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It has also honored the site's maritime heritage with blownup photographs and texts about the glorious history of the piers. Still, one wishes the owners would try to improve the fagade, so that it at least begins to measure up architecturally to the distinction and quality of its predecessor.
There is also the question of striking a better balance between private and public space. In the past ten years we have embraced the profoundly desirable principle that the people of New York have the right of access to its waters, for their own enjoyment and spiritual nourishment. Chebea Piers, born at about the same moment that the New York State legislate approved the Hudson River Park idea, raced to open its doors in late 1995'
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med to operate on an older model of river access. I mean that the S reneurs operating Chelsea Piers did not make it easy for the walker d in completing a circuit around Manhattan's shoreline. The so лЦ d public space left at the water's edge by the sports complex is mely stingy, and at the driving range it is almost nonexistent. The 'c net suspended from steel poles to keep golf balls from falling into
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the Hudson, terminates virtually at the river, inviting most walkers to leave the shore and cut through the enclosed parking lot and then through the complex itself. The central open courtyard at 23rd Street functions like a plaza in a shopping mall.
On the one hand, Chelsea Piers generously offers free musical entertainment "to the community," or lets immunization vans park there; on the other hand, the signs that say WELCOME TO CHELSEA PIERS subtly tell you, if you are of a mind to wander by the river, that you are in a private enclave, with its own set of rules, regulations, and security guards.
Some of the prime riverview space has been taken up with two private catering halls, Pier 60 and the Lighthouse, rented out successfully for corporate meetings, weddings, "bar mitzvahs and sweetsixteen parties." Chelsea Piers also has several restaurants open to the public, suburban in decor and feel, but congenial for a drink with a friend in latesummer afternoons, on a deck overlooking the Hudson. The marina, another moneymaker, garages milliondollar yachts and an upscale version of the Circle Line, Bateaux New York, a sort of supperclub cruise that circumnavigates the island.
Chelsea Piers' profitable formula is based on a mixture of regular customers (annual club memberships, league play) and oneshot visitors (walkins and invitees to special events). On a tour of the complex, I was shown a beautiful, clean and airy, stateoftheart gym, complete with its own sports medicine center, operated by New YorkPresbyterian Hospital. While the interior spaces for children are knockabout hmctional, all wrestling mats and primary colors, the adult facility's decor ад elegant white and maroon with sumptuous woods.
ODELANA Apartments Odessa added 5 new photos to the album Apartment 7 sq. m.