I figured that was you! I was out at Chelsea Piers over the weekend... nice hat.
Thanks! I saved that hat from the MKC lost & found bin - it had been there for an entire season, and I'd adopted it, was wearing it quite a bit but always returning to lost & found, and then one Halloween Eric was going to cut holes in it and give it to Brian, who was trying to work up an instant costume based on a pair of plush bunny ears. They were aiming towards some sort of ninja-bunny look, they'd already settled on one of the black fleece one-piece garments that are nice under a drysuit (we called 'em bunnysuits anyways - think we had some nice new ones that hadn't gotten that eau de drysuit smell yet) & Eric thought that hat would be a good touch & was about to take a knife to it. At that point I claimed it. It's gore-tex and aside from looking reasonably close to cool, it's great in the rain.
It is always a difficult choice between saving and renovating, and redevelopment. Not everything can be kept, otherwise we'd all be living in a museum, but we should take care of our history, and not just tear it all down, - difficult choices indeed.
However, what seems to be being put in place sounds pretty good, and more importantly, supported by the local population.
well, at least the most vocal segment of the local population. BlogChelsea guy doesn't sound too happy, but my version of the history was also partially based on conversations with a friend who lived in Chelsea & was very politically involved with the whole process (she worked for the city). The only thing is, it's hard to tell whether the supporters of tearing down the shed were the majority of Chelsea residents (who I do feel should have more of a say than me since this IS their backyard) - or just the most stubbornly vocal. Some of the community board meetings I've attended have been ghastly in the way one very vocal person can push everybody else into agreeing with them, shouting others down if they aren't being agreeable (Robert's Rules? Robert who?) - so you never know in the end whether a final decision is actually the will of the majority, or just the will of the stubbornest mule in the barn. That's NY politics for ya though.
Interesting post and a good civics lesson. I really like the picture of the schooner Rosemary Ruth with the skyline in the background.
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