Stop beach Pier 55

A call to action has arisen in our city due to another misuse of hard-working New Yorkers’ tax dollars. Earlier this year, it was announced that Manhattan would be starting construction on a beach that will occupy Pier 55. The beach costs add up to a whopping $77 million: $70 million of which came from “Restricted City Funds” and another $7 million sourced from Governor Cuomo’s Administration. This is a gross misuse of tax dollars, especially in light of the impacts of a global pandemic that we’re all still facing. According to statistics from de Blasio’s administration: Deaths in the homeless population upped 52% in the past year, and 1 out of 7 children in New York do not have enough to eat throughout the day. That begs the question: “Does Manhattan need its first non-swimmable beach?”
We, at FIERCE!, and the undersigned oppose the plan by Hudson River Park Trust and the City of New York to open a beach, and want the funds reallocated to support the black trans and queer communities in this city.