Finer points of Pier55’s fine print
To The Editor:
Re “Diller and DVF’s Gift, Pier55 Park to Rise Above Convention” (news article, Nov. 20):
I am concerned about the “Open-Entry or Free or Low-Cost (OEFLC) Obligation.” Luckily, within the 165-page lease agreement, it is completely described in paragraph 9.03 on page 25. Unfortunately, the term “low-cost” is not defined, and the only requirement is that OEFLC Permitted Events be “reasonably distributed across each Season.” The phrase “reasonably distributed” is also not defined. So it is quite possible to offer no open-entry or free events and only “low-cost” events, and to never offer them on Friday and Saturday nights, or never on weekends, so that the ticketed and fundraising events completely dominate the times when the general (non-student/non-senior) public cannot attend. I am not saying this will happen, I am saying to protect the public interest, this language needs to be improved. And, given the two bridge entry points to the new designed Pier, it is obvious that for reasons of health and safety, during ticketed events, there will be NO access to the rest of the Pier by the general public.
Barry Drogin
Noise will be monstrous
To The Editor:
Re “Diller and DVF’s Gift, Pier55 Park to Rise Above Convention” (news article, Nov. 20):
Diller’s proposed monument to himself is monstrous and nothing that the neighborhood needs. An amphitheater at its center? Do you have any idea how sound reverberates and travels upward?
Susan Brownmiller
Pier55 floats her boat
To The Editor:
Re “Diller and DVF’s Gift, Pier55 Park to Rise Above Convention” (news article, Nov. 20):
What a great concept, as well as terrific, crystal-clear writing by Lincoln Anderson. This park would be quite a supplement to the High Line.
Diane Lebedeff
Pier is pretty, but practical?
To The Editor:
Re “Diller and DVF’s Gift, Pier55 Park to Rise Above Convention” (news article, Nov. 20):
We are not living in a time when we can decide public parkland policy by the whim of the wealthy or the fond wishes of the rest of us. In this era of extreme climate change, we need innovative, scientifically verifiable land use proposals that will both protect our coasts and make our city resilient and ecologically sustainable. These must be our first priorities.
The Pier55 design is pretty, but when the next hurricane comes or the next unbearable heat wave, will this have been the very best use of public shoreland, the best use of scant park resources?
Even assuming the very best of intentions and even with any real benefits, this plan further encourages the drift toward the privatization of public parkland. “Desperate government is our best customer,” said the chairperson of a major finance company specializing in infrastructure privatization in the midst of the financial crisis in 2008.
Donations are wonderful. But funds allocated using the most democratic process available to us? Priceless.
K Webster
Diller must do more
To The Editor:
Re “Diller and DVF give huge gift to create park art pier” (news article, Nov. 20):
At the very least, there should be an endowment funded by Diller to cover the maintenance of this park in perpetuity, and not just for 20 to 30 years.
Leonie Haimson
Pier55’s big payoff
To The Editor:
Re “Diller and DVF’s Gift, Pier55 Park to Rise Above Convention” (news article, Nov. 20):
The notion of this being a “gift” is questionable, if not laughable. Consider the same couples’ huge “gift” to the High Line park.
Their real estate holdings (buildings, homes and the Diane von Furstenberg store, all right near the High Line) realized an increase in value far above the sum they donated. In other words, it’s a very savvy investment, not a gift.
Their fellow billionaires who owned the nearby private properties likewise made a huge killing from the tax dollars invested in the High Line.
How many billions in profit will they realize from this latest real estate trickery posing as philanthropy?
Robert Lederman
Lederman is president, A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists’ Response to Illegal State Tactics)
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