Thursday, July 9, 2009

Sue Bloomberg instead!

From the NY Post:

A massive waterfall built at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge as part of a much-touted art project left a famed restaurant swimming in bills after it was doused with hundreds of tons of salt water, a lawsuit alleges.

The owners of the River Café (right) in Brooklyn claim that their eatery suffered $3 million in damage after being soaked by the art installation, "The New York City Waterfalls."

"There were 90 to 120 days of saltwater rain coming down on us," restaurateur Buzzy O'Keeffe said.

"It ate up aluminum and steel. It short-circuited our electrics. We had fires on our roof."

"The paint was ruined, the awnings were ruined, our outdoor lights are broken, and a lot of our trees just couldn't take it. It's left the place destroyed," O'Keeffe said.

The restaurant's gardens -- much of which had been growing for more than 30 years -- started to turn brown days after the waterfall was turned on, he said.

"Now our lindens and weeping birch are dead, and a lot of the other trees are brown. We've pruned them back, and we're hoping they'll survive, but only time will tell."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What this doesn't mention is that Buzzy O'Keefe has a sweetheart deal with the City and his restuarant is on city-land which he doesn't pay for!

Anonymous said...

shitberg had NYCGO post fake numbers on how this waterfall project was a success and generate so much money for the city. Bloomberg fucking lies about everything. i hate him

Anonymous said...

Who cares if he has a sweetheart deal? Did he deserve this in return?

Erik Baard said...

Confining my imagination to the stated goal of the waterfalls, to bring people to the waterfront: Imagine what $15 million could have achieved in wetlands restorations, kayaking boathouses, and other permanent assets that would remake the harbor. High concept, leaking scaffolding execution. We could have done more for less.

And that's not just the bitter musings of a guy who saw the waterfalls a bit too closely! :)