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April 7, 2015- By Steven E. Greer
As we have previously reported, the passage into law of State Bill A8031 in June of 2013 took possession away from the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) of the strip of land that abuts the West Side Highway from Chambers Street down south to Battery Place. This strip has been known as Pataki Highway, since Governor Pataki created it after 9/11/2001.
However, two years have passed, and Dennis Mehiel’s BPCA is still refusing to accept responsibility for the new land. As a result, the BPC Parks Conservancy has not been weeding the green spaces or picking up the trash.
We can no longer find on the Internet a copy of the bill that clearly described the southern border. This New York state website lists a version that still seems to have the HRT extending all the way to the Ritz Carlton, so last minute changes might have occurred before the governor signed the bill.
Nevertheless, the turf wars and finger pointing by state bureaucrats are resulting in a trash dump site and weed-invested mess in the middle of one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. At the CB1 meeting tonight, a resolution was passed demanding that the BPCA take ownership of Pataki Highway and provide the trash and landscaping services required.
The resolution is likely to be ignored by Dennis Mehiel and Shari Hyman of the BPCA, as well as by the governor, but it is a start.
Residents in south BPC complain about trash on Pataki Highway
Trash on South End an eyesore and rat problem
Tess Huxley intentionally allows weeds to grow in Pataki Highway?
Good Samaritan told to stop clearing the weeds
Simply disgraceful: Weeds overrun BPC parks
Awesome dude volunteers to clear weeds in BPC