By Daniel Katzive
Work on a new 79th Street Boat Basin Marina could begin next year, with recreational boats returning to the Upper West Side by 2028. There are plenty of potential pitfalls between now and then, but the message from the city’s planning team – delivered to Community Board 7’s Parks and Environment Committee Monday night – is that the project is nearing the end of an arduous environmental review process and getting closer to the construction phase.
In the 11 months since CB7 passed a resolution approving the preliminary design, the project has earned an important preliminary sign-off from the city’s Public Design Commission and the blessing of the State Historic Preservation Office.
The design team has made some subtle changes in response to feedback received along the way. The design of the marina’s controversial dock house has continued to evolve. The overall height of the structure has been reduced by six inches, and the proposed facade has been adjusted to appear less imposing, by using lower luster steel, with the diagonal truss-like elements toned down as well. Committee members at the meeting were supportive of the direction the changes took.
One other element of the design that appears to have changed is the cost, probably not surprising given the price inflation seen in recent years. The project was originally budgeted back in 2021 at $89 million, but the latest Parks Department presentation shows a cost estimate of $103 million on the cover.
Project manager Stephen Frech explained that the designers would now move to complete plans and apply for final approval from the Public Design Commission later this year. The project could then be put out for bids, and for construction permits, in 2026. The construction process itself is expected to take two years, potentially allowing for completion in 2028.
Planning for a revitalized marina began as far back as 2019 but was interrupted by the pandemic. In late 2021, the Parks Department determined that it would no longer be safe to operate the deteriorating facility, and all boaters were forced to leave. Since then, the marina has been shuttered and is now entering its fourth summer without activity.
The new marina will include slips for more boats and, compared with the previous design, much improved protection from wakes and waves. There will also be access points for non-motorized craft like kayaks.
While boaters have been advocating for a quick reopening of the marina, and most community members appear in favor of a renovated facility, the dock house which will house marina staff, records, and facilities for boaters, has been a bone of contention.
Modern building codes and restrictions have forced planners to elevate the structure, and community members have objected to the building’s modern appearance in the context of historic Riverside Park. The design has evolved accordingly and, while some members of the public continue to object, community board members seem inclined to accept the project team’s assertions that they have adjusted as much as possible.
“One thing we can all agree on is that this is a project that not everybody will agree on in our community,” said Parks and Environment Committee Co-Chair Natasha Kazmi, at the end of Monday’s meeting. ”But as multiple people have said, the project has come a long way. And as the community board, you have to commend the EDC [Economic Development Corporation] and DPR [Parks Department] and everybody for actually listening to the feedback and acting on it. That’s what they’ve done throughout. This is an incredible opportunity for our community to interact with the water in a way that it hasn’t done in the past in this area of New York City.”
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All that needs to be said about this is $103 Million!
Wait. Bill is unhappy? Stop.
The new skating rink and pool in Central Park are part of the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer included $60 million from the City of New York. I don’t skate nor do I intend to use the pool, but as a taxpayer, I can easily provide more City and State (expensively) funded projects that benefit some but not all.
Recreational spaces in urban environments provide essential opportunities for physical health, mental restoration, social connection, and equitable access to nature—enhancing quality of life for all residents.
“It’s understanding that makes it possible for people like us to tolerate a person like yourself. (Ferris Bueller).”
You’re equating a facility for swimming, skating and lawn activities that provides maximum use all year round that will serve thousands with a focus on the nearby underserved community with a marina? OK, let’s do that. Private donations funded about 75% of the Davis Center. Why don’t you raise $75 Million for this? Why don’t you also make clear that YOU run various sailing/charter businesses that stand to benefit from this. We don’t need a city built and subsidized marina so that you can run a business There are already marinas along the waterfront.
I don’t run a sailing/charter business; I work for one. And, I have disclosed such a fact at every meeting I have attended and at which I have been a public speaker. Also note that the sailing/charter business pays fees to the marina for such use. And, that the sailing camp offers free lessons to eligible students.
