Crains New York - March 4, 2013 - (Page 3)

IN THE BOROUGHS MANHATTAN A monumental fight High Line will try a new tack City, feds at odds over security screening for Statue of Liberty tourists Parts of final section to be only temporary as area takes shape BY ANNIE KARNI At West 30th Street and 10th Avenue, a locked metal gate separates the northern end of the High Line from the weedy stretch destined to become its third and final section. Today, that stretch, which swings out to 12th Avenue before arcing around to its end at West 34th Street near 11th Avenue, is buried beneath 150,000 cubic feet of soil that has accumulated there since the last train—loaded with frozen turkeys—used it back in 1980 and the line fell into disrepair. Workers are currently digging up the “urban fill” to get to the structure beneath. By June, the last of the decades-old dirt will be gone, and landscapers will be planting, and installing seating and lights. Then, finally, sometime next year the metal gate will come down and visitors will stroll the last half-mile of the world’s most famous park on stilts—perhaps stopping at a new picnic area shaded by umbrellas spinning in the wind. The northernmost leg of the line will be a major departure from the READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP? The National Park Service wants to screen visitors when they arrive at Ellis and Liberty islands. The NYPD wants them inspected before they board ferries to the locales. The final call could determine when Lady Liberty reopens. BY LISA FICKENSCHER bloomberg news Federal and local government officials are at odds with each other and vigorously debating how to provide security for the Statue of Liberty and the 4 million tourists who visit it each year. Some officials believe the security measures implemented after Sept. 11, 2001, have run their course and need to be updated. Others, including top brass in the New York Police Department, are not keen about making changes to a system that involves lines of visitors snaking through Battery Park metal detectors before boarding ferries to visit the national monument on Liberty Island See STATUE on Page 20 and the historic sights on neighboring Ellis Island. See HIGH LINE on Page 19 BY ANNIE KARNI When it comes to saving Pier 40 on the West Side, Douglas Durst has long described himself as a concerned citizen who wants to help save the pier and Hudson River Park. Now the billionaire developer admits he may be in it to win it. Mr. Durst told Crain’s that he would be open to putting in a bid to develop the 14-acre pier. Until now, he has extolled his vision of redeveloping the existing buildings as simply the most economically and politically feasible. He has said repeatedly that he does not intend to ‘We don’t want kids playing on the roof of private entities’ develop the pier himself. But on Friday he admitted, “That position could change.” His shift has been many months in the making and further heightens the standoff that has emerged over the park. High tensions were on display Thursday at a meeting of Community Board 2. About 200 residents concerned about the future of the ball fields at Pier 40 assembled at 375 Hudson St. to hear the details of two competing visions for developing the crumbling pier. On one side there was Mr.Durst, dressed in a charcoal-gray threepiece suit. On the other was Tobi Bergman, leader of a community group called the Pier 40 Champions, wearing sneakers and a fleece vest over a button-down. Mr. Durst outlined a $384 million development plan that he claimed would not require tearing down the existing building. The “adaptive reuse” of the existing structure would generate $10 million a year to the trust that oversees STATS AND THE CITY FARE HIKE: A single ride on the subway or bus got 25 cents more expensive starting March 3. Unlimited MetroCards now cost $1 to $8 more. 189K AVERAGE weekday subway ridership at the Times Square station in 2011, up 4% from 2010. It’s the most-trafficked station in the five boroughs $3.6B TOTAL REVENUE the MTA generated from subway and bus fares in 2011 1993 YEAR that MetroCards began to phase out tokens $10M ANNUAL COST for the MTA to produce an average of 160 million MetroCards $245 TAX-FREE monthly benefit limit for participants in employersponsored transit-fare programs as of Jan. 1, 2013, up $15 from 2011 Source: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYPIRG’s Straphangers Campaign newscom Another rescue plan for Hudson River Park. Hey, Albany: Cash is running out buck ennis Durst signals intention to bid for development of Pier 40 ADDICTED TO NUMBERS? GET A DAILY DOSE AT @STATSANDTHECITY See DURST on Page 19 March 4, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - March 4, 2013

Crains New York - March 4, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
SMALL BUSINESS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REPORT: 2013 ELECTIONS
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - March 4, 2013