The Committee for Environmentally Sound Development has been working to "end endless growth" for at least the last 17 years. They just issued their December, 2009 newsletter, and devote a good portion of it to the southern portion of the Riverside South development.
The article provides a sound analysis of the current situation.
After reviewing the background, including the 1992 Restrictive Declaration that limits development on the site, the newsletter says:
It is south of 61st Street that the developer Extell wants to deviate from the 1992 agreement in order to increase density. Considering that the 1992 agreement was overly generous to development at the expense of park area this request should be unequivocally denied.
While agreeing (as everyone does) that the original plans calling for a TV studio need to be changed, the newsletter points out that:
A substitute is necessary that is not residential housing. ... The lot at 59th and West End Avenue is directly above the Amtrak Railroad and a station at that point would add to our mass transit capabilities. A ferry terminal at 59th Street and the Hudson River would encourage New Jersey residents to commute by boat instead of cars. Placing a park between these two facilities would be a delight for the neighborhood. ... the west end of the lot [could] be used as a garage for the Sanitation Department ... with a park above.
The article concludes:
If Extell can not be persuaded to adhere to the square footage set in the 1992 Agreement, then the need is great enough for the City to use the power of eminent domain to obtain this last bit of undeveloped space for a public purpose.
You can contact the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development at 212 877 4394 or Elfreud@aol.com. Consider sending a donation to support their work. The address is PO Box 20464, Columbus Circle Station, New York, NY 10023-2678.
It's a wonderful idea, except that the City doesn't have the $300 million the land would cost, or the several hundred million it would cost to put a sanitation garage underground, any more than it had the money (or the inclination) to buy the land from Penn Central in the 1970s.
Posted by: p | 12/17/2009 at 10:43 PM