DONATE TODAY TO SAVE WAGNER PARK!

Background

Our beloved park, Wagner Park -- the heart and soul of our community, is at risk of being demolished by the Battery Park City Authority and their AECOM contractors -- the same firm that led the East River Park destruction.

We Have a Better, Alternative Design

The community has an Alternative Design, created by renowned architects and landscape designers who worked on the Battery Park City Master Plan and originally designed Wagner Park.  Our plan prioritizes green infrastructure, minimal impact and meaningful community engagement. This plan will provide the same level of protection from climate risk while keeping Wagner Park intact. 

We Went to Court to Get the Authority to Meaningfully Consider Our Better Plan

In December 2022, the BPCNA filed a petition asking for work to be paused to give meaningful consideration to a better, less destructive resiliency plan. We received a court-ordered agreement will prohibit any demolition on Wagner Park until court evaluates the legal violations alleged by the Community. Read the Press Release. The Authority answered our petition on Jan 13, 2023 and we submitted our response at the end of Jan 2023. 

UPDATE

Unfortunately, NY court judge Sabrina Kraus denied our request and issued her judgement on Feb 10, 2023. We are evaluating options and net steps.

All money that we continue to raise will go into the fund to be used for Wagner Park legal next steps and potentially to start working on the Northwest project. Donate Today or Zelle us at hello@bpcna.org (we are a 501c3 organization) 

The Battery Park City Neighborhood Association was formed in June 2021 when Governor Cuomo and the Authority tried to pave over ten to twenty percent of the green space, cut down mature trees and replace them a concrete Essential Workers Memorial.

We protested. Our community united and the BPCNA formed. We we able to #PausetheSaws. It resulted in an apology by the Authority and we thought they learned their lesson.

We are a fully volunteer-run organization with no membership dues nor operating budget. We raise only based on a specific need.  If you are interested in playing a leadership role in the BPCNA, get in touch at hello@bpcna.org

BATTERY PARK RESIDENTS LACK FAIR REPRESENTATION

Battery Park City Authority is governed by a board of seven unelected bureaucrats that are appointed by the Governor.  Many get their seats by donating to the Governor (see Aug 2022 NY Times article / past NY Times article 2018) and have little to no ties to the Battery Park City community. The one board member that lives here, Martha Gallo, is out of touch.

There is significant friction and mistrust between the Authority and the community.

On June 3, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed a bill, with an overwhelming majority, that will require BPC residents compose a majority of the Authority board. The then Authority hired a lobbyist to silence the community, deprive us of our fundamental democratic right to fair representation and ensure that we do not have a seat at the table. Unfortunately, their lobbying was successful and the Governor vetoed the bill on November 21, 2022. 

We believe that all people should have a voice in all decisions impacting their community.