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Aside from the concerts, there isn't much reason to go to the Southstreet Seaport unless you're 14 and need to hit Abercrombie & Fitch. The NY Sun reports that General Growth Properties, the developer who owns the rights to the area (the Seaport and Fulton Fish Market), is on a mission to turn that all around; but is their mission misguided? With a commercial and residential project that promises a floating pool and a community center...it also looks to bring in more stores! The big retail names are mostly big bucks shops: Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Barneys New York. Though Target is also rumored to be interested.
The past week has seen many outreach meetings on the behalf of General Growth, who have no plans certified by the city yet and are trying to recruit support from both elected officials and the community. Last week they presented their idea for a 30,000-square-foot community center housed on the second floor of the former Fulton Market building (currently where the “Bodies” exhibit is on display). The firm was met with disapproval and ended up taking the offer off the table and back to the drawing board; many thought the space was too small -- what with the West Side and their two new future community centers with more than double the square footage!
Overall the community seems wary, acknowledging the potential trade-off if they get what they want and the firm still builds a 360-foot tower. Could a proposal coming from a group that has a "Choose Your Mall" drop-down menu on their website really have anything good in store for the area? One certainty is that they're in for an uphill battle, and will need a lot of public funding to build their vision.
Photo via Epicharmus's Flickr.
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I've never seen that building before. It's beautiful.
If they bring Harrods to NYC, will there also be a memorial shrine to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed?
You have probably seen that building. It is not curved, fish eye lens effect. This is the building that houses the worst retail in it like Beneton, Yankees Store, MFA store, and Heartland Brewery.
Also, I take issue with the notion that there is no reason to visit here now. Front street between Fulton and Peck Slip has some great stores, bars, and restaurants on it.
oh, i didn't realize it was fish eyed. that changes everything!
I agree with JGNY - I actually love the seaport, I run to there almost everday; it's a fantastic place sit around and people watch as the red buses unload tourists. The retailers there are a bit cheesy but no one says you have to go in them.
jgny - you're right. who doesn't love their beer in styrofoam cups?
I love the Seaport too, especially the bars and restaurants in the north section. It's actually a great example of a well-contained tourist trap mall space, if such thing can exist. But please, let's not EXPAND it.
Oh man - I hate the Seaport, but if they opened a Target there, I might just have to go (as long as it's better than the one in Atlantic Center).
will, Jeremys is fun for a birthday party or afterwork but I am thinking of some of the smaller places like Meades, Bin 220, and Fresh Salt.
BIG TIME eye-roll at Jen Chung. :)
I can't believe people actually still care about Princess Di.
However..the Seaport is a perfect place for a Cheesecake Factory! Let the Midwest-ification of NYC continue!
Hmm. Totally did not get the shrine reference at first. Didn't that thing have a fountain or something too?
The seaport is a joke. I remember back 30 > 40 years and all these grand schemes for bringing life to the seaport have sucked big time. There will never be a museum of any worth down there, and if there is one it will be surrounded by dumbass stores that are more or less available to the tourists at their local malls in middle america.
I idolize Princess Diane while others idolize Queen Elizabeth. Where do the rest of you stand?
I remember back in the mid 90's the seaport was the shiznit! This is when abercrombie was an actual wilderness and hunting sports apparel company and not the racist whitewashed needing to buy to be assimilated into society store and the seaport actually had fish and stuff. It all went downhill, after banana republic moved and all the shops started opening in soho broadway. Now it's like a ghost town down there