The West 65th Street and the promenade projects promise to make the center more inviting and transparent to passers-by.
Sloping down a dozen feet from the walkway to the bay is the beach, reconstructed in the mid-90's as part of the $5 million bulkhead-promenade project, financed by the state, Monmouth County and the borough.
Citywide initiatives include the C$8 million, Unesco-approved Promenade Smith project, which will transform a previously desolate area of Griffintown into a public park.
Lin's neighbor, David Godshaw, owner of neighboring Sample Shoes Unlimited, added: "I love this town, but since the (Third Street Promenade) redevelopment project, the city said, 'We'll do whatever we want, whenever we want.' " Blocking 2nd Street on Saturday "would destroy us," he said.
"The promenade and other regeneration projects are progressing well, the pier is hindering the town's progress, but it is listed so the presumption must always be in favour of restoration".
The latter was transformed in the late 1990s, when the Opening Vigo to the Sea project created new promenades, gardens and squares.
"The process of getting approvals from the government was quite easy because of the credibility and value it adds to the promenade – it is a non-commercial project, free of cost to access to the public," said Mr. Gandhi.
The new firm's projects include the Tarzana Promenade, a 90,000-square-foot medical and retail center, and an extensive remodeling of the Lawndale Civic Center.
