Two months ago, the city told residents their kids would be hanging from the monkey bars at the new park at Pier C by July 1. But sources close to the project told the Reporter at the time that the public wouldn’t set foot on the nearly-finished park until the fall.
Guess who was right?
Now the city – still blaming the contractor – says that the island park in the Hudson River in front of the W Hotel will most likely stay fenced-in for the rest of the summer.
The construction project has been nearly complete for almost a year, but more problems have emerged while old problems went unresolved.
The major obstacle to completion for nearly a year has been missing parts for a handrail that lines the paths entering the island pier.
“We were 93 percent done last October.” – Joseph A. Branco
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Now the city has guaranteed that payment in order to expedite the process, according to Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
What is taking so long?
Joseph A. Branco, owner of EIC Associates, the Springfield, N.J.-based contractors who are handling the job, said that several issues have delayed the project, although the handrail has been the major factor.
“We were 93 percent done last October,” Branco said. “All that stuff was on schedule.”
He said that reports are incorrect that his company has been dealing with financial struggles and has not paid vendors. He said the company currently has no unresolved liens, but he admitted that notices that precede liens have been filed over the past year. He didn’t say how many.
“I have [subcontractors] that say we were supposed to be out of here last year,” he said. “I understand their frustration; we’re frustrated ourselves.”
“Every day that I’m out there is more money that I’m spending that wasn’t in our original budget,” he said. “There’s some design issues that have held up the work.”
He called the architectural layout “very complex” because of the curvy nature of the park and walkway leading over the water to it.
Also, a design flaw that EIC recognized after learning from an experience on a prior job was corrected on the fly, leading to delays last year, he said.
EIC built the Goldman Sachs building pier in Jersey City, which lost power the following winter because of the placement of pipes. EIC recognized this design flaw in the Pier C blueprints and notified the Brooklyn-based landscape architects working on the project, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.
With these and other delays, the timelines presented by the prior city administration of Mayor Dave Roberts were “totally unrealistic,” Branco said.
“I think it’s very near [complete],” he said. “Now let’s see what happens.”
Need shade
As the pier has sat idle, two other issues have arisen.
Playground equipment installed in the park has been found to be dangerous because its stainless steel gets hot in the sun. The manufacturer has promised to pay for a small shade canopy to be placed over a stainless steel sliding board, but not to cover a play area almost twice the size, Zimmer said.
“We’re in negotiation with the play equipment manufacturer,” she said.
She is hoping to use the money they would have dedicated to the slide canopy for the play area canopy instead, which she believes is more important. The slide is mostly shaded already.
The shade structure may cost between $40,000 to $60,000, minus any contribution from the equipment manufacturer.
Any additional funding needed from the city is available in the operation and maintenance account for the pier, Zimmer said, and will need to be appropriated by the council.
Pipe burst
Another problem that has emerged recently was a burst heating pipe. EIC said that mishap was their fault and is being corrected.
A city spokesperson said a safety inspection of playground equipment may also delay the project.
Additionally, since embattled city Construction Code Official Al Arezzo was removed from the job because of a conflict of interest years ago, the state will need to issue a certificate of occupancy before the public is allowed on the structure, which may also delay its opening.
“I recognize that the community is frustrated,” Zimmer said. “Our strategy is to get the park open as fast as possible.”
Business Administrator Arch Liston said the contractor could have been held liable for delays if the original contract signed by the Roberts administration had included overrun penalties, but it did not.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.