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September 24, 2013- The ice rink of BPC was first located in 2010 on the ballfields and was hugely popular with TriBeCa and BPC families. It was not renewed for a year due to disputes with the contractor, then it was located for the 2012 winter far south on the Wagner Park lawn where far fewer families used it. It also killed the lawn. (The BPCA’s VP of Operations, Anne Fenton, arranged for the Wagner location).
Plans for this winter are under way, and the Brookfield Properties people want to run it. They plan to place a small rink on “the plaza” by the marina.
At the September BPCA board meeting, members seemed skeptical of the Brookfield plan, commenting that the ballfields are the ideal location for a much larger facility. One board member, Martha Gallo, said that the Brookfield idea would be “A small Rockefeller Center touristy thing”. The only upside to the Brookfield plan was that supposedly the BPCA would share in the revenue.
At the 5:50 mark of the video below, the “VP of Operations” Anne Fenton, lists one reason after the other why it was seemingly impossibly for them to find a contractor to install a large rink on the ballfields. She seemed to have her mind made up to go with the Brookfield plan despite the reservations of BPC resident Martha Gallo (Brookfield is the largest tenant of the BPCA and carries tremendous political clout).
It is unclear from the board meeting whether a final decision was made. The discussion begins at the 4:30 mark of the video, below.
Concerned parents, and bikers who need the esplanade, are encouraged to contact the BPCA at (212) 417-2000 Anne.Fenton@batteryparkcity.org.