Intelligencer

The Other West Side Story

A new stadium isn’t the only waterfront boondoggle.

By Greg Sargent (Email)
Published May 21, 2005

The battle over the Jets’ stadium has been so noisy that it’s easy to forget about the other West Side throw-down: over developing Pier 57. That’s the 700-foot-long bus depot turned convention-protester holding cell (“Gitmo on the Hudson”) off West 14th Street. Duking it out are President Bush’s buddy Roland Betts, master of the Chelsea Piers super-gym, which he wants to expand south, and a coalition of the Witcoff Group, Plaza Construction, and the Cipriani restaurant family, who want to set up a theme-parkish celebration of all things Italian. A group appointed by the mayor and governor should annoint a winner by the end of the month.

(Photo: Illustration Courtesy of Hudson River Park Trust)

Chelsea Piers Extension
Basic idea: Expand the jock wonderland with nine rooftop tennis courts, squash, a 25-meter pool, plus kiddie pools.
Bonus features: Community roof garden, space for galleries and arts education, 40,000-square-foot dance center.
Or possibly: An electrical-power-generating facility, new studios for WNYC, FEMA emergency offices, a seafood restaurant.
The politics: Betts isn’t popular with some community groups, who feel bullied by his empire of sweat, so they’re backing Cipriani.
Neighborliness factor: We’re already used to the big brown barns of Chelsea Piers.

(Photo: Illustration Courtesy of Hudson River Park Trust)

Leonardo at 57
Basic idea: Little Italy supercenter with restaurants, a 70,000-square-foot event space, and a branch of the Triennale di Milano design museum.
Bonus features: A DeLonghi appliance store with cooking classes, a rooftop park with a private pool and club, cheap artists’ studios.
Or possibly: Glass-blowing demonstrations, floating swimming-pool barge, Fashion Week HQ, and an overhead link to the High Line.
The politics: Politicos Jerrold Nadler and Richard Gottfried are backing it, but Betts and crew recently slammed Gottfried in a letter as “ill-informed, out-of-touch, and not credible.”
Neighborliness factor: The meatpacking district goes to sea.