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Newtown Creek could be getting a new boathouse.
State officials made the $3-million waterfront facility on Manhattan Avenue one of seven finalists for a $7-million pool of money created by the city three years ago in punishment for years of violating state pollution laws.
Community Board 1 member Dewey Thompson, who has lobbied hard for money for a boathouse and educational facility in the ground floor of a factory building, hoped the state will follow through on the foundation’s advice.
“It’s going to have a big, tangible, game-changing impact on Greenpoint,” said Thompson. “It’s going to change the way the people interact with the creek and get on the water in general.”
The City Parks Foundation passed along local recommendations to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Attorney General’s office based on feedback culled from the community the past six months.
The recommendations include new bulkheads and tree plantings along Newtown Creek, and the acquisition of two waterfront sites in Queens which would be developed into parkland.
But two of the foundation’s six other recommendations, a $1-million study for renovating the Pulaski Bridge, and $2 million in pathway improvements inside McCarren Park, could have lasting improvements for Greenpoint.
Greenpoint residents have mobilized over the past two years to demand significant improvements for the bridge, including an expanded space for bikes and pedestrians.
“We want to study specifically ways in which we can have a separate pedestrian and bike path that is sufficiently wide to accommodate a two-way bike path in a safe manner,” said Pulaski Bridge coalition member Moses Gates.
And parks leaders embraced the news that McCarren Park could be renovated with state funds. The city nearly closed Gilroy Field before the start of baseball season because the field has been overused and its grass did not germinate.
The announcement ends more than six months of deliberations, as the City Parks Foundation winnowed down more than 50 suggestions for improving the quality of life in Greenpoint.
The public comment period continues for three weeks, culminating in a public information hearing on April 20.
©2011 Community Newspaper Group
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