[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 27 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6253-6254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-2202]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4912-N-20]


Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project in the 
Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, New York; Notice of Intent to 
Prepare Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Notice of Public Hearing; 
and Notice of Availability of National Historic Preservation Act Draft 
Programmatic Agreement

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notices.

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SUMMARY: HUD gives notice to the public, agencies, and Indian tribes of 
the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for 
review and comment for the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers 
Project in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, New York 
(Proposed Action). Included also are the Notice of Public Hearing and 
the Notice of Availability of National Historic Preservation Act Draft 
Programmatic Agreement. This notice also serves as a Notice of Intent 
to prepare a DEIS for the Proposed Action. The DEIS and related notices 
were prepared by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, acting 
under its authority as the Responsible Entity for compliance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) in accordance with 24 
CFR 58.4. The Draft EIS has been prepared to satisfy the requirements 
of NEPA. The EIS and NEPA process also address historic preservation 
and cultural resource issues under section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f). This notice is given in accordance 
with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations at 40 CFR parts 
1500-1508. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), a 
subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation (a political 
subdivision and public benefit corporation of the State of New York), 
is the lead agency. The City of New York is a cooperating agency.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS and draft Programmatic Agreement 
may be submitted to LMDC but must be received by LMDC by 5 p.m. on 
March 19, 2007, or they will not be considered. Comments should be 
directed to Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Attention: East 
River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project; One Liberty Plaza; New 
York, NY 10006; Telephone: (212) 962-2300; Fax: (212) 962-2431.
    A public hearing on the DEIS, where comments on the DEIS may be 
submitted, has been scheduled for March 5, 2007. The hearing will take 
place from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pace University, Multipurpose Room, 
One Pace Plaza, B Level, Spruce Street Entrance, New York, NY 10037. 
The public hearing location is accessible to the mobility impaired; 
interpreter services will be available upon request. The public hearing 
will also serve as an opportunity for the public and interested persons 
to comment on the draft Programmatic Agreement for the Proposed Action 
that has been prepared pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act and is included in the DEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for information about the 
Proposed Action or copies of the DEIS can also be directed to the LMDC: 
Victor J. Gallo (212) 962-2300; e-mail: [email protected]. 
Information about the Proposed Action will be available during regular 
business hours at the offices of LMDC and will be available on LMDC's 
Web site: www.RenewNYC.com in ``Planning, Design & Development.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action would improve a two mile 
portion of the East River waterfront in Manhattan and create a City-
owned public open space. The area of the Proposed Action would 
generally encompass the waterfront, the upland area adjacent to and 
under the elevated Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive and South Street 
extending from the Whitehall Ferry Terminal and Peter Minuit Plaza on 
the South to East River Park on the North, as well as Pier 15, the New 
Market Building pier, Pier 35, Pier 36, and Pier 42. Approximately 
$139,500,000 of HUD funds will be allocated for the Proposed Action.
    The DEIS analyzes the Proposed Action's potential impacts on Land 
Use, Zoning, and Public Policy; Socioeconomic Conditions; Open Space; 
Shadows; Historic Resources; Urban Design and Visual Resources; 
Neighborhood Character; Natural Resources and Floodplain Impacts; 
Hazardous Materials; Waterfront Revitalization; Infrastructure, Solid 
Waste and Energy; Traffic and Transportation; Air Quality; Noise; 
Construction Impacts; and Environmental Justice. The DEIS considers a 
reasonable range of alternatives including a no action alternative, 
esplanade development alternatives, Battery Maritime Building plaza 
alternatives, an alternative without the BMB plaza and the Pier 42 
beach, alternative in-water configurations south of Pier 15, and an 
alternative retaining a portion of the automobile parking beneath the 
FDR Drive.
    A Notice of Intent, Notice of Public Scoping Meeting and Public 
Comment Period, and other related notices were previously published in 
the New York Environmental Notice Bulletin, AM New York, the New York 
Post, Hoy and Sing Tao on March 22, 2006. Although the Notice of Intent 
was not published in the Federal Register at that time, LMDC 
distributed the notice to relevant federal, state and local agencies as 
well as potentially interested persons. The public scoping meeting, 
where comments on the draft scope of work were accepted, was held on 
April 11,

[[Page 6254]]

2006. Comments on the draft scope of work were accepted through April 
27, 2006. A final scope of work was adopted by LMDC on June 7, 2006, 
and is available to the public as set forth above under the heading FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Notice of LMDC's intent to prepare the 
DEIS and the availability of the DEIS have been combined in this notice 
to meet both local land use review timeframes and the procedural 
requirements of 40 CFR parts 1500-1508.
    This notice has been prepared by LMDC. The certifying officer is 
LMDC's chairman, Kevin M. Rampe. Questions may be directed to the 
individual named in this notice under the heading FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT above.

    Dated: February 6, 2007.
Pamela H. Patenaude,
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
 [FR Doc. E7-2202 Filed 2-8-07; 8:45 am]
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