Community Forum for Extell's Riverside Center

Extell, Riverside Center Revisions and Plumes

As we have heard, Extell is revising their plans to account for the plume of exhaust coming from the adjacent IRT Powerhouse, currently owned and operated by Con Ed as a steam generating plant. But something is wrong. There must be something else going on here. The revisions they made supposedly to account for exhaust plumes don’t make any kind of sense. They don’t avoid the plumes you actually see coming out of the smokestacks.

The Powerhouse has one giant, highly visible exhaust stack. It also has several short exhaust stacks, extending just a story or so above the roof line of the building, which is less than ten stories tall. Here is the problem, which anyone who visits the area can see for themselves:

The giant stack almost never has anything coming out of it, while the short stacks frequently have lots of visible exhaust coming out of them.

Here you can see a picture of the Powerhouse that shows its single massive tower (click on the picture to enlarge it):

If you look at this picture, you will notice nothing coming out of the top of the big smokestack, but if you follow it down to the base of the tower, you will notice a short smokestack silhouetted against it with a clear, wind-driven plume going up and to the left.

There are also a handful of short smokestacks along the valley in the center of the building, not visible in the above picture. They are just past the roof line you can see. They also emit visible exhaust.

If Extell were required to re-design their buildings to account for plumes coming from the Powerhouse, wouldn’t it make sense for the adjustment to account for the smokestacks that actually have smoke coming out of them? Wouldn’t you think they would put a park between the Powerhouse and the new buildings, as RSPC has proposed, or at least a smaller, truly public park next to the Powerhouse as proposed (separately, and with differences) by the Coalition for a Livable West Side and the consultants to CB7? How exactly is making giant buildings immediately next to the short smokestacks of the Powerhouse supposed to be protecting the public?

Do I know exactly what is coming out of those smokestacks? Of course not. It could be anything, including something completely innocent. If you think it's easy to just ask Con Ed and they'll tell you, I suggest you try it and see if you have better luck than I did. It would sure be nice if there were some transparency here, on all fronts.

Extell Revises Plans for Riverside Center

We had heard rumors for some time that Extell's plans for gigantic buildings in its planned Riverside Center development were threatened by the plumes from the Con Edison steam plant that is adjacent to the site. Now we know that there was something to the rumors.

I'm no expert in building, but anyone who looks at the site with the tall smokestack right next door ... why would you even think of building really tall buildings right next to the smoke stack of a working power plant? I guess that's what happens when you're Extell and used to getting your way, and you're backed by the Carlyle Group's billions of dollars. You just plow ahead and assume that the "common people" will make way; after all, they usually do.

The wonderful people at the Coalition for a Livable West Side put out a notice saying that, prodded by the Coalition, City Planning talked with Extell about the plume problem, and Extell has actually responded by revising their plans, reducing (so it is said) the planned height of some of the buildings!

Based on Extell's track record of building as much as they possibly can, it's hard to believe that they will actually reduce the total planned floor space. The space chopped off from the tops of buildings may well show up again lower down.

That is the purpose of a meeting at 6:30pm on Wednesday March 17 at Community Board 7, 250 West 87th St (between Broadway and WEA). Extell will be there, and will show its revised plan. The public (that means you!) is welcome to attend. Please do, and post your reactions as comments.

Riverside South and the IRT Powerhouse

The parts of the Riverside South development which are not currently under construction are west of West End Ave. and north of 59th Street. On the other side of 59th street is the wonderful McKim, Mead and White Powerhouse, originally built to provide electric power for the IRT subway. This historic building occupies the whole block.

The IRT Powerhouse, currently owned by ConEd, is a whole subject in itself. But if you're interested in Riverside South, particularly the part Extell likes to call Riverside Center, this is a subject that is well worth diving into. It's more linked than it appears at first blush!

There is a group working hard to preserve and landmark the building, the Hudson River Powerhouse Group. This site has lots of great information and a petition you should sign, if you haven't already.

If you go here, you will see a beautiful picture of what the Powerhouse might look like with a block-long park next to it; the connection starts to become clear. What would the Powerhouse be like with 50 stories of glass towers across the street? Hmmm.

It gets even clearer when you realize what could happen if the Powerhouse became a cultural center. Not just an under-used ConEd facility.

Once you see that, then the concept of a full-block-long park next to the Powerhouse begins to make sense. You can see views of the Powerhouse and park from different perspectives of it on the same site.

Is this wishful thinking? At first blush, it seems so. But there is actually a good deal of evidence and backing for why this plan is not only desirable, but practical and achievable. I hope we can get some of it on-line.