$14 Million for Pier 42
We just came from a press conference with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and NY State Senator Daniel Squadron who announced that $14 million had been secured for Pier 42 from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. This exciting news is the result of many years of advocacy on the part of community leaders from the O.U.R. Waterfront Coalition (which HSC is a part of) and Community Board 3. Schumer, Squadron, and along with Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe reinforced the idea that planning for the public space on Pier 42 should come from the ground up through a community process. This is exactly the role that the Waterfront on Wheels plays. Ultimately the LMDC estimates that $40 million is needed for the entire refurbishment and transformation of the pier into a public park, but Senator Squadron stressed that this 14 million will allow the abandoned pier shed building to be demolished and for interim public access to the site as soon as a year from now.
WoW was in Sara D. Roosevelt Park on Thursday afternoon, July 28th. We had a lot of interest from kids and teenagers in the park, so much so that a two year old godzilla attacked WoW, we managed to save the city though.
Three youth from CAAAV:Organizing Asian Communities helped gather up participants and did outreach about the developments happening on the waterfront. WoW will next be traveling back to the East River Waterfront this Friday evening.
