NYCkayaker Meeting re boathouse at Pier 26 tonight?

[bonnie13 at earthlink.net]

All sounds good - should this maybe be sent on to Julie? It's a nice summary of the stuff Jim & Eric outlined plus a little more about the kind of access that tends to be a little off the radar for us boathouse-users but is crucial to allowing cartoppers & folding kayakers to enjoy the river too, not just members of clubs or clients of outfitters. 

The Trust doesn't seem to be listening even as well as they used to. I thought it was just a matter of my getting out of the loop, but did I post anything here about discovering that once upon a time back in 2003, there actually WAS a public notice page on the Trust's website, where you could go to find out when meetings were, and what was going to be discussed? 

http://www.hudsonriverpark.org/public/board.html - that was the place. 

Then they redesigned the website &  the new one only tells you when & where the next full board meeting is (no agenda, even). Noreen Doyle has promised to make sure that anyone who emails her asking to be added to the notice list gets added - again, her email is ndoyle at hrpt.state.ny.us  

Funny thing was - I found the link on an email I'd sent to this list back in July of 2003, exhorting people to attend the meetings & speak up. No public notice makes that a little hard to do. 

Sorry if this is a repeat but it ties in with the business of getting the Trust to respond to the public - there have been occasions when they did, quite well, but it seems like that's not really going on the way it should be right now. But because in the past, they have responded, it doesn't seem unreasonably optimistic to hope that Julie and the community board may have some success.

OK, between this & last night's blog post I've ranted enough for one week, and I've got lots of work to get done if I'm going to make it to teach at the Yonkers pool session.  But I only rant when I'm feeling optimistic - if I felt like this was a lost cause, I don't waste any more energy on it.


Bonnie K. Aldinger
www.frogma.blogspot.com 



-----Original Message-----
>From: Rob Buchanan <robbuc at aol.com>
>Sent: Jan 24, 2007 12:12 AM
>To: bonnie13 at earthlink.net, "j,duffy1" <j.duffy1 at rcn.com>
>Cc: pier63holdtrips <pier63holdtrips at yahoogroups.com>, nykayak <nyckayaker at rockandwater.net>, greenland list <greenland-list at brooklynkayak.com>
>Subject: Re: NYCkayaker Meeting re boathouse at Pier 26 tonight?
>
>I agree that a lot of sense was made at last night's meeting. But I'm
>wondering if any of it will matter. That announcement at the outset that the
>hrp trust had construction drawings for the boathouse that were 'virtually
>100 percent complete' and would be putting them out to bid in april would
>seem to pre-empt any real community input. That said, here's my two cents,
>in case the trust turns out to be bluffing, or eliot spitzer comes in and
>gives connie fishman a stern talking-to about NOT building another white
>elephant. 
>
>
>1) let's cut all the extras, on the theory that the less money is wasted on
>frills, the more can be spent on raw space. So, no fabulous soaring
>rooflines or jungle gym aluminum superstructures. No showers, no central
>heating, no insulation, no bathrooms even (as jim wetteroth pointed out,
>toilets never really work on piers).
>
>2) let's make sure the space is flexible enough to accommodate not only
>kayaks, but also rowing gigs and even six-man outrigger canoes. I know that
>the downtown boathouse is envisioned as the tenant here, and that means
>mostly kayaks, but as recreational boating on the harbor grows, the
>community's needs and interests will surely diversify. Bmcc, which is right
>next door, has a rowing program on pier 40 now, but what happens when that
>gets rebuilt? Will downtowners wanting to row or paddle together really trek
>all the way up to midtown to get on the water? Anyway, designwise it's not a
>big deal--it just means bigger doors and good high ceilings--at least 12
>feet, so that oars can be stood on end (something the architects of the MIT
>boathouse in Boston famously forgot)--and a davit or two.
>
>3) let's not let them put a lock on the gate or door at the head of the ramp
>that runs down to the dock. There can be plenty of fierce signage, but for
>me, at least, more important than the boathouse itself is the idea of open
>access. Without that, we're just rats fenced into a cage, pathetic little
>minions who need to go begging permission from their minders in order to
>enjoy a day on the water. In the long run, that can't be good for the
>community, especially one with such a proud nautical heritage.
>
>4) let's insist on a couple of big barn doors on the south side of the
>building, even though boats will be launched to the west. There's nothing
>nicer than hanging out in a sunny, protected spot on a blustery winter day
>when the wind is out of the northwest.
>
>
>On 1/23/07 9:53 AM, "bonnie13 at earthlink.net" <bonnie13 at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>> And it was DEFINITELY interested. Pier 26 is not somewhere I personally EVER
>> would have expected to store a boat but I was depressed just on general
>> principal when I read that Downtown Express article about the Trust cutting
>> the Tribeca boathouse because they didn't have the budget - when it's so
>> freaking obvious that the boathouses they ARE building are just plain over-
>> (and mis-) designed & for the cost of the 2 they've already built, they could
>> probably have afforded at least 3 simpler boathouses that actually would have
>> worked better. Bleah.
>> 
>> So nice to hear sense being spoken at that meeting last night.
>> 
>> too many deadlines today I did a bit of a writeup on my blog -
>> www.frogma.blogspot.com -  it's not great 'cause I did it too fast after I got
>> home last night, but I think it gives the general sense (attendees are MORE
>> than welcome to send me any corrections or clarifications).
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: "j,duffy1" <j.duffy1 at rcn.com>
>>> Sent: Jan 22, 2007 5:53 PM
>>> To: bonnie13 at earthlink.net
>>> Cc: nyckayaker <nyckayaker at rockandwater.net>, pier63holdtrips
>>> <pier63holdtrips at yahoogroups.com>, greenland list
>>> <greenland-list at brooklynkayak.com>
>>> Subject: Re: NYCkayaker Meeting re boathouse at Pier 26 tonight?
>>> 
>>> Thank you, Bonnie.  This meeting was set last week at the first Pier
>>> 25-26 subgroup meeting, and most of the usual suspects were there.  I
>>> should have posted it to the list, but I forgot.  It should be interesting.
>>> 
>>> Jim Wetteroth,
>>> 
>>> bonnie13 at earthlink.net wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Sorry, can't remember if anybody else announced this already but there's a
>>>> meeting that might be of interest tonight - I don't know if I can make it,
>>>> if I do it's out of curiousity & I only intend to listen - but I suddenly
>>>> realized I hadn't done a thing to pass the word.  It's on their public
>>>> notice section at www.cb1.org . I have no more details than this.
>>>> 
>>>> Waterfront Committee
>>>> DATE:  Monday, January 22, 2007
>>>> TIME:  6:00 PM 
>>>> PLACE:  Community Board #1 Office
>>>> 49-51 Chambers Street, Room 709
>>>> 
>>>> Agenda 
>>>> 1)  East River Waterfront ­ Preview on upcoming ULURP action ­ Presentation
>>>> by EDC  
>>>> 2) Strategic planning needs assessment discussion lead by Michael Levine,
>>>> Director of Planning and Land Use of CB #1
>>>> 
>>>> Pier 26 ­ Boat House ­7:30 PM
>>>> 1) Subgroup working session
>>>> 
>>>> Sorry again about the late notice and/or duplication. Since I've disengaged
>>>> from the Hudson River scene & gone to Jamaica Bay I'm a little out of the
>>>> loop.  
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> **********************************************************************
>> The NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by www.rockandwater.net, and is a public
>> service offered to the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail
>> Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
>> 
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>