Oh I am not trying to be mean. I just do not think that Liplock eerrrr Gridlock Sam has any relevance any more for the border battle.
His first report was rejected almost immediately by Government (how many times it was actually rewritten before the Public saw it I do not know). His first Public Report was also rejected. (Remember Cansult finally put it out of its misery and then Councillor Valentinis disowned it by calling it a starting point). His new Report has already been rejected by DRIC as can be seen by their newspaper ad so he is off rewriting it again before it goes public.
What's the point of it all? To be honest, isn't he tired of being used by Eddie? Marko, his assistant, had enough obviously and left town! His scathing words about the City's inaction should cause shame at City Hall and disgust by Windsorites! Perhaps that explains why the Mayor is wasting more money on Sam: he has to be pretending that he is doing something.
Sam's new Report will be revealed with a great deal of fanfare, then shopped around for awhile and used to stall the process. It will then be put on the shelf along with his other reports as it is called "a starting point."
Now Sam was unmuzzled after Eddie decided that he was ready to be interviewed after his week of domestic bliss. I must admit I had no idea what he meant when he said:
- "The road should fit itself around the community rather than the community around the road. You see this in Toronto and other places.
"Windsor certainly deserves nothing less."
How the heck does Highway 401 in Toronto "fit around the community?" I lived there when it was expanded dramatically to what it is now. How many lanes is it at its widest? I think it has 14 lanes and it has been called "the busiest freeway in North America." Around what community is he talking about when it cuts right through the City?
Has he ever seen the Allen Expressway....But for former Premier Bill Davis, it would have gone into the heart of Toronto. Even now, it dumps traffic into the local residential community. I lived near its exit on Eglinton for years so please do not BS me about it.
Sam...Highway 3 was always the road to the bridge. It was around the community until our leaders allowed the area to be built up. That's our problem isn't it! Our leaders failed us in the past as they are failing us now. You are allowing yourself to be used as a tool.
Frankly, Windsor cannot afford Sam any more. No I am not talking about his fees although I'd like to know what the total amount is for all of the work he has done for us including his bill for the Coast Guard hearing in Cleveland.
Now Sam advocates a new approach:
- "The five-mile long Hudson River Park is a highway project but features tennis courts, ice rinks, bike trails and gardens with the road discreetly tucked in between trees.
"Windsor deserves the same thing. I know the mayor and council have been demanding it. To their credit they have backbone."
They may have backbone but they would be lacking in brains if they followed Sam's advice!
The man is going to "deserve" us into bankruptcy for heaven's sake! Look at the "tennis courts, ice rinks, bike trails and gardens." Let's assume that the Senior levels go along with it. Who is going to be responsible for the annual maintenance costs. Not the Senior Levels. It's the Windsor taxpayers. We are going to be left holding the bag forever.
The Buskers was cancelled since
- "Officials explained the department was stretched thin planning other things, such as the new Windsor arena."
How can the Department possibly look after this new park addition. Why even with all of the summer students, grass on City lots grew to over a meter high at an "unkempt city-owned lot" in South Windsor.
I found this remark about the NYC park:
- "But along with the increased park area comes the growing demand for maintenance requirements of all kinds: gardening, trash removal, policing, plumbing, carpentry, etc. Those responsibilities are undertaken by the Trust's Operations & Maintenance department."
But what Sam has NOT told us is that we are going to have to pay for this Park. It won't be a gift from the Senior Levels. In NYC:
- "Hudson River Park Trust is a partnership between New York State and City charged with the design, construction and operation of the five-mile Hudson River Park."
Will the cost be one-third of it for each level as with the Tunnel Plaza improvements or perhaps a billion dollars for Windsor taxpayers alone? Even if it was only 10% for Windsor, that is $300M that we have to find. Eddie will never get that much cash out of selling the Tunnel or Roseland or the marina. What will he do, toll E C Row?
Now the Mayor will support this project. After all, the Mayor of New York is a Board Member of the Hudson River Park Trust. Eddie can be CEO of our Windsor Park Trust and can get an increase in salary for this too along with his other new CEO positions. Nice work if you can get it and you can with a compliant Council!
