Construction Project Threatens Local Charter Businesses
The upcoming construction project in Battery Park City aims to shield the area from future storms, but it comes at a significant cost for local businesses, particularly those run by charter boat captains at the North Cove Marina.
North Cove Marina, renowned as New York City’s most expensive marina, is set to close this fall for an extensive five years. During this period, crews will be erecting large seawalls along the waterfront while nautical businesses scramble to find alternatives in a dwindling marina landscape.
“We’ve weathered all kinds of storms, and this is just something we never anticipated,” said James Brooks, the captain of the Ventura, a sailing vessel that has been around for over a century.
The Ventura has been a mainstay at North Cove since the 1980s, and it played a critical role in evacuating 9/11 survivors from Lower Manhattan after the tragic attacks.
Projects under the North/West Battery Park City Resilience (NWBPCR) initiative include establishing a coastal flood barrier management system along the Hudson River to counter the effects of rising sea levels and unpredictable weather patterns.
The new seawall is intended to mitigate damage from storms like Hurricane Sandy, which inflicted a staggering $310 million in losses on Battery Park City, particularly highlighted in the aftermath back in 2012.
Construction is anticipated to start after the marina’s season ends on October 31 this year, continuing until 2031.
“For safety reasons linked to the construction, North Cove Marina will cease operations,” elaborated Nick Sbordone, a spokesperson for the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA).
Brooks, who is 38 years old, has been on the lookout for a new home for the Ventura for some time. However, he’s growing increasingly concerned about the shortage of available marina spaces in the city.
Nearby marinas, like the Boat Basin on New Jersey’s 79th Avenue and Newport Marina, are also closing, while others, like Inwood Marina, are set to undergo their own renovations. Pier 25 can’t accommodate the 70-foot-long Ventura, and Chelsea Piers has a long waiting list that poses another challenge.
Brooks is now considering the Brooklyn Bridge Marina in the East River, but he’s not optimistic that it will serve his clients well. A significant portion—75%—of his business comes from loyal customers who prefer a convenient spot in Manhattan.
“It’s pretty disheartening. I can’t see a positive outlook for business and boating right now,” Brooks admitted.
David Caporale, who runs Tribeca Sailing, shares similar concerns regarding the future of his business as the marina closure looms. Feeling a sense of displacement, he remarked, “It feels like we’re homeless… we’re trying to navigate this situation that feels so pivotal in our history.”
A representative from Brookfield Place, which manages the marina, stated that they had informed seasonal customers about the impending closure. Yet, tenants contend that this information was misleading.
Caporale learned about the NWBPCR during a community meeting, only discovering the impending changes while the “Seawall Project” was being discussed.
As the so-called “unofficial mayor” of the marina, he shared the news with other tenants. Although documentation from 2019 about the situation is accessible on the BPCA website, Caporale noted that very few tenants were aware of it.
“We really felt like an afterthought,” Caporale, age 66 and a former video editor, expressed.
If he can’t secure a new marina location for his boat, Tara, Caporale is worried he may have to sell his business at a loss, effectively forcing him into an early retirement.
“I intended this to be my retirement plan, with everything set up around running this business indefinitely. Now, with all these closures, my entire retirement strategy is in jeopardy,” he lamented.
