Following delays in opening the Asphalt Green community center at 212 North End Avenue in Battery Park City, downtown residents have taken to a petition to demand answers for why the facility is not yet open, DNAinfo reported. A local resident named Erika Teresko posted the petition online last Friday and it has already gained 225 signatures and numerous angry comments.
The $55 million, 52,000-square-foot structure, which is set to have two pools, a basketball court and a theater, was first slated to open last November. The facility reportedly appears finished. As previously reported, the construction of the center forms part of the final component of the 43-year development of Battery Park City.
The Battery Park City Authority is behind the center’s development, and a spokesperson told DNAinfo that they’re awaiting fire safety, occupancy and other permits, but could not offer a final opening date, though he said they’d know more soon. The spokeperson had said the same thing when the park’s opening was delayed for a third time last December. In January, Battery Park City Authority President Gayle Horwitz called the delays “incredibly frustrating,” DNAinfo said.
Asphalt Green did not respond to DNAinfo’s request for comment. [DNAinfo]