Battery Park City veteran calls for expansion plans.Charles J. Urstadt, the founding chairman and chief executive officer of the Battery Park City Authority The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority is a New York State public benefit corporation whose mission is to plan, create, co-ordinate and maintain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the lower west side , recommended the expansion and privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned of Battery Park City, the 100-acre public/private development created on landfill in the Hudson River Hudson River River, New York, U.S. Originating in the Adirondack Mountains and flowing for about 315 mi (507 km) to New York City, it was named for Henry Hudson, who explored it in 1609. Dutch settlement of the Hudson valley began in 1629. in lower Manhattan. Urstadt was speaking before a gathering of public and private industry leaders at the University Club, where he received the First Annual Award for Visionary Leadership in Real Estate given by the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute of Baruch College/City University of New York There is no institution of higher education in the State of New York or the United States of America that bears the name University of New York. However, in confusion, it is possible that such a reference may regard the following: According to Urstadt, "The success that Battery Park City has achieved should serve now as a starting point for the vision of the future. The development has proved that a partnership of the public and private sectors can achieve successes that neither could accomplish on its own ... If I am truly to deserve the Visionary Leadership Award you have presented to me tonight, I would like to see Battery Park City pointing the way to future applications of public/ private cooperation." Estimating that the current Battery Park City could be sold by the Battery Park City Authority for approximately $3 billion, Urstadt, who has been called "The Father of Battery Park City," suggested that $300 million of the proceeds should be used by the Authority to expand the present mile-long development by filling in 50 acres in the Hudson River immediately to the north to a point just below Canal Street and the Holland Tunnel. "As with any visionary proposal, my suggestion will run into the usual obstructionists and roadblocks," Urstadt said, "but in view of the success of Batter Park City they are surmountable sur·mount tr.v. sur·mount·ed, sur·mount·ing, sur·mounts 1. To overcome (an obstacle, for example); conquer. 2. To ascend to the top of; climb. 3. a. To place something above; top. ." He noted further that the $2.7 billion remaining after the additional 50 acres had been filled could provide what he called "a powerful economic sweetener Sweetener A special feature added to a debt obligation or preferred stock to promote marketability. Notes: Warrants and convertibles are two popular sweeteners. See also: Convertible Bond, Kicker, Warrant Sweetener ." "How wonderful it would be if the amendatory a·men·da·to·ry adj. Serving or tending to amend; corrective. Adj. 1. amendatory - effecting amendment; "added amendatory phrases to the text" bettering - changing for the better legislation that will be necessary to allow the privatization to go forward would also specify that all or a specific portion of the remaining funds ... be earmarked to provide subsidized housing throughout the City of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . The privatization and creation of the additional Battery Park City area could become the engine that would drive the ever-present need to satisfy the City's efforts to provide affordable housing." Urstadt called upon the Governor and the Mayor to study his proposal and to appoint a commission that would spell out the legislative steps that would be needed to implement the proposal. In conjunction with the award ceremony, the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute distributed to attendees at the presentation copies of "Battery Park City, the Early Years," a book recently written by Urstadt with Gene Brown and Avrum Hyman detailing the early start-up efforts of the Battery Park City Authority during his initial 12-year period of service. |
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