Source: h-bomb via Flickr
Earlier this month we reported on plans by the Parks Department and the National Parks Service (NPS) to introduce more tourist-friendly elements to Jamaica Bay, like bike rentals and food concessions. Now it looks like the Parks Department and the NPS have announced three Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that further detail their plans to attract more visitors via a press release.
The leaders behind this effort cited the success that the Rockaway Beach Club has experienced since their introduction of diverse food carts and offerings.
“We are excited about this opportunity to partner with the City to expand visitor services at our beaches through the wonderful food found in New York City’s mobile food trucks,” said Linda Canzanelli, Superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area. “Expanded opportunities for biking, canoeing and kayaking are great ways to help everyone experience America’s great outdoors and the wonders to be found around Jamaica Bay.”
The Parks Department and the NPS are seeking food vendors for “a one year term, with three, one year renewal options – exercisable at NYC Parks’ and the concessionaires’ mutual discretion.”
If you have a food truck business and would like to get on the ground floor of the emerging Jamaica Bay tourist scene, the Parks Department and the NPS are accepting proposals to their RFPs right now. Here are the details from the press release.
All proposals submitted in response to these RFPs must be submitted no later than Monday, April 8, 2013 at 3:00 pm. There will be a recommended proposer meeting and site tour on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 10:00 am. Meetings begin in the multipurpose room (to the right of the lobby and down the hall) of Gateway National Recreation Area’s Ryan Visitor Center at Floyd Bennett Field, which is located at Aviation Road and Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn.
Hard copies of the RFPs can be obtained, at no cost, through Monday, April 8, 2013 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, at the Revenue Division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which is located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 407, New York, NY 10065.
The RFPs are also available for download through Monday, April 8, 2013 on the Parks Department website. To download the RFP, visit http://www.nyc.gov/parks/businessopportunities and click on the “Concessions Opportunities at Parks” link. Once you have logged in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFP’s description.
For more information or to request to receive a copy of the RFP by mail, prospective proposers may contact Lauren Standke from the Revenue Division of Parks at (212) 360-3495 or at lauren.standke@parks.nyc.gov.
File photo
Homeowners around the city received a letter from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection recently, informing them of a new insurance program covering the water and sewer lines connecting their homes to the public system. The timing of the letter – just weeks after Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on the area’s infrastructure – raised alarm for many, who sent Sheepshead Bites e-mails and Facebook messages wondering if this was a scam.
Well, it’s not. We spoke to Department of Environmental Protection representatives last week, and the program has been in development since long before Sandy.
“In terms of this program, while the timing is a coincidence, it does not have anything to do with Hurricane Sandy,” said Chris Gilbride, communications director for the DEP.
Keep reading to find out more about this program and what it covers.
Source: Google Maps
In an effort to offload defunct properties and reduce overhead, the MTA has issued a Request for Proposals from developers to rehabilitate and put to use seven defunct properties around the city – including an old electrical substation in Midwood.
Located at 851 East 15th Street, near Avenue I, the 7,920 square foot property is located mid-block, just before the footbridge spanning the open cut railroad line that crosses Brooklyn. It abuts the tracks for the B/Q Brighton line, and has been a haven for graffiti and illegal dumping for years.
Now that property, located in an R5 zoning district, is hitting the market – likely for a residential development.
The RFP comes after a year of reviewing the MTA’s real estate assets in an effort to increase revenue and reduce costs.
“Given the current financial picture facing the MTA, we have an imperative. We must do anything and everything we can to raise revenue and reduce costs in order to minimize the need to turn to fares, tolls and taxes,” said MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota. “Our real estate department is pursuing that imperative by thoroughly reviewing our real estate holdings and identifying properties that we could potentially offer for sale or lease. Finding properties that we own but don’t need in order to operate service is not an easy task. In fact, most of the properties that fell into that category have been sold off long ago by our public and private predecessors.”
The MTA and New York City Economic Development Corporation will accept proposals for about a year, with four deadlines beginning on June 29. Details can be found on the EDC’s website.
The other properties up for development are:
- 19 East Houston Street in SoHo.
- Gun Hill Road and I-95.
- 351 East 139th Street in Mott Haven, Bronx.
- 707 East 211th Street in Williamsbridge, Bronx.
- 379 Van Sinderen Avenue, East New York.
- 103-54 99th Street in Ozone Park, Queens.
If not a residential development, what would you like to see in that location?
