Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants City Hall to pay millions in fines every month unless the New York City Police Department moves its tow pound from Pier 76 in Manhattan.
The provision, tucked in the state’s newly proposed budget, escalates the battle between Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio over the redevelopment of two West Side piers to solidify the finances of the Hudson River Park system.
The measure infuriated City Hall, which estimated it will have to shell out $48 million to Albany just to cover the time it would take to rezone land to find a new home for the tow pound.
“We have one focus right now: saving New Yorkers’ lives,” said City Hall Press Secretary Freddi Goldstein. “Every minute spent on something else, or any dollar spent elsewhere, is time and money taken away from the fight against coronavirus.”
It can take years for projects to wind their way through the city’s laborious zoning process, known as ULURP. It requires city planners to get input from the local community board and the borough president and approval from the City Council before any land-use change is approved.
But Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), whose district includes Pier 76, backed the move.
“It’s time for the city to move off,” he told The Post. “It’s been over two decades, it’s time for the city to move off the pier and give that open space to the community as was proposed.”
He added that he hoped Cuomo would give the city leeway considering the current coronavirus pandemic, if progress was being made.
The language, buried in the state budget, allows Cuomo to charge the Big Apple $15 million unless the NYPD tow pound is moved by December — and another $3 million every month afterward until the facility is moved, sources said.
The bill’s text was still not public Wednesday afternoon, but a summary of the legislation referenced the measure.
The Hudson River Park Trust had hoped for years to redevelop both Pier 76 and nearby Pier 40 to generate cash for the system’s operations and upkeep.
Officials hoped that one project to demolish the warehouses at Pier 40 and build 700,000 square feet of office space would generate an additional $12.5 million annually for the trust, which operates the five-mile-long park on the riverfront.
Critics charged that developing park space — even crumbling warehouses — was inappropriate. Boosters said the project would result in more green space for the public by knocking down the current sprawling and deteriorating complex.
But, the project required Cuomo’s approval and he stunned lawmakers and city officials by vetoing the project on Dec. 31, saying that Pier 40 should remain free of redevelopment.
His decision forced the Hudson River Park Trust to renew its efforts to finally get the NYPD to relocate the tow pound from the Hell’s Kitchen pier, a move the department has resisted for years.