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Philly Inquirer: Can a Brooklyn businessman save the SS United States from sinking? No, say the ship's old and new owner
Philadelphia Inquirer - (archived: https://archive.ph/MtOcv ) Can a Brooklyn businessman save the SS United States from sinking? No, say the ship’s old and new owners.
The SS United States ocean liner at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia off Delaware Avenue.
by Ximena Conde
Published Nov. 22, 2024, 5:33 a.m. ET
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: A developer, this time based out of Brooklyn, wants to give the SS United States a new lease on life by turning it into “coworking space” and “incubators.”
There’s one major problem. It’s too little, too late.
“Efforts to push unrealistic proposals in the press are both disappointing and irresponsible and will do nothing more than sully the legacy of America’s Flagship,” said the SS United States Conservancy, the ship’s previous owners, in a statement.
John Quadrozzi Jr. relayed dreams of saving the iconic 990-foot ship to Gothamist this week, just as the ship’s new owners in Okaloosa County, Fla., plan to conduct environmental remediation in Mobile, Ala., before ultimately sinking the ship off the coast of the Florida Panhandle where it is slated to become an artificial reef.
Quadrozzi, who owns the Gowanus Bay Terminal, told the Gothamist the ship could be reimagined “in increments,” featuring residences and commercial spaces. The businessman also said he had access to a 1,300-foot parking space. Dan McSweeney, cofounder of the SS United States Conservancy, was also quoted in the story as a backer of the proposal, though he is no longer affiliated with the nonprofit that owned the ship from 2011 until the Florida county bought it last month. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment for this story.
The concept and the media attention it received have ruffled more than a few feathers among other conservancy members and the ship’s new owners.
For starters, the plan has no sea legs, they say.
/snip
The SS United States ocean liner at Pier 82 in South Philadelphia off Delaware Avenue.
by Ximena Conde
Published Nov. 22, 2024, 5:33 a.m. ET
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: A developer, this time based out of Brooklyn, wants to give the SS United States a new lease on life by turning it into “coworking space” and “incubators.”
There’s one major problem. It’s too little, too late.
“Efforts to push unrealistic proposals in the press are both disappointing and irresponsible and will do nothing more than sully the legacy of America’s Flagship,” said the SS United States Conservancy, the ship’s previous owners, in a statement.
John Quadrozzi Jr. relayed dreams of saving the iconic 990-foot ship to Gothamist this week, just as the ship’s new owners in Okaloosa County, Fla., plan to conduct environmental remediation in Mobile, Ala., before ultimately sinking the ship off the coast of the Florida Panhandle where it is slated to become an artificial reef.
Quadrozzi, who owns the Gowanus Bay Terminal, told the Gothamist the ship could be reimagined “in increments,” featuring residences and commercial spaces. The businessman also said he had access to a 1,300-foot parking space. Dan McSweeney, cofounder of the SS United States Conservancy, was also quoted in the story as a backer of the proposal, though he is no longer affiliated with the nonprofit that owned the ship from 2011 until the Florida county bought it last month. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment for this story.
The concept and the media attention it received have ruffled more than a few feathers among other conservancy members and the ship’s new owners.
For starters, the plan has no sea legs, they say.
/snip