"Battery Park City and the Authority are not just about the buildings – it’s about the character of the community that has developed over time. Public space has had a new renaissance in New York City, but here in Battery Park City is where it started."

B.J. JONES

President & CEO
  • 03/05
  • BPC People
  • Community
  • Governance

STATEMENT OF BPCA PRESIDENT & CEO B.J. JONES ON THE PASSING OF FORMER CHAIRMAN CHARLES J. URSTADT

“Father of Battery Park City,” Urstadt served as BPCA Chairman from 1968-1979 & Board Member from 1996-2010

“It is with sadness and a profound sense of gratitude that we mark the passing of Charles Urstadt, whose leadership helped drive Battery Park City’s creation. As BPCA’s first Chairman, Charlie was a visionary and tireless advocate for what this new, 92-acre neighborhood could be, ably guiding development through the many starts and stops of its early years. He returned in the mid-1990s and served on the Board for the next decade plus as Battery Park City completed its construction. A man of unrelentingly big ideas who never lost his eye for detail, his wisdom, drive, and candor helped bookend the building of one America’s great planned communities.

“In his seminal work on the creation of Battery Park City, Charlie wrote: ‘People who participate in the making of history are acutely aware that they have no control over how the history of their time will be written.’ As we share our condolences with his loving family and friends, we also assure them that Charlie’s contributions to the making of modern downtown were – and will always be – indispensable.”

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