Reply With QuoteLove him or hate him, he seems to get stuff done.
Riverside Park South
June 12, 2003
New Park on Hudson Fills Gap in Greenery
By PATRICK HEALY
Malissa Liburdi remembers when the east bank of the Hudson River was a nest of rotting railways and a haven for drug dealers and addicts. The riverfront was unsettling in the daylight and unsafe at night, said Ms. Liburdi, 40, who has lived on the Upper West Side for 15 years.
But yesterday, Ms. Liburdi ambled along a newly opened section of Riverside Park South, her nephew and brown-and-white spotted dog in tow. As joggers and bikers zipped along the river, Ms. Liburdi said she was pleased to see the industrial riverfront evolving into parkland.
"We're very excited about this new park opening," Ms. Liburdi said. "The trees and the water and the grass — it's kind of a balance of nature."
Donald J. Trump gave a three-acre swath of land between 65th and 69th Streets to the city yesterday. It was another step in Mr. Trump's planned $3 billion development, which will add 16 apartment buildings and 29 acres of public park to the east shore of the Hudson River between 59th and 72nd Streets.
"When all the phases are complete, there'll be nothing to touch it," Mr. Trump said.
Riverside Park South will "close the gap" between Riverside Park on the north side and Hudson River Park on the south, said Henry J. Stern, the former Parks Department commissioner.
Lying in the shadow of the West Side Highway, the newest parcel of park features marsh grasses and boardwalks that curl like ribbons. Thomas Balsley, architect for the Riverside South project, said the park is designed to evoke memories of railroads, which once loaded and unloaded freight cars at piers that are now toppled hunks of burnt metal.
The $62 million Riverside Park South project is just one example of a citywide attempt to convert miles of waterfront to green space. The city is reviving the waterfront and marina at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, parks on the Harlem and Bronx Rivers and a five-mile walkway on the northern shore of Staten Island.
"This is taking the decrepit industrial waterfront and returning it to a natural state," said Michael Bradley, executive director of the Riverside South Planning Corporation. "People are rediscovering the waterfront."
And at Riverside South, the city is paying nothing, said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. As part of a 1992 deal that allowed the Riverside complex, Mr. Trump and his partners agreed to pay to renovate and maintain the park.
The new segment cost $8.5 million to renovate. Maintenance and security at all of Riverside South currently costs about $1 million per year, which is paid by Mr. Trump and his partners.
Parks department officials said construction on the third phase of the park will begin this September and be completed by 2004.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
New Park on Hudson Fills Gap in Greenery
Love him or hate him, he seems to get stuff done.
New Park on Hudson Fills Gap in Greenery
No doubts there, Billy.
The expansive Phase III (last of the Thomas Balsley designed waterfront segments) of Riverside Park South looks like it will open to the public any day now.
Nice, this is a great park. So, when do you think the entire Hudson will be "parked-up?"Originally Posted by RandySavage
I think it'll definitely be done by the end of the decade. There's still an expansive section between the northern fringe of Battery Park City and up to about the Perry West Towers that's still almost completely asphalt. I know they'll do a good job though, because the area where the park starts is great. Also, don't forget about the whole "strip of green around the island" idea. We need more parkland along the East River too.
a site for it
http://www.riverside-south.org/
"Riverside South is a $3 billion real estate and public use development on the 52-acre site of the former New York Central Railroad yards on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The final Riverside South project will include 5,700 new apartments and condominiums at both market and affordable rates and a 27-acre public waterfront park along the Hudson River financed with private funds. The Riverside South Planning Corporation exists to implement details of the master plan, including enforcing building design controls, overseeing park construction, and lobbying for the relocation of the elevated Miller Highway, the noisy, obstructive and potentially dangerous structure that cuts through the entirety of the new waterfront park."
I guess its going to be about 4300 rentals and 1400 condos...
(all I want are the rentals all of em with my name on each building)
The pier at Riverside South Park:
http://www.tbany.com/
Construction underway on Phase IV of the park, the last segment from 59th to 63rd Sts, linking Riverside Park to Hudson River Park.
The Alco S-1 switcher, donated by the NY Cross Harbor RR, sits behind the fence.
This segment will make such a huge difference to the Hudson greenway connectivity when those fences finally come down, it's a long walk around. Plus it looks to be one of the more interesting sections - that switcher being among many cool new things to check out.
The newest section of the park from 59th Street north is coming together ...
The central "plaza" area (with the locomotive at right) ...
The shoreline is being rebuilt and re-inforced, readied for new plantings ...
A new bridged walkway connects the bulkheads ...
^ Elevated highway is ghastly.
Monoxide Park.
That's exactly my thoughts looking at the pictures.
Cough up a couple hundred million ^^^ and we can do something about it ...
When you're in the park below the highway and looking out towards the Hudson the roadway behind you is nearly completely unnoticeable. Very calm and quiet down there.
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