The brave souls at the Tribeca Trib—who attended last night’s main Community Board 1 meeting—report that CB1 chair Catherine McVay-Hughes announced that (in the Trib’s words) “an agreement had been worked out with the city to halt the upcoming approval process for Hughes Corp.’s redevelopment plans for the South Street Seaport.” A task force with members from various entities—the Economic Development Corporation (which had been dealing with Howard Hughes Corp. in private), residents, politicians, and the South Street Seaport Museum—will lead the discussions for the site. Getting the credit along with CB1 are councilwoman Margaret Chin, Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer, and assembly speaker Sheldon Silver. There’s more in the Trib’s article.
Cleaning up that mess of a seaport is a great idea and should have been done 10 years ago. Busy body people who probably have their own conflict or self interests behind their complaints shouldn’t have the ability to stop progress.
They are the same people who have delayed the trade center rebuild and in doing so have lined their pockets with money. It’s just yet another example of how poor this city is run. Entire cities have been built in the same amount of time as it takes for us to cut through red tape. We are now even more the laughing stock of the world thanks to these types.
Okay, there are always busybodies around every issue. But surely, those folks who, for years, have maintained homes and businesses in any area downtown have earned the right to express opinions and to have those opinions listened to respectfully.
The only time we become a laughing stock of the world is when we don’t exercise the rights we are so privileged to have.
Spare me the founding fathers talk
Exercising rights are one thing, sleeping with unions for votes and kickbacks is another. Their actions only wreak havoc on society. Sometimes annoying people like this need a good muzzle. The founding fathers would have done some good writing that in to their plan.
No one can deny that the seaport had been a cesspool for 20+ years. Only recently have people lived really lived there ( outside of the projects turned condos off water street) and that has been due to progress and nice developments. I say clean up that armpit.