Daily News from New York, New York • 418

Hunters Point: A vision complex -Or fJVH i Airvlew of Hunters Point (above) shows Newspoint (then under construction) at bottom. Tail towers ere Norval cement plant Report suggests making Pepsi-Cols sign landmark. be concentrated at the site's core, the area closest to mass transit Samperi said, who added that the view of the Manhattan skyline enjoyed by the neighboring communities would be preserved. Eileen Daly, project manager for the proposed development said that an esplanade would probably be constructed along the site's one-mile long waterfront Whatever options and suggestions eventually are Incorporated into the final master development plan, Sam- -peri says that the architects, urban planners and other professionals involved in the project "are finally getting a hand on things.1 Meanwhile, the PA. which is providing up to $100 million for the project, has awarded additional contracts to study other planning aspects of the project and form the basis for the project's environmental-impact statement One such contract for $600,000.

has been awarded to the firm of Lawler, Matusky and Skelly to study marine and plant life in the East River. Known officially as the "Aquatic Biota" study. Samperi affectionately calls it the "fish study." It will take up to 15 months to complete and will determine the impact that decking, if built as part of the proposed waterfront treatment, might have on the river's marine life. Samperi says the decking would probably be built at a point abutting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's property on the river, bounded by 48th Fifth St and 50th Ave. fTUT BEFORE construction can I proceed, the impact that deck-I Ing would have on plankton and other aquatic life at that point in the river must be studied.

Other contracts have been awarded to the following firms: URS will study transportation and air-quality issues. Princeton Aqua Sciences will study site vegetation and wildlife. Samperi says the data complied by these two firms will form the "lion's share of the work (necessary) for the draft EIS," adding that the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) cannot be initiated until the EIS is competed. The ULURP procedure is required when there is any major change planned on city-owned land. Although the 92 acre site is privately owned, discussions are being held with the owners to purchase the property.

Booz. Allen and Hamilton will conduct a two-phase survey on the feasibility of establishing ferry service between Long Island City and Manhattan. The first phase of the study will determine the ridership (both office workers and tourists) potential for the service, Samperi said, adding that the second phase will determine the additional physical requirements of the project including terminal location, the physical design of the terminals and the costs. DEVELOP FROM PAGE ONE should be a major upgrading of both roadways and the area's mass-transit y. system.

Alternative transportation systems also should be developed, including establishing a ferry service (similiar to the sea-bus operation in use in Vancouver British Columbia) from Hunters Point to E. 42d St in 'Manhattan. The report noted that establishing -a tramway seemed inappropriate. Ridership would be limited and the tramway would be subjected to certain weather conditions, which would limit its hours of operation. HE REPORT also suggested that some of the existing structures on the site be incorporated into the design of the master plan.

For instance, the report suggested that the former Daily News rotogra-. vure inserting plant, Newspoint, built in 1971, be reused as a parking garage or cultural center that could house theaters and exhibits. The building also could be recon- structed to house a health and recreation center, with enough space avail-. able for ball courts and a swimming pool. "The Norval cement plant," the report notes, "is the only industrial flant along the southern Hunters oint waterfront that uses the East River." It suggested that during the construction of the complex, the site could be used to manufacture precast concrete to help reduce heavy truck volume from neighboring streets.

The report also recommended that -the sign atop the Pepsi-Cola bottling plant oe retained as part of the complex. It pointed out the sign was such a well-known landmark in the area that it should not be disturbed. "The Pepsi-Cola sign atop the bot-tling plant should be considered historically significant," the report stated. "Built in the 1930s, it has been a major visual element and is a precursor of the recent! 'pop-art' period." -SHE FORMER New York and Queens Electric and Power Co. Li building (currently used by the Metropolitan Plumbing Supply) would be ideally suited as either the -site for a district heating and cogenerating plant, a museum or a retail complex.

Citing the industrial history of the area, the report stated that there was a "possibility" that toxic materials might be buried at the site. The Port Authority will conduct a subsoil investigation to determine if there were toxic materials buried beneath the -j site's surface. Although the bedrock on the site could support buildings of varying height and size, Samperi said that construction of high-rise buildings would probably be only done on the southern portion of the site (nearest Newtown Creek) and that low-rise construction would probably be done on the site's northern portion. Commercial development would Alrvlew of Hunters Point, looking west toward Manhattan. 1 mfr "ft -jr -K 'ijii S- 4 -t-.

if? -r T.sr-7- rjr7 'ssssirssss -h n--w View across East River from, Manhattan shows Hunters Point waterfront area, Queensboro Bridge, and southern tip of Roosevelt Island.