http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/b...iyb5qW7VyaDJfJ
New waterfront restaurant coming to Brooklyn
City puts call out for eatery in Brooklyn Bridge Park
By Stephen Witt
January 13, 2010
Move over, River Cafe, there’s a new waterfront eatery with spectacular views coming to the borough.
The city’s Parks Department is seeking a restaurateur to operate an eatery overlooking the New York Harbor on Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6, this paper has learned.
The pier is located on the southern edge of the waterfront Park off Atlantic Avenue with breathtaking views of both lower Manhattan and New York Harbor.
“Parks recently sent a notice to (Community Board 2) that we are intending to issue an RFP (Request for Proposals) for a restaurant at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park,” said Parks Department spokesperson Phil Abramson.
“The building is currently in construction and there is a plan for additional outdoor seating. The RFP is currently being developed but has not been finalized at this time,” he added.
The fact that the city is taking the lead in the RFP also is interesting because the state is the lead agency over the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation (BBPDC), which is charged with building the 85-acre waterfront park.
However, the city and state have been in negotiations for several months to have the city take over the project.
BBPDC spokesperson Elizabeth Mitchell said the city will issue the RFP because Pier 6 is owned by the city and therefore has license to build a park on it and manage the construction and operations procurement process through its Franchise Concession Review Committee (FCRC).
“We are working together with the city on an RFP regarding the Pier 6 concession and expect to officially issue the RFP in the next few months,” she said.
While details of the restaurant specifications are not available yet, it would probably be similar to the River Cafe, 1 Water Street at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO.
“This is the first we heard of it and it will be interesting to find out more about it,” said River Cafe General Manager Scott Stamford.