Volume 1, No. 12  Jan. 10, 2014

* Ice pix
* Program for recovering drug addicts moving to FiDi
* Town Hall meeting on Jan. 13 to discuss South Street Seaport's future
* Bits & Bytes: Donate food for Martin Luther King Day of Service; 66 John St. plaintiffs fight on
* Letter to the Editor
* Downtown Real Estate: Chef Bourdain to bring food market to lower Manhattan
* Calendar

Masthead photo: Ice on the Hudson River, Jan. 10, 2014. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The history of the South Street Seaport goes back centuries. In the 1620's, this is where the Dutch first established a port in Manhattan. This is where cargo was loaded and off-loaded from ships that circled the world. This is where city markets were located for hundreds of years. This is a neighborhood that still has its share of buildings from the 19th century, and a few that are even older.

Now a battle is being waged over the Seaport's future. On one side are the Seaport landlord, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and its principal tenant, the Dallas-based developer Howard Hughes Corporation. They see crumbling buildings and piers and waterfront property that could potentially yield many millions of dollars in revenue for Howard Hughes shareholders while taking much of the maintenance of the Seaport off the City's balance sheets.

On the other side are preservationists who cherish the Seaport's maritime history, its historic architecture and its South Street Seaport Museum, with its boats and galleries. They see the Seaport's future in adaptive reuse of some of the buildings for a food market, for schools, for local shops and for community facilities, creating a destination that would produce revenue by serving local residents and attracting tourists.

On Monday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m., Community Board 1 is holding a Town Hall meeting at Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, B-level, Student Union, at which people can express their ideas and opinions about the Seaport's future.

"The purpose of Monday's Town Hall meeting is to hear from the community - all the stakeholders from local residents to small businesses - to find out what their priorities are," said C.B. 1's chair, Catherine McVay Hughes. "We encourage everyone to come, to speak, and to submit testimony. Then the Community Board will begin analyzing what those priorities are."

In advance of the meeting, we asked several residents and Seaport business owners for their thoughts about the Seaport's future. We also asked The Howard Hughes Corporation for a comment, but received no reply. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Amanda Byron Zink, owner of The Salty Paw, 38 Peck Slip
As an 18-year resident of the South St Seaport, small business owner of The Salty Paw, raising two small children here (who both go to school in the Seaport), I am as invested as one can be in this neighborhood. I have watched this area go through some changes, but feel there is positive room for more change, providing it is done in the right way that pays respect to this historic waterfront. I am for redevelopment that will bring more New Yorkers down to shop and explore my wonderful neighborhood. I am tired of it being a "hidden gem." Redevelopment should incorporate maritime structures, shops and markets, waterfront activities (boating, sailing, historical tours and fishing for all ages). It should restore the museum and our boats and create incredible art and historical maritime installations and exhibits for the world to want to come and see. I also want to see redevelopment that implements more family-friendly activities and dining and most important, more school seats!

Robert LaValva, founder, New Amsterdam Market
The Old Fulton Fish Market was a fixture in lower Manhattan from the 1830's until 2005, when its vendors were forcibly removed to the Bronx. They clung to their East River home for good reason: the market's presence on the waterfront maintained traditions whose origins can be traced to our city's earliest days.  The two Fish Market sheds - the Tin Building and New Market Building - hold four centuries of memory, four centuries of identity, four centuries of public purpose. It was mistaken of the New York City Economic Development Corporation to designate this irreplaceable public asset for real estate development, but this bad decision can most decidedly be reversed. People are drawn to what is real; by preserving and revitalizing the Fulton Fish Market, we will create a destination that will anchor and sustain small businesses, economic development and cultural innovation for generations to come.  Now it the time to pause, to reflect, and to amend.

David Sheldon, member of Save Our Seaport
The sight of the South Street Seaport Museum's great ships on the waterfront is an extraordinary and unique experience that to many defines the Seaport District. It is no accident that the museum is located where it is, amidst landmarked buildings in a low-rise area adjacent to the waterfront that was the City's original seaport. The surrounding district was originally planned to provide financial support for the South Street Seaport Museum by means of leasing revenue. The museum, the landmarked buildings, the waterfront's Street of Ships and the market gave to the neighborhood its unique character. Without that initial commitment, this neighborhood would have long ago been transformed by the pressures of urban development. Such a commitment today, and a master planning process that engages all concerned, can secure all we treasure in the Seaport for generations to come. South Street Seaport Museum can once again be supported from lease revenue in the district. It is a matter to be decided by the landlord, our own city government. But without such a commitment, without a master planning process, the dismemberment of this legacy by storm, by neglect and by design will continue to an irreversible end.

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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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