Cuomo OKs Hudson River Park air rights bill

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law yesterday that gives the cash-strapped Hudson River Park the ability to sell up to 1.6 million square feet of air rights. Cuomo had until midnight today to decide on the fate of the bill, which will likely result in commercial and residential development at the park, located on the Far West Side of Manhattan Between Battery Place And West 59th Street.

The bill was passed the same evening that about 200 West Side residents held a meeting to discuss their concerns that excessive development would ruin the waterfront, the Villager reported. Some questioned the lack of transparency behind the bill’s approval.

“We don’t need legislation passed without appropriate input and feedback from the impacted communities,” Bill Borock, president of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations, told the Villager.

Madelyn Wils, CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust, which controls the park, was in attendance at the meeting, but declined to comment. [Villager]  – Hiten Samtani