pier 42 into a waterfront park has been pushed back once again. It’s now supposed to begin in the fall of this year. So once again this summer, a section of Pier 42 will be activated by local community groups for a series of cultural programs.
State Sen. Daniel Squadron, the NYC Economic Development Corp. (EDC) and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) announced the summer 2017 programming plan today. As in years past, the Paths to Pier 42 coalition and Community Board 3 will be partnering with the city agencies and the senator’s office for the series. The EDC is providing $50,000 in funding for the programs.
The season will kick off with a “City of Water Day” event July 15. There will also be a salsa dancing and music day, fishing clinics, interactive science workshops and arts events. The Paths to Pier 42 coalition includes Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), Hester Street Collaborative, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
Squadron and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer successfully advocated for $28 million from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. for Pier 42. Construction was supposed to begin early this year. Now responsibility for the project has shifted from the Parks Dept. to the EDC. City officials will appear before Community Board 3’s parks committee July 13 to update the timetable for construction and go over other changes in the project.
The initial phase involves tearing down a large shed and creating an interim park. A larger plan to transform all of Pier 42 is years (perhaps decades) away. It will cost in the neighborhood of $100 million, money that has not yet been allocated.
