Sink or swim on Water St.
Tower plan faces judgement
IT’S make-or-break time for Howard Hughes Corp.’s hotbutton apartment-tower proposal at 250 Water St., near the South Street Seaport. On Monday, HHC will show a scaled-down design to the Landmarks Preservation Commission that’s about 27 percent smaller than the original plan the panel rejected in January.
“We heard their feedback,” HHC New York Tristate Region President Saul Scherl said. “We addressed a lot of their concerns regarding height and mass, and we moved away from the tower design.”
If the new plan by SOM architects — shown here for the first time — gets the green light, it will bring the neighborhood what Scherl called “deeply affordable” rental apartments. It will also provide a long-term commitment by Hughes to keep the fiscally strapped South Street Seaport Museum afloat.
But if LPC gives another thumbs-down, HHC says it will develop the site “as of right” with a much smaller building — with no affordable units and generating insufficient revenue to aid the struggling museum.
HHC bought the land from the Milstein family for $180 million in 2018. The LPC is involved because the 1-acre location, which is bounded by Water, Beekman and Pearl streets and Peck Slip, lies just barely inside the South Street Seaport Historic District.
Why’s an empty lot part of a district that was designed to protect historic old buildings?
As The New York Times revealed in 1989, the former parking lot was squeezed into the district in the 1970s due to political pressure to preserve views of residents of the Southbridge Towers complex across the street.
Today, some Southbridge residents are so fiercely opposed to HHC’s plan that they’ve actually urged the city to use 250 Water for a tow pound that’s to be relocated from the West Side. After all, not even the largest SUV would block views.
If the plan wins LPC approval, it must next undergo the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure because it requires a special permit for its size and to transfer air rights that HHC controls with the city from nearby properties.
HHC has a strong chance to prevail in ULURP because Councilwoman Margaret Chin, who represents the area, supports the plan, as does Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
It’s also backed by prominent executives including CBRE tristate CEO Mary Ann Tighe, who said, “Every aspect of the design pays homage to the Seaport . . . Most dramatically, it rationalizes the eye’s transit from the towers of Water and Wall streets to the East River’s edge, forming a glide path so that both skyscrapers and Seaport are seen to best advantage.”
The original scheme called for 757,000 square feet in two 470foot-tall towers atop a podium base. The new design is for a flat-topped building just over 300 feet tall with 550,000 square feet. It will have 70 affordable rental units, down from 100 in the old design, available to families earning roughly $45,000 a year.
Scherl called the $750 million-$800 million plan “the finishing touch” on the Seaport, where HHC previously invested over $900 million to develop a new Pier 17, turn the Tin Building into a gourmet food hall and revitalize the Fulton Market Building and retail spaces.
LPC approval by April would allow the plan to begin ULURP proceedings in May. Excavation could begin early in 2022, Scherl said.
There’s more at stake for the public than merely replacing a decades-long eyesore. The Seaport Museum
— which was launched in the 1960s and provided the first impetus for creating the historic district in 1972 — has long limped along with inadequate funding.
Without help, the future might be dim for the great sailing ship Wavertree, Ambrose light ship and the museum’s many other attractions.
Museum President Jonathan Boulware called the current situation “an existential moment.”
He said, “Our walls are full of accolades over 54 years, but where we have struggled is financially. We need several million dollars in annually recurring money” — which could happen under an arrangement with HHC.
Scherl said, “The exact package depends on negotiations with Jonathan and the city.”
He noted that a maritime museum like the Seaport “has much higher costs than other museums. We love the ships, but the ships cost money. It isn’t like hanging a painting on a wall.”
Celebrated Red Rooster chef Marcus Samuelsson is bringing his talents to the Starrett-Lehigh Building. His Marcus Samuelsson Group has signed a lease for a more than 5,000-square-foot restaurant on the ground floor of the massive Art Deco structure between 11th and 12th avenues on the far West Side.
The eatery will be at the corner of 11th Avenue and West 26th Street with outdoor entrances as well as interior access for workers in the building. The asking rent was $150 per square foot.
The culinary concept is yet to be announced. Samuelsson’s operating partner will be his longtime adviser Howard Greenstone and his Red Pebbles Hospitality company. Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-Swedish author of the acclaimed recent book “The Rise” about the influence of black cooks on American cuisine, said, “This is an important time to be committed to New York and be part of hopefully more black-owned business. For me personally, it’s an exciting opportunity to also explore my ‘Swediopian’ roots in a fresh way and to celebrate the amazing creativity and diversity of our great city.”
IT’S a sad fact that older women often face a higher hurdle while finding employment. In the pandemic, they’ve also been losing their jobs at worrisome rates. Since February 2020, the unemployment rate for females over 55 has almost doubled, from 3.5 percent to 6.1 percent, said Susan Weinstock, vice president of financial resiliency programming at the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
“We’re very concerned,” she said. “Nearly half of this population are considered longterm unemployed, which means they’ll be out of work for six months or longer. The Great Recession [in 2008] taught us that it will take them double the time to find a new job as it does for a younger person, and they probably won’t make the salary they made when they were pushed out of the workforce.”
