Pier 35 rendering.
Mayor Bloomberg broke ground yesterday on the first stage of the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project. As Channel 4 reported, "this beginning stage is expected to cost $148 million, as it creates
400 jobs and transforms two miles of underused waterfront — from the
Battery Maritime Building to Pier 35…" Excerpts from the press materials (via Curbed):
the Battery Maritime Building to Pier 35 to safely accommodate both
pedestrians and cyclists. It will feature new plantings, seating and
lighting, a dedicated bikeway and visitor-friendly designs. The esplanade between the Battery Maritime Building and Old Slip
will be extended out over the water, allowing for safe passage along a
widened sidewalk and bikeway… Pier 35 at Rutgers Slip will be renovated and open to the
public to provide much-needed landscaped space along the waterfront.
Pier 35 will also an innovative habitat restoration park, funded by a
grant from the New York State Department of State Division of Coastal
Resources, which will recreate the native plants and wildlife of the
East River. Waterfront steps will be created at Wall Street, Pike Slip,
and Rutgers Slip to provide visitors the opportunity to get closer to
the water’s edge… The second phase of the plan calls for the construction of the
Battery Maritime Plaza, conversion of Pier 42 at Montgomery Street to
public use as an urban beach and boat launch, and completion of the
widening of the esplanade from Peck Slip to Pike Slip. When complete,
the East River Esplanade will be a critical link in the continuation of
the Manhattan Greenway.
"An incumbent fights for his seat." That's the headline of the Gotham Gazette's summary of the District 1 City Council race.
The Village Voice's Wayne Barrett takes a critical look at CD1 candidate Pete Gleason's past.
Streetsblog.org was not at all pleased with the way the CD1 candidates assessed the Grand Street bike lanes during Monday night's debate.
It's been an awful summer for Orchard Street merchants. Bowery Boogie reports another store, Giuseppe Uomo, is going out of business.
Drivers in Manhattan may want to steer clear of the East Side, as
construction work has closed a stretch of the FDR Drive until about 9
p.m. The Department of Transportation has shut down all three northbound lanes from Houston to 20th Streets. Several northbound entrances are closed, including the South Street, Montgomery Street and Pearl Street on-ramps. Drivers looking to go uptown should use First Avenue as an alternate and then access the highway from the 23rd Street entrance. Morning commuters told NY1 that the detour couldn't have come during a worse time. "They really should plan it during times where it doesn't affect the commute. This is outrageous," said one driver. "It's going to be so much slower going through town to get where I need to go, especially on this thing," said another. "I have a window that's right on this FDR Drive, so I'll probably hear it all night," said a third. After 9 p.m., one northbound lane will remain closed once the work is completed. Southbound lanes are not affected.
