A handful of cranks is raising bogus environmental fears to try to derail the widely supported Pier 55 project — Barry Diller’s “Hollywood on the Hudson” 2.7-acre park and entertainment center.
The Hudson River Park Trust did all the usual environmental reviews last year. In the comment period, real green groups like Riverkeeper raised their concerns and got answers.
But The City Club of New York, a moribund group revived by lawyer Michael Gruen, is suing anyway, claiming the review ignored the threat to Hudson fish.
“Striped bass inhabit that area. That’s where they spawn,” Gruen explained.
No: Striped bass spawn in fresh water; the area off the pier is too salty. Any actual expert knows the bass spawn 50 miles upriver.
The silliness goes on: The “expert” cited in Gruen’s suit is a wetlands specialist. Useful if it was the Hudson Swamp — not when it comes to a river.
The City Club isn’t trying to help the environment here — it doesn’t know enough to help. It looks more like an effort to throw wild claims into the legal waters in hopes of catching some publicity.
Call it a fishing expedition for fame.