Howard Hughes to Donate Rent Proceeds from SEE/CHANGE to Post-Sandy Recovery
By Gus Delaporte July 18, 2013 4:20 pm
reprintsThe Howard Hughes Corporation will donate 50 percent of rent proceeds from the South Street Seaport SEE/CHANGE pop-up program to the neighborhood’s post-Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, the development company announced earlier today.
“We are making this donation to ensure that the essential small businesses that form the fabric of Lower Manhattan community continue to recover from Superstorm Sandy,” said David Weinreb, chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to helping these businesses thrive once again as part of a vibrant South Street Seaport District that can be enjoyed by residents, local workers and visitors.”
A number of pop-up retailers have opened in the neighborhood as part of the SEE/CHANGE program, including Magnolia Bakery, NYC Scoops, Pinkberry and TKTS. The program also features Front/Row Cinema, a series of outdoor films, and SmorgasBar.
“While the Seaport is not within our official BID boundaries, it is a major Lower Manhattan economic driver that has been instrumental to the success of the district,” added Elizabeth Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance, in the statement. “Proceeds from the SEE/CHANGE program will help the Seaport come back even stronger than before.”
As reported in The New York Observer, Howard Hughes’s vision for the Seaport includes a Department of City Planning-approved plan to replace the existing Pier 17 with a three-story complex designed by SHoP Architects.
