Battery Maritime Building Is a Wondrous Marvel!—Especially Its Great Hall—If You Can Get In

There’s a conflict going down on downtown—way downtown.

If not quite a war, but it’s longer lasting than a skirmish. Community Board 1, which covers the Seaport/Civic Center, Tribeca, and Financial District, as well as Ellis and Governor’s Island, seeks clarity from the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) over public access to the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street, near the intersection of Whitehall Street.

The what building?

The Battery Maritime Building is one the great Manhattan edifices relatively few people knew about.

If you’ve ever gone to Governor’s Island from Manhattan via the ferry, you’ve been there. Otherwise, you need to be an intrepid tourist (even in your own city) or have some event to attend there—but street style people beware, the Battery Maritime Building has an extensive dress code.

Opened in 1909 as part of the South Ferry terminal complex linking lower Manhattan and the 39th Street Pier in South Brooklyn (Sunset Park today) and elsewhere, the Beaux Arts wonder sadly followed the fate of much of the city’s waterfront the ferry service to Brooklyn falling into neglect and disrepair.

Although designated an historic New York City landmark in 1967 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, numerous efforts to revive the building failed to materialize.

In early 2000s, the city began renovating the piers around the Battery Maritime Building. Eventually, the EDC struck a deal partnered by the Cipriani family, Midtown Equities, and Centaur Properties, along with Marvel Architects and Thierry W. Despont Ltd. to restore and in part redevelop the BMB as Casa Cipriani.

Described as a “one-of-a-kind” destination managed and operated by Cipriani—remember, the building and the land are still owned by the city—it features three major parts:

1. A 47-key luxury boutique hotel on the 3rd and 4th floors with sweeping views of New York Harbor, in addition to a spa and fitness center.

2. A spacious club with restaurants and lounges on the 5th-floor with unobstructed panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty, Governors Island, the Brooklyn Bridge and the surrounding area.

3. A 30,000-square-foot event space centered around the historic Great Hall on the 2nd floor that provides a location for both private and public events.

It’s over this last component, the Great Hall, where a major conflict between CB1 and EDC has arisen.

In the legally binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) between CB1 and EDC about the BMB, are detailed requirements for public access to the Great Hall.

When the BMB reopened in December 2021, CB1 Chairperson Tammy Meltzer was enthused:

“At long last the Battery Maritime Building has been restored,” she said. “The Lower Manhattan Community has anticipated this day since 2008 when we were first presented with the plan to bring this historic jewel at the edge of our shorelines back to its former glory and create world class public access. We look forward to enjoying the public events and programming in the Great Hall.”

Nearly three years later, however, Meltzer is still looking.

An October 2 letter from CB1 to EDC Chair Margaret Anadu detailing their concerns has so far gone unanswered.

One wonders why, especially when the BMB’s own website includes the following statement under its Public Exhibitions tab:

“Continuing this long history of public access, the Casa Cipriani team, working together with stakeholders that include the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and Manhattan Community Board 1, is excited to afford qualified not-for-profit and community-serving organizations the opportunity to program and activate the Great Hall for civic-oriented uses, free of charge.”

Sounds fantastic! The statement continues:

“We invite the community to reimagine the historic Great Hall as a space to promote the arts in all its forms, be a gathering space for cultural and educational events and/or a venue for exhibits and workshops- all for the benefit of the public and to enrich our community. We are keenly aware of the challenges associated with free or affordable gathering spaces, and we are proud to extend this opportunity to our fellow New Yorkers.”

Included on the same page is an e-mail address for Alexandra Lee at Cipriani and an application form, so the framework is certainly there.

According to BMB’s own calendar, in October they offered thirteen days of public tours, and zero days of public events.

In November, there are nine public tour dates, and two public events, New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Procurement Fair and NYC Climate Tech Showcase.

In December, there are seven days of public tours, and zero public events.

Although an EDC spokesperson was affable and responsive, at press time they were unable to offer clarity on CB1’s allegations.

At press time, Our Town Downtown was similarly unable to get further information from Cipriani or Midtown Equities.

Given that there is a public facing apparatus to arrange public events, one hopes this is a temporary or otherwise explainable situation.

CB1 has other concerns about the BMB’s operations but at first glance, those issues, appear to be less egregious than the promise of the building’s public accessibility.

The Great Hall is too wondrous—to the great credit of the EDC and its developers—to keep it from the public access the Community Benefits Agreement committed to.