A major obstacle to the development of Pier 76 at the Hudson River Park on the west side of Manhattan will be gone by the end of January, now that the city has promised to move out the NYPD tow pound after the state threatened massive fines.
“The City has already made major strides and significant financial investment in relocating Police Department operations from Pier 76, including moving the horse stables for the Mounted Unit that were located at the pier,” First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan wrote in a letter Dec. 31st to state officials published by NY1. “We expect to have completely vacated the site by the end of January.”
The move of the 250,000-square-foot NYPD tow pound from Pier 76—located between 36th and 37th streets and the West Side Highway—has been underway for more than two decades since the passage of the Hudson River Park Act of 1998. The tow pound, in operation since 1977, processes about 195 vehicles per day.
Governor Andrew Cuomo forced a deadline of December 31st, 2020 for the city to move the tow pound, with a fine of $12 million for missing the deadline and another $3 million every month after February 1st. In November, the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association, a neighborhood group, sued the NYPD over the delayed move as well.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD have opposed the move, calling Cuomo’s deadline “unrealistic,” Fuleihan’s letter indicates they are nonetheless moving out.
“We are arranging temporary alternate accommodations for the vehicles currently occupying the lot,” Fuleihan wrote.
While the city hasn’t announced a new home for the tow pound, Gotham Gazette reported the city is interested in a lot on West 45th Street that’s currently used for bus parking and a pedestrian bridge for the Intrepid Museum, as well as another site on West 33rd near the Javits Center.
Half the pier would be used to generate revenue with potential commercial development, while the other half would be park space, according to a February 2019 financing plan.