There are other pools and skating rinks, as well, in the City, but supply should attempt to meet demand. There is high demand for the Boat Basin Marina.
Your point is noted that the Davis Center was publicly and privately funded.
“What the people want is a few simple things. They want recreation facilities — parks, playgrounds, beaches, and bathhouses. They want them accessible and well maintained… There is no mystery about the kind of thing that must be done to humanize a city. (Robert Moses).”
So, we need pools, skateboard parks, dog runs, basketball courts, bike lanes, playgrounds, marinas, tennis courts, beaches, pools, parks, baseball and soccer fields, and hiking trails – all to make city living tolerable and to attract and retain taxpaying citizenry. And the spending of public funds is required to achieve this. And yes, concessions present at all of these outlets provide value to its users and a revenue source to help subsidize its cost.
“The City has made historic investments to close the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway loop, committing more than $1.3B to quality open space that integrates the Greenway into Inwood, North Harlem, East Harlem, East Midtown, and Lower East Side.” Source: https://edc.nyc/project/manhattan-waterfront-greenway
Why? Because everyone should work on the project for $35K per year?
That’s total BS!
The construction company I know very well, so well that he is my next-door neighbor here in Westchester that I just spoke with who was supposed to be doing the renovation work for the sponsor has not even been approached for a budget as of today!
He also said the condition of the Marina is total false with the cities reporting this Marina would have to be totally (100%) reconstructed from the beginning and it would take until 2032/5 to be completed!
That’s how bad the condition of this Marina is!
A complete rebuild of the marina has been the plan since Day 1 of this project. That being said, how does the condition of the current facility matter at all?
Why is this taking so long? Also please fix the docks on W 125th Street West Harlem Piers Park.
LOL- in your dreams!
The cost of this would be millions less if it didn’t have a marina for private, live-aboard boats. But (pardon the pun) that ship has sailed.
But I can’t help saying it again: WHY is any public money going to building a marina for boat owners? Why does a boathouse have to be built so they can have showers? And offices for marina staff to manage their PRIVATE marina?
A boathouse with public toilets and a small office and programming space for Park users, with launch ramp for kayaks. That’s all we need (if even that).
Oh well. $103 million. I hope these boat owners appreciate it.
Please advise where in the Boat Basin Marina’s history or in any of the recent/current marina rebuilding public discussions, meeting minutes, planning documents, and presentations has the word “private” been used? The answer: never. And where has it appeared or been discussed that the marina caters solely for “live-aboard” mariners? The answer: never. “The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject. (Marcus Aurelius)”
Lizzie,
Disclaimer, I have had a boat at the 79th Boat Basin for years.
Question: Why does NYC have public golf courses, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, volleyball courts, basketball courts, etc? Answer: For recreational purposes!
The 79th Boat Basin is NOT private. It is open to the public. Historically there has been a waiting list to get in and with an expanded marina, maybe there will no longer be a waiting list.
In addition, they have what are called “transient slips” which are for boaters passing through NYC. Yes, there is a fee charged on a daily basis for a transient slips. I’ve met people from all over the world at the 79th BB. Some stay for just a day and others stay for weeks while touring NYC as part of their journey. There are economic benefits to NYC from people visiting and the 79th BB is a gateway to regional and international visitors.
Prior to the closing, the Clearwater http://www.Clearwater.org, an educationally oriented sailboat would frequently dock at the 79th BB. They would take school field trips on working cruises in the Hudson River.
In addition, there was an organization that conducted public sailing lessons out of the 79th BB. I could mention more but I think that I have made my point.
Having said all that, only a government agency could spend over $100 million refurbishing this marina.
Not a good analogy. It is like saying let’s build luxury housing at the taxpayer buck, but the apartments will be bought and used by the very wealthy.
“ Why does NYC have public golf courses, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, volleyball courts, basketball courts, etc? Answer: For recreational purposes!”
Volleyball courts and boats are in the same category? Sorry, volleyball is a true recreational activity for all whereas boats can be afforded by a very few.