I thought you might find this article of interest before you get carried away with all of the nice words about how wonderful this will be for us and how it will make us a world-class destination, a green road leader and a tourist draw etc etc etc. To heck with supporting the University of Windsor Green Corridor people---they work with the Ambassador Bridge Co. don't they!
Hudson River Park project threatened
- A cash crunch in the development of Pier 40 is in limbo, with no one at the helm.
By: Julie Satow, June 17, 2007, Newyorkbusiness.com
The Hudson River Park Trust is responsible for creating a unique waterfront esplanade that will stretch five miles from Chambers Street to West 59th Street, with winding car-free paths where New Yorkers can run, bike or Rollerblade and public piers or lush lawns where they can enjoy sunsets over the water.
But nine years after its inception, the trust is facing a crisis. The city and state, which finance the trust and jointly appoint its board of directors, have awarded it just $10 million this year--the smallest amount in its history. Short on cash, the trust lacks the financing to complete construction of the TriBeCa segment of the park. In addition, one of its most critical projects, the creation of an income-producing development at Pier 40, is in limbo.
These problems come as the trust drifts leaderless. Its chairman, Charles "Trip" Dorkey, is a lame-duck George Pataki appointee with little power. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has yet to appoint a successor.
"This is a particularly bad time," says Albert Butzel, president of Friends of the Hudson River Park, a nonprofit advocacy group. "The amount of money the park has been allocated isn't even enough to keep construction going next year."
The 550-acre Hudson River Park, created in 1998, is the largest open-space development in Manhattan since Central Park. The trust has so far been allocated some $263 million. Only 40% of the park is complete, and another $130 million is needed to finish it, according to Friends of Hudson River Park. Moreover, once completed, the park is meant to be self-sustaining, with revenue generated from the maritime district at West 42nd Street, Chelsea Piers at West 22nd Street, Pier 57 at West 17th Street and Pier 40 at West Houston Street.
"I have been quite clear that I think authorities are not necessarily the most cost-efficient methods of operation," says Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a critic whose district includes the park.
On reason for the cash crunch is escalating construction costs. The TriBeCa segment of the park has the most urgent need for funds. Last year, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. awarded the trust $70 million to complete the section around North Moore Street, but now the project is expected to cost as much $100 million.
Neglected facility
Pier 40 is also in trouble. Built 45 years ago for the Holland America Line, it was abandoned as a shipping facility shortly thereafter and has been used for warehousing, parking and sports, but generally has been neglected. Some $14.2 million is needed to repair a leaking roof, according to a letter written earlier this month by the president of the trust, Connie Fishman, to Mr. Butzel. Some $7 million is needed immediately to repair dilapidated concrete and steel piles that hold up the pier.
Other repairs include replacing part of the facade on the eastern wall, fixing part of the perimeter and overhauling systems.
Pier 40 is pivotal because it is expected to generate enough income to cover 40% of the park's maintenance costs, which could be as high as $19 million a year.
Choosing a plan for the site has been difficult. In 2003, the trust rejected three plans to build a cultural complex, an aquarium or a superstore. Now the trust is considering two drastically different bids.
Options for improvement
Cash-rich Related Companies is proposing a $626 million complex that would transform the pier into a permanent home for the TriBeCa Film Festival and a theater for Cirque du Soleil while preserving the existing sports fields for the community. The second option, dubbed the People's Pier, is led by nonprofit group Urban Dove, which serves at-risk youth, and summer camp operator The Camp Group. It calls for the creation of additional park space, sports fields and a high school, all for $145 million.
"The Related bid will throw off more money, but the People's Pier has the support of the community that sees Pier 40 as a neighborhood treasure, not a tourist destination," says Fredric Bell, executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
No action is expected until a new chairman is chosen. A spokeswoman for the governor said the search for a new chair "is in progress" but declined to comment further.
Despite all these difficulties, the trust says its projects are on track and that a new chairman could tackle its problems.
"As soon as there is a new chair, which I'm guessing will be before the end of July, one of the first things that person and the vice chair, [Daniel] Doctoroff, will do is make a decision on Pier 40," she says.
SINKING FEELING
Combined state and city allocations to Hudson River Park Trust. In millions.
2004 $42
2005 $20
2006 $30
2007 $33
2008 $10
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