I’m writing to thank Karen Garcia for her excellent reporting on the planned harbor expansion. I also thank Joe Parnell, Debra Schnabel, Anne Boyce and George Figdor for their publicly voiced concerns, Carol Tuynman for noting the effect of the plan on the waterfront, Bill Kurz for suggesting, among other things, that there are safety issues, and Karen Hess for noting the plan does not include a bathroom.
A cost-benefit analysis has not been done. It appears the comprehensive plan has been ignored. Issues about the present plan indicate it is flawed. Aside from formation of a committee to consider “aesthetic issues,” borough officials have assured us this plan will move ahead. The justifications for plunging ahead are several. A million dollars has already been spent. The public failed to become involved at an earlier stage. The efforts of the many people who devoted time to the present plan would be denigrated if it were altered.
Sound management dictates good money should not be thrown after bad. We are the state. Why waste our money on the theory that it comes from an outside source – that grand genie in the sky – and not directly from our pocketbooks? Serious concerns about the planned expansion have been raised and these are not being addressed. Alternative 14B should be reconsidered before the project moves forward.
Jean Meaux