“…boats can be afforded by a very few.”
Absolutely true. And I can absolutely promise that the users of the boat slips will be paying way more than the users of the volleyball courts.
Are you gonna live long enough to see it….?
Not from what I’ve been hearing “2035“, if at all! I have a 37 foot schooner that’s supposed to be mooring there, instead I’m docking it in New Rochelle, New York until 79Th St., is ready. It has been there since the city closed 79Th St. marina. The city promised me space on City Island and that never happened. In a letter I received from the City Of New York that I am on my own until the lottery comes up for docking at the 79Th St., marina before I’m even considered returning.
I’m not fighting it $$$$ and I’m not holding my breath.
These are minor, minor cosmetic changes to a structure that is still way out of proportion to its surroundings, at a taxpayer-funded facility that will benefit only the very wealthy few who can afford a ‘recreational’ boat.
The structure you claim is out of proportion to its surroundings? The marina and its dockhouse need to be functional. Many of the months in “delay” in the marina’s project timeline resulted from back and forth to balance form and functionality. The current design is the result of compromise. “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime you find, you get what you need (The Rolling Stones).” Everyone has given and everyone has received. You should feel satisfied that the democratic process works. The length of the dockhouse is a fraction of the four mile length of Riverside Park. The dockhouse has been situated to minimize the impact on your ability to view the condos and ferry terminal of New Jersey.
Regarding your due diligence of the customers of the Boat Basin Marina, please share with us that the transient and slip renters have 1040’s of $1 million or more or gross income? “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts—for support rather than illumination. (Andrew Lang)”
Lastly, call up “Craig’s List” and search for “free sailboat” – You’ll find many listings.
When I see it i’ll believe it!
The pier will probably just rot in the Hudson River.
– Never going to happen.
The building is still an eyesore.
I agree. It will be a scar on the landscape of our park. Yes there was compromise in the design but it started out and continues to be a design for an industrial park, not a city park.
“Nothing is more overrated than a bad building and nothing is more underrated than a good one. (Ada Louise Huxtable)”
Sorry, but at that price, and knowing who will be able to use the marina, this is nothing more than a huge gift to the very wealthy.
And BTW, I haven’t missed seeing the marina on my (low-cost0 walks along the river.
Unfortunately, though, you do not know “who will be able to use the marina.” It has been, and will again be, used by your neighbors, with an array of financial means, school children, environmentalists, educators, and non-profit entities (e.g., the Billion Oyster Project; Pete Seeger’s “Clearwater,” et al.). Boating is accessible to people of any means. According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), “Recreational boating isn’t just for the one percent. Sixty-one percent of boat owners have an annual household income of $100,000 or less.” Source: https://www.nmma.org/press/article/24207?utm
Wish we could just bring back the free kayaking for all and I’d be thrilled. To 125th Street as well.
UGLY! UGLY! UGLY! Could they possibly make that new boathouse more ugly? Were he alive to see it, Robert Moses wouldn’t stop vomiting after seeing the desecration of his masterpiece.
Why does UWS need a marina and a boathouse at all? A $100+ million boondoggle that will serve only a handful of mostly rich people a few months each year, while ruining the river view for everyone else.
Tear down the rotting hulk, restore the river frontage, get rid of the marina, and put that money into affordable housing instead.
Get rid of the entire marina, it looks like trash, clean it all out.
Nothing should be there. It ruins my Sunset!
It was always ugly and it’s still ugly now.
It doesn’t belong there move it up to 125th St. where there’s more space with the other marina.
It’s been an eyesore for decades. From the day they constructed it and nothing but problems ever since.
It was a stupid idea from the beginning.
It was never taken care of,
they never took care of it.
I vote to towed it out to sea!
Would I love a municipal marina? Sure. Is it worth the $100M aka the annual property tax bill of almost 100 medium size apartment buildings?
Unfortunately, it’s just not worth it in this day and age. Especially when we think about the opex that will be needed to maintain it.