Conceding the failure of the South Street Seaport pier as a
“festival marketplace” — these days, it is not much
more than a waterfront mall — its owners plan to replace it with
a mixed-use project including a 42-story, 495-foot apartment and hotel
tower, wrapped in a terra-cotta exoskeleton and rising from new pilings
in the East River.
Though other high-profile developments along the East River have foundered, most notably Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum and Santiago Calatrava’s
apartment tower of stacked cubes, the seaport plan speaks to the
undiminished allure of riverfront sites and of developers’ faith
that megaprojects can inject new life into, and create profit out of,
areas where other visions have failed.
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NEW YORK (AP)
-- New York Gov. David Paterson says the World Trade Center site
redevelopment faces ``likely delays'' and wants to take a new look at
the project.
Paterson on Wednesday asked the executive director of the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey to determine if the latest
deadlines and budgets for the project are feasible. Paterson wants an
update by the end of the month.
Five office towers, a Sept. 11 memorial, a transit hub and a performing center are planned at the 16-acre site.
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'Spiderman' Scales Times BldgALBANY, N.Y. (AP)
-- The bridge that leads to the airport named for John F. Kennedy
is getting renamed for his younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, the
former New York senator assassinated in 1968.
The state Assembly has given final legislative approval to rename
the Triborough Bridge, following Senate approval in April. Gov. David
Paterson planned to sign the measure to call it the Robert F. Kennedy
Bridge, spokesman Errol Cockfield said. The bill memo notes ``minimal
budgetary impact'' for the cost of changing signs.
His first-ever veto was to reject a City Council bill in 2002 that
sought to extend terms for some lawmakers. Bloomberg said the proposed
law was wrong because it amounted to changing the rules for personal
political gain.
But it may be a different story today, as Bloomberg's second
four-year term winds down and he struggles to figure out what to do
next and stay in the spotlight that has dimmed ever since he decided
not to run for president. As his aides and advisers explore ways to
keep him relevant, the possibility has emerged that he could try to
change the term-limit law and run again next year.
The mayor, who could rarely be described as indecisive, sounded
restless and a bit lost on Wednesday when asked about his future plans.
He said he still supports the concept of term limits, but sounded less
definitive than he ever has about what he wants to do next.
``I plan to, I think, stay on in public service some ways or other _
I don't know how,'' he said. Pausing slightly and sounding unsure,
Bloomberg then said ``I don't see anything for me _ `` but didn't
finish the thought. The billionaire then said he supposes he will end
up running his philanthropic foundation full-time.
When a reporter pointed out that it doesn't sound like philanthropy will be all he wants to do, Bloomberg did not disagree.
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