#*!)*!!!!

3:00 update - seems there's a meeting of the Hudson River Park Trust Advisory Council on Wednesday at 5:30 at Pier 40 (I assume that would be in the Trust office) - the Rustbucket may or may not be on the agenda. I've pencilled it in & posted it to the hold list & told folks from New York Outrigger & the kayak polo set. If nothing else, it will be a relief to actually have a chance to hear these folks face to face, instead of getting this vague, secondhand "may not be able to continue operations" from MKC (I suspect that the Trust is the source of the vagueness, I think Richard wrote that letter & he'd be as precise as circumstances would allow). Jeeze. C',mon Trustees. Give me something definite so I know whether I can keep paddling, or have to move my boat to do so - don't give me this "we might shut you down on the 10th" crap. It would be very cool if the Rustbucket crowd (not just 'yakkers, but outriggers and the polo gang too) could paddle down there en masse - but I can't really start drumming for that unless I find out a) if Pier 63 actually IS on the agenda and b) whether the dock situation there could take it. Probably simpler to just go straight there after work. Sigh. One of the coolest things about dropping out of Manhattan Kayak Company was that I got to quit going to those meetings...

I should have known better than to believe the rumour that we were fine until November.

I'd heard it from somebody I thought would be in a position to know - but sometimes, it's hard to distinguish whether the folks who run the barge are stating actual facts, or the world as they'd like it to be. Sometimes I don't think they even know.

Like I've said before, this was always supposed to happen, but finding out it's happening in 2 weeks, and with the entire freakin' Fall paddling season left, is very annoying.

-----Original Message-----
From: Manhattan Kayak Company
Sent: Aug 28, 2006 12:07 PM
To:

Subject: Manhattan Kayak Storage Access Information


Dear Kayaker,
We, MKC have been notified that we may not be able to continue operations at Pier 63 Maritime after Sunday, September 10, 2006. While the “barge” will still be moored there, for an as yet indeterminate time, all public access will be prohibited as the Hudson River Park Trust moves forward with its plans to re-develop the local area.

Any boats that you have stored with us will remain in their respective holds, but you may not have access to them until the “barge” is moved to Pier 66a.

This letter is to inform you that all contracts will be frozen for the period of time that access to the barge and the holds is restricted. You are welcome to leave your boats with us while this transition takes place. We regret that we do not have an exact timeline for you as of the writing of this letter, but we felt it was important to inform you, sooner rather than later, of this turn of events.

If you choose to remove your kayak(s) until access to the barge is reinstated, please let us know and your slot will be reserved for your return when we re-open. Your contract will be similarly frozen as for any client that chooses to leave their kayak in the holds.

For however long the contracts are frozen, the renewal date on your contract will be extended to reflect that amount of time.

We, MKC would appreciate your cooperation in this difficult time of transition, and we look forward to serving your with a new home in the coming year. We have been working hard ever since we were notified of this deadline a few days ago to secure the means to continue our paddling season until the end of October in nearby locations.

As private storage hold customers we will offer you the opportunity to utilize our rental fleet boats excluding the times of our scheduled tours/classes. When we have secured a definite launch and storage facility, we will notify you. You will be expected to use your own PFD, paddle and accessories, but we will try to provide open access to the boats if possible.

If you wish to join us on a tour we will honor a 10% discount for you.
We thank you for your patronage, your understanding and your patience while we do all that we can to serve you well into the years to come.

As new developments take place we will let you know. Again, this is a preliminary message so that you can make timely decisions and make alternate arrangements if you so desire.

Sincerely yours,
Eric Stiller
Richard Chen See
Manhattan Kayak Company, Inc.
Richard Chen See (co-owner)
Manhattan Kayak Company, Inc.
Pier 63 North River
New York NY 10011
www.manhattankayak.com
richard@manhattankayak.com
(917) 591-0843 FAX