This is in part due to the industries where they were often employed, including hospitality, restaurants and education, said Weinstock. With widespread remote schooling, women have also had to make tough decisions regarding child care. “Children under the age of 14 are deemed too young to be left at home, and women have stereotypically been expected to be primary caregivers,” she said.
Age discrimination is another undeniably inhibitive factor when vying for new work.
If you feel you’ve been a victim of it, “You can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but it’s hard to prove,” said Weinstock. “There is a higher bar than for other forms of discrimination.”
To succeed on the job-hunt front, honing in on your unique skill set is crucial.
“Older workers have soft skills from being in the workforce for a long time,” said Weinstock. “They tend to be calm, problem-solvers, collaborative and highly engaged. Their turnover is lower — all things a worker should accentuate when seeking new work.”
If you need to upskill, “Look for a course online or at a local community college. Some of these schools offer free classes to those over a certain age. You want to show employers you’re a lifelong learner,” she said.
For Jennifer Mayer, it was a tough path to re-employment. After 22 years in human resources, in early 2020 the 56-year-old Westchester resident learned that her position was being eliminated.
Although she broadened her job search out of state, Mayer had difficulty getting to the interview process.
Having connected with over 55 companies for 110 interviews, “I had a challenging time getting past the recruiter or talent acquisition person,” she said. “I’m personable, but either they were really young or inexperienced. Employers can be very discriminating in times like this, when they have pick of the litter.”
Mayer also withstood unprofessional treatment by hiring pros.
“I’ve been ghosted multiple times. It’s one thing if it happens and you haven’t gone anywhere in the process, but if you’ve interviewed in person for multiple rounds and hear nothing back, it’s very unprofessional,” said Mayer. “Human resources don’t necessarily want to be helpful. Many times they are blockers. If you can find out who the job reports to, or who is hiring for the job, reach out to them.”
Some interviewers told her that she was “not agile and nimble. You don’t have the energy for the job — it’s a fast-paced environment.”
Mayer didn’t let these ageist comments deflate her self-image, and decided against altering her appearance. “People told me to color my hair, but I refused,” she said.
While her former employer provided outplacement assistance with resume help and online profiles, it was Mayer’s networking prowess that ultimately helped her land a new position.
From the get-go, “I consistently networked with local women’s groups, executive roundtables and business school groups,” said Mayer, which offered both professional and emotional support. “I felt like I wasn’t in this alone in understanding that this transition is temporary.”
Eventually, after a 13-month search, someone in her women’s group knew an employee from a company she was interested in.
“This person was willing to talk with me, to share a piece of the company’s culture,” said Mayer, who was offered a position soon after. Although she took a salary cut, “It’s a fresh start and can only expand my exposure.”
The unemployment wave taught Jennifer Proga from Connecticut how to change course, another viable track for the unemployed.
As director of institutional investment consulting for a financial company for 16 years, she was one of the company’s 500 layoffs last fall.
“It took me a while to absorb it,” said Proga, who is in her 50s. “Then I spent time thinking about what I really want to do, as opposed to finding a job similar to what I’d been doing. I thought that might be more difficult, given my age.” Throughout her career, Proga had advised nonprofit companies and had volunteered for a few on personal time. When she signed on with the Connecticut Department of Labor, she was advised to connect with Encore Connecticut, which targets people seeking to transition into the nonprofit sector.
“It required signing up for a course and a deep immersion program to learn how such organizations operate, and what kinds of jobs are available within them,” said Proga. “You apply for a fellowship to do a project and get your feet wet. I’m now waiting to hear back about where I’ll be placed,” said Proga. “There’s a lot of networking available through this course. We all have the same interests. We’d like to take what we know and transition to the nonprofit world.” Proga now views her job loss as a blessing. “What happened was a gift. Now I have the opportunity to be open to a whole new world of work, and I’m very positive about it,” she said.
To those still struggling with unemployment, Proga suggested being open and talking to lots of people about your interests. “Help came from an unexpected place. You never know where it’s going to come from,” she said.
Weinstock agreed, noting that most people get their jobs through networking.
“Today, much of it is done virtually through LinkedIn and Zoom,” she said. If you need to polish up your online profiles on these platforms, AARP has valuable content accessible on demand through the Web site.
Weinstock also advises modernizing your resume, keeping it to under two pages, updating e-mail to a Gmail account, and including keywords for job descriptions. And, stay upbeat.
“Don’t take job-hunting rejection personally,” said Mayer. “Focus on the job and the value you can bring to the company, what its challenges are and how you can help solve them.”