I went to Jones Beach today

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

. . . Or there would be plenty of cops or firefighters with their city parking permits illegally parked everywhere.

9/11 was almost seven years ago. There is no longer any need for you to "entertain" all those cops and firemen in your 200 sq. ft. 1/2 bath West Village loft. In fact, YOU are the one responsible for the illegal parking in the West Village if not most neighboring parts of Chelsea

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

I love the fact that the waterfront today is strictly pedestrian only and that it truly is for everyone, and not just for the rich.

You mean like this fiasco on the other side of the island:

June 19, 2007

A Co-op on Sutton Place Sues to Keep Its Backyard

By CHARLES V. BAGLI

The owners of an exclusive co-op on Sutton Place South have taken to the barricades, or at least to State Supreme Court in Manhattan, in an attempt to block the city from seizing a swath of their emerald green backyard for a public park.

The owners of the 13-story building at 1 Sutton Place South have long regarded the quiet, grassy oasis, which stretches over Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and offers strictly private views of the East River, as one of the most compelling amenities in a building where apartments routinely sell for many millions of dollars.

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation contends that the co-op owners are effectively squatting on city land. It has plans to turn slightly more than half of the backyard garden into a quarter-acre park.

The department claims that the co-op’s lease for the land, which the city acquired from the co-op owners in 1939, expired 17 years ago. After years of negotiation, the state and the city notified the co-op late last month that the department was about to start construction of a fence and park “on Parks property adjacent to 1 Sutton Place.”

The residents, including Sigourney Weaver; John Fairchild, the retired publisher of Women’s Wear Daily; and Carl H. Tiedemann, the former president of the investment banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, are vowing to defend their piece of Manhattan against all intruders.

“The city’s proposing to build a park on property it doesn’t own,” said John L. Vogelstein, a resident and the former president of Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm. “The facts are borne out by their own construction drawings, clearly as can be.”

Yesterday, a judge granted a temporary order blocking the city from moving forward. The co-op claims in the lawsuit that the city’s own construction maps and photographs show that the co-op actually owns a substantial portion, if not all, of its backyard. Further, the co-op says that the city has failed to take the proper steps required by the City Charter to develop the park.

If it loses the case, the co-op is seeking $10 million in compensation for the property.

The city disputes the co-op’s claims. Eric Runkbaken, chief of real estate litigation for the city’s Law Department, said yesterday that he was hopeful that the court would rule quickly in the city’s favor “so the Parks Department can proceed with plans to create a park for the public’s benefit.”

The issue dates back to a time when the East Side’s welter of breweries, slaughterhouses and factories was giving way to a wealthy residential enclave. It involves obscure legal issues and historical figures like Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia; Robert Moses, the city’s legendary builder; and Paul Hammond, a racing yachtsman who lived at 1 Sutton Place and who negotiated the transfer in 1939 on the co-op’s behalf.

With the city planning to build what is now F.D.R. Drive, the owners of the co-op granted the city a permanent easement in 1939 as part of a friendly condemnation proceeding. In return, the city agreed to enclose the highway and pour soil over the roof, or deck, so that the residents would not be disturbed by the noise and odor of passing cars. The city leased the decktop to the co-op for $1 a year.

The co-op sought to extend the lease before it expired in 1990. Later, the owners took steps to keep the matter from becoming public by requiring prospective buyers to review the legal status of the backyard and sign a strict confidentiality agreement.

The question of ownership came to a head in 2003 when the state’s Department of Transportation began a $147 million rehabilitation of F.D.R. Drive between 54th and 63rd Streets and had to tear up the garden to fix the deck.

www.nytimes.com

These are the same cheap $100 million + people who likely keep their illegal and $1.50 an hour Filipino servants locked in the 8x8 servants' quaters behind the kitchen

Sic transit gloria mundi

[Ghost_Tracker]

Originally Posted by petep9000

Yes, and it wasn't just The Donald either. That project was bandied about since the late 60's, I believe. It was killed by politics, basically. Oh, and someone finally dumped enough money into research studies that said a variety of migratory fish (striped bass?) would be disturbed by the contruction. A shame...this would have sunk the West Side Highway from sight, and opened up waterfront access to the masses. . .

"And the days go by..."

[petep9000]

I just bought 'The Power Broker' last night. It's a mighty tome. I'll be reading this for the next few months! But, so far it's pretty interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_Broker