Friends of Peacock Park (and their friends) met at the park yesterday, in the shadow of the Glass House, to discuss prospects for the Glass House. It was a nice, informal outdoor meeting, all meetings should be this nice.
The Chamber and NET office will be leaving the facility and everyone seems to have an idea of what should go there. The most common facilities would be a restaurant and/or snack shop or a community center. Most were in favor of both.
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who was present, said that the best thing would be to have the RFP (Request for Proposals) go out and see what comes back. I agree. Someone may come up with the most incredible idea if we just ask for ideas in the form of an RFP.
While the Glass House is part of the Waterfront Master Plan, there is no money to start the Master Plan and it was suggested that money raised through whatever is in the Glass House, should go into an escrow account to pay for that part of the park in the Master Plan.
The mangroves, which block the water view, were brought up, many want them removed or opened up some way, so that the bay may be seen clearly from the park. Glenn Terry had an old photo he passed around that showed the park back in the '70s or '80s. The photo showed a completely open waterfront. Apparently the mangroves arrived in the '80s as mitigation from developers who were required to pay back the City in this form, but what they did was put mangroves in from Kennedy Park, all along the water to Peacock Park, in essence, blocking the view at all of our parks.
Bryant Park in New York came up a lot, and Dave Collins passed around a colorful book which showed the creation of Bryant Park, which is totally funded by private corporations. This is how the Glass House and Peacock Park should be funded, as the City does not have a dime to contribute.
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