Pier 45 – Hudson River Park

From November 2002 New York Times article:

Robert P. Balachandran faces a different challenge. Mr. Balachandran is president of the Hudson River Park Trust, created by state legislation in 1998 to design, construct and maintain a 550-acre five-mile park along the Hudson from Battery Park to 59th Street. The “parkland” includes
13 public piers and 400 acres of land under water.

“Our challenge is to complete a $400 million capital-construction program,” Mr. Balachandran said. Half that money has already been appropriated by the state, and as it is spent, it will add to the recreational facilities available in the area.

In the spring, a segment of the park is to open from Horatio Street to Clarkson Street, a distance of six-tenths of a mile. Three rebuilt piers — Nos. 45, 46 and 51 — will offer a children’s playground, a playing field with artificial turf, a half-acre lawn with natural grass and a continuous
waterfront esplanade. In the upland area between West Street and the piers, a width of 200 feet in some places, there are to be gardens, benches, lawns and a comfort station.