Probably primarily local interest. Non-locals, head down to the next post for silly story about how I learned about how cold cold water is here on the mainland.
I did make it to the meeting on Monday night, oddly enough because I got a migraine after starting the day with some work unpleasantness - I've started having migraines again after a decade-plus lapse, but the new versions don't seem quite as thoroughly incapacitating & I had just enough gas to go quietly sit in a corner (near a door in case I had to leave fast, which was a distinct possibility) & listen. I crashed hard the minute I got home but it was worth going. I did take a lot of notes and if I get a free night anywhere in here soon I'll consult those & do a proper writeup. But the upshot is - wow, there's a lot going on in the Park, and here's what I recall off the top of my head:
*Pier 66 boathouse tenant expected to be chosen by April 1 - they didn't say this but I know that the Pier 63 gang is one & unless there was some very weird twist I didn't know about, Randy at New York Kayak is the other.
*The barge should be moving to it's new pier within a few weeks
*there's STILL no answer on the paddling out of the barge from the DEC.
*The mounted police have moved up to the tow pound by the ferry terminal, ribbon cutting was today
*asbestos abatement in the old Basketball City bldg has begun & the structure is expected to be gone within a month
*construction contracts for piers 62-63 are being signed on Thursday
*pier 66 itself is ready for use, has been closed due to ice on the deck but should be open for riverwatching once it warms up a bit.
*The decking on Pier 64 is expected to be completed in May, and landside construction will begin after that.
*the Pier 84 boathouse is done & ready for Floating the Apple (oh gosh I need to do my Cast of Characters post...) to move in except that they haven't got a Certificate of Occupancy yet.
Sounds like for the next couple of years, that section's going to be primarily a construction site, but with the barge there & with pier 66 there will still be places to sit & watch the water go by, and at least SOME boating...even more than before if the DEC relents & amends the permit. Please knock wood now.
Meanwhile, south of Chelsea, the decision between the 2 Pier 40 proposals is coming to it's conclusion and there will be a PUBLIC HEARING at the end of April - you bet I will post details here.
Piers 25-26? Well, the whole CB1 boathouse task force thing doesn't sound like it's under consideration yet, but I wasn't expecting that to be in there yet, that may take a little more time - but the idea of interim use (like temporary storage for human-powered boats in shipping containers) was introduced in view of a rather long timeline until ANYTHING usable is there.
One other random good development - the boathouse-related launches in the park are all going to be declared public launches, so that (as was always the case at Pier 63) a kayaker does not have to be affiliated with one of the tenant organizations in one of the boathouses to launch. Good news for folders & cartoppers, suspect that the request for that came from the Hudson River Watertrail Association rep, since she's the one I'd first heard that from & she's the one who asked where that stood on Monday.
That's what I can remember off the top of my head. Interesting meeting. The next CB1 one should be good too - that's where Connie Fishman, President of the Trust, is being asked to discuss the plans for Piers 25 & 26. Stay tuned...
Past my bedtime, but wanted to get at least a summary up.
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