The city will soon begin infrastructure work on an East River pier located between East 38th and 41st streets that was once leased to Consolidated Edison Co. and could anchor around 34,000 square feet of new public space, according to an article yesterday at crainsnewyork.com by Theresa Agovino.

The work, which will include rehabilitating the pier's piles and decking, will be funded by a $13 million payment from Con Edison that was part of earlier requirements under its previous lease, the article said.

"Creating new waterfront access...will reconnect New Yorkers and visitors to the water, helping to reclaim New York City's standing as one of the world's premier waterfront cities," said Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corp., in a statement, the article noted.

Meanwhile, the article continued, "city and state legislators have moved a step closer on a highly complex urban redevelopment plan that ultimately would close a 21-block gap in the East Side waterfront promenade that runs between East 38th and East 60th streets. The plan involves, in part, razing a playground near East 42nd Street to construct a new tower for the United Nations and selling city-owned buildings that currently host U.N. offices."

"After receiving an official request from the City Council, the state Legislature last month passed a law that lets city and state officials sign a 'memorandum of understanding' by Oct. 10 and allow for the future demolition of Robert Moses Playground so the United Nations could build a tower on the 29,000-square-foot blacktop. The park is on First Avenue, across East 42nd Street from the international body," the article said.

The memorandum would allow local state representatives to require conditions be met before a deal could proceed and the plan would also be subject to the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, the article said, adding that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign the legislation.

To fund the construction, the article said that "the U.N. would pay about $75 million for the playground lot. The city would also sell two office buildings it now leases to the U.N., which sources told Crain's last year could fetch between $150 million and $300 million. Any deal faces substantial obstacles, however. It would require a wide variety of approvals and would have to be coordinated by multiple city, state and federal agencies."

According to an article by Joe Lauria in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal, Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, Democrat from Manhattan, said "we're only going to do a deal if we get sufficient replacement of that parkland," the article said, adding that City Council member Dan Garodnick said that Mayor Bloomberg is supportive of the plan.

The proposed office tower would house United Nations staff from two city-owned buildings and from the U.N. complex, which is undergoing a $1.8 billion renovation due to be completed in 2013, the article said, adding that "basketball and handball courts and a dog run on the FDR Drive end would not be affected."

The site is just north of the large former site of a Con Edison plan where Sheldon H. Solow, the developer, plans a major, multi-tower development designed by Richard Meier.