Dear HRPT, CB2, and elected officials,

As a parent of a downtown child, I urge you to consider accommodating a full-sized field when designing the new space at the Gansevoort Peninsula (“GP”.) As you are aware, the children of downtown Manhattan have very little field space available to them for recreational sports. Our community soccer league with over 1,800 players is “maxed-out” on field space and regularly turns away children who would like to join the league. With the future of Pier 40 in limbo and any restoration or redevelopment project of the pier being years away from completion, it is extremely important that the design of the GP include a full-sized field (75 x 120 yards).

The number of children in downtown Manhattan has increased exponentially in the past ten years. Schools have been built locally to accommodate this expansion but nothing has been done to address the dearth of field space. We can choose to complain that the children of today spend too much time indoors (on smartphones and video games) and do nothing to alleviate this generational crisis OR we can do all that we can to foster outdoor exercise and team-based sports by building additional field space for our youth. Let’s address the crucial issue of lack of adequate field space now by designing Gansevoort Peninsula to include a full-sized field. It is the last space within Hudson River Park that can accommodate a full-sized field. PLEASE - let’s not lose this opportunity!!!