Op-Led: The Crusade Against La Marina

Seaman Drake

I think you are presenting the situation without some key facts. No question that La Marina is awesome architecturally. It is fantastic to see this concession back in service, and when the actual marina part comes next year it will really show how much things have changed in our neglected uptown parks. Many Inwood residents are very, very happy with La Marina… during the daytime.

The issues with La Marina are solely related to some shiftiness regarding what the owners stated about evening operations to Parks and the community board to get their lease and their approvals. The owners knew exactly what business model they were pursuing and what kind of hours and patronage that would require. But they downplayed and hedged those numbers in their negotiations, because they knew their plans would not be accepted if they were truly honest about them. That is one of the major problems. Many people living near by have no problem with live music running to 10 pm, which is what the agreement states. Yet all the time on twitter you see photos and tweets at, say, 11 pm like this one that come from the DJ themself: http://instagram.com/p/P8RRBXHXze/. Sometimes La Marina has a special permit for extended hours; in the case of this photo they did not. It’s no way to get along with the neighbors, who live in the most noise-plagued part of the city (#1 in noise complaints), by misleading them about your live music hours. Many businesses (such as the Inwood Local beer bar) have gone through this process to reach accommodation on such matters, and they stick by their agreements – so why does La Marina not have to play by the same rules? Just because it’s super cool and Jay-Z goes there? Uh-uh.

The second major factor, which you fail to mention completely as a source of the “crusade”, is the traffic. If you look at another big Parks concession venue, the Boathouse in Central Park, you will find that they have no valet parking, do not advertise driving to their location, and offer a shuttle that takes you from the restaurant/banquet hall to the subway. The geography of the streets around La Marina is highly constricted and there is only so much traffic that can be accommodated. Some people will drive, of course. But La Marina blatantly advertises their valet service (that parks on city streets!) and encourages driving to the site. When you get gridlock in the area that lasts 8 hours solely because of La Marina, that becomes an issue that cannot be ignored regardless of cultural and economic benefits. La Marina should not have a valet service at all (they can tell people to park in area garages) and should be running a shuttle to the Dyckman A train. But this is not the case. So what exactly do you expect people to do when confronted with such traffic? Express their undying love for La Marina’s economic symbolism? Of course not – they get mad, and understandably so.

There is no reason at all that La Marina can’t do what they do and be wildly successful. Good for them, good for Inwood. But they need to come clean on their hours and numbers, and in return for more generous limits offer a shuttle service, discontinue their valet, and show some good-neighbor intentions by, say, sweepinh and clean the litter on Dyckman St between La Marina and Henshaw (which has increased due to the patronage La Marina). That’s what good businesses do to survive and thrive in dense NYC where everyone needs to get along.