Act Fast – Write Now:

The Hudson River Park Trust has again asked the Army Corps of Engineers for authorization to build a new Pier 55 at the foot of West 12th Street for an amphitheater and other performance spaces – Diller Island. It’s a bad plan, and we have only a few days to write to the Corps and mail it to arrive by February 1. The Sierra Club–National, Chapter, and Group, have long been opposed to all building in or on or over the Lower Hudson River. Here’s a
sample letter–but use your own words and choose the reasons most important to you. And tell your friends. Numbers count.

Stephen A. Ryban, Chief, Regulatory Branch
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NY District
Jacob K. Javits Federal Building
New York, NY 10278-0090

Re: Public Notice NAN-1998-00290, Issue Date Jan 2, 2018
Pier 55 Diller Island

The Hudson River Park Trust request to build a new Pier 55 and amphitheater in the nearshore waters of the lower Hudson River should be denied. It is in a hurricane evacuation and flood zone, and it is not a necessary and water-dependent project.

Such a project invites millions of dollars in damages and damage claims, as shown by recent devastation in Houston and Puerto Rico. Although the project would be partly funded by Barry Diller, substantial public funds are required to ready the site, even before the building costs and post-hurricane damages. There are more important uses for public funds.

The concrete pilings that would support the pier, whether precast concrete or hollow and filled with cement, certainly are subject to regulation under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act. Their installation would cause devastating harm to the valuable ecosystem of the Hudson River nearshore waters.

The Lower Hudson Estuary habitat supports fisheries up and down the Atlantic coast. It is not a local matter, but a matter of national interest to preserve public waterways for navigation and fisheries.

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