G’voort playing field is in play
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
A recently released summary of
community feedback on the design
of Gansevoort Peninsula
is inaccurate, according to Community
Board 2 residents.
The summary drafted by the Hudson
River Park Trust states that community
members want the 5.56-acre space to
sport a soccer fi eld, open green space
and some sort of water-related feature,
such as a beach or intertidal habitat.
The peninsula is a remnant of when
Manhattan’s Lower West Side extended
out to a 13th Ave. It is located between
Gansevoort and Little W. 12th Sts.,
across from the Whitney Museum of
American Art.
Since early March, the Trust and its
contracted designers, James Corner
Field Operations, have held a presentation,
a Q&A session and two small
group-planning events to solicit community
input, with the most recent of
these on March 26.
“Most of the small working groups
— even those dominated by people
with strong preferences for particular
program elements — endeavored to create
balanced ‘plans’ for Gansevoort,”
the Trust’s summary says regarding the
March 26 event.
“In the end, all groups had some form
of beach and a variety of fi eld sizes to
accommodate passive recreation and
other desired programs.
“For a huge constituency, the size
of the site supports the strong request
for large sports fi elds. The Trust and
design team have been made aware of
the community petition signed by more
than 2,000 individuals requesting a fi eld
measuring 75 x 120 yards (225 x 360
feet) as the highest priority for the site.”
The majority of attendees at last week’s
C.B. 2 Parks and Waterfront Committee
meeting said that, with a general lack
of soccer fi elds in the borough, plus the
future of Pier 40 unclear, a sports fi eld
is desperately needed. Most were willing
Brainstorming park ideas for Gansevoort Peninsula at the workshop
was a handful.
to compromise “balance” in order to
secure a full-sized soccer fi eld.
At the March 26 planning event,
which ran three hours, the Trust set
up tables inside the new 75 Morton St.
middle school, and community members
broke into small groups. They
placed paper cutouts of a soccer fi eld,
trees and fences, among other things,
on cardboard maps of the peninsula.
Participants said that access to the water
was important, as well as green space.
But there was a strong sentiment among
those present for the playing fi eld, which
could accommodate a range of sports,
including soccer and baseball. Before
the event began, representatives from
the Downtown Soccer League spoke
about the need for a fi eld. Every table of
participants made sure to place a soccer
fi eld on their map.
According to Rich Caccappolo,
chairperson of the C.B. 2 Parks and
Waterfront Committee, the committee
was given the impression that a Trust
representative would formally present
the summary’s fi ndings at last week’s
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
meeting. Instead, a Trust representative
— its senior vice president of design and
construction — listened to community
members speak about the summary and
answered a few questions at the end.
The summary and the absence of a
formal presentation by a representative
left many community members skeptical
of the Trust’s intentions on Gansevoort.
Several attendees were unaware that a
Trust representative was present at the
meeting. Although the Trust V.P. was
there and took questions, by all accounts
he did not do a good job of identifying
himself to the meeting.
Daniel Miller, a member of the C.B.
2 committee, said he did not become
aware until afterward that a Trust offi
cial had actually been there. Miller
added he would have liked to have seen
more representation of the Trust’s senior
leadership at the meeting — such
as Madelyn Wils, the Trust’s president,
and/or Noreen Doyle, its senior vice
president — as well as someone from
James Corner, the chosen designers for
the project.
In fact, Will Rogers, president of
Downtown Soccer League, warned that
“special interests” could well be angling
for the prime park space, enabled by the
Trust.
“At this time in our lives,” Rogers said,
“when we are looking at what is going
on with government and the challenges
that are being faced between the choices
of special interests and what is best for
the community…this is a microcosm of
our entire country’s future playing out
in a small way here.”
Some attendees at the committee
meeting speculated that the Trust wants
to please neighbors of the park, such as
the Whitney Museum. The Whitney will
be installing “Day’s End,” a sculpture of
a “ghost pier” by artist David Hammons,
off the south edge of Gansevoort.
A Trust spokesperson, though, said
that the planned Whitney installation
“does not limit other programming
decisions at Gansevoort.”
“We are looking for a design that
makes more for the local community
and less a destination,” Caccappolo said.
He added that the a park on Gansevoort
should be a space to get away from the
madness of nearby attractions like the
High Line.
“We hope that the Trust will not just
engage with us but consult us on how to
best strike that desire,” he stated.
The Parks and Waterfront Committee
is currently drafting a resolution on the
status of community desires for Gansevoort
Peninsula that will be presented
at the next C.B. 2 full-board meeting.
“We appreciate all the input we’ve
received for the Gansevoort Peninsula
project thus far,” the Trust spokesperson
said. “These meetings are designed
to provide a forum for community
members and general public to share
thoughts and ideas for the project, and
we encourage everyone to participate.
We are now working with our designers
and engineers on a feasible concept
design.”
Grants awarded to fashion manufacturers
BY GABE HERMAN
Eight fashion manufacturers in
Manhattan, including seven in the
Garment District and one in Chelsea,
were recipients of the latest round
of grants awarded as part of the Fashion
Manufacturing Initiative.
The grant fund is from the Council of
Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), a
nonprofi t trade association, and the New
York City Economic Development Corporation.
This year the program awarded a total
of nearly $730,000 to 12 fashion manufacturers
in the city. Those are the biggest
investment numbers yet for the program,
which started in 2013 and is in its sixth
round of grants.
The Fashion Manufacturing Initiative
is a public-private program intended to
support local fashion manufacturers,
with the funds to be used for needs like
equipment and software, infrastructure
upgrades and workforce training.
“Providing grant assistance for upgrades
and expansion costs is key to
ensuring that the garment manufacturing
industry stays strong in New York,”
said James Patchett, E.D.C. president and
C.E.O., in a statement.
The seven Garment District companies
receiving this year’s grants include
Atelier Amelia, a development and production
manufacturer; Button Down
Factory; Create-A-Marker, a computerized
grading and marking service; Geri
Gerard, a design studio; New York Embroidery
Studio; SN Productions, which
offers consulting services; and Timberlake
Studios, a theater-focused manufacturer
that makes custom costumes and
provides alteration services.
The Chelsea-based recipient is Park
Avenue Trimming, at 155 W. 29th St.,
which is a family-run factory.
Since the grant fund’s launch, nearly
$3.5 million has been awarded to 33
manufacturers in the city.
“We are proud to see the largest investment
yet in the Fashion Manufacturing
Initiative’s six-year history,” said Steven
Kolb, CFDA president and C.E.O.
“By investing in local manufacturing,
we are supporting the fashion industry at
large and we will continue to expand our
programming to build a viable production
sector in New York City.”
Schneps Media CNW May 16, 2019 3