Pier 42; interim park rendering by Mathews Nielsen.
Three years after initial funds were awarded for a new park at Pier 42, officials with the New York City Park’s Department went before a Community Board 3 panel last night to unveil plans for an interim recreational area. They did not receive a warm welcome from tenant leaders representing buildings along the East River.
A conceptual scheme for the 8-acre parcel just below East River Park at Montgomery Street was approved by the community board in December of last year, and also by the Public Design Commission. While the renderings presented last night were remarkably similar to those previously brought before CB3’s parks committee, city officials said the new plans “fill out the bones” for the interim facility.
The new green roof at the Fireboat House in East River Park, home to the Lower East Side Ecology Center
As the extremely extended makeover of East River Park finally seems to be nearing completion, the park now includes far more plant life than it has recent years. But green space is always at a premium in NYC, as the Lower East Side Ecology Center knows well. Last month, the not-for-profit, which provides community based compost and recycling programs and encourages stewardship of green spaces throughout the city, installed a “green roof” on the Fireboat House, its newly renovated facility in East River Park. The green roof is a bed of plant life located directly on top of the building, which served as a base for firefighters patrolling the river in the 1930s. It will help keep the building cool in warm months, and should grow more full and vibrant with time.
The Hollywood Roosevelt. Photo courtesy Hollywood Roosevelt.
Every week, Artnet News brings you Wet Paint, a gossip column of original scoops reported and written by Nate Freeman. If you have a tip, email Nate at [email protected]
Last week,
Wet Paint detailed the demise of
Frieze Los Angeles, undone by permitting issues that restrict retail entities from operating out of residential houses. Not allowed, alas. And so, instead of an ambitious edition of an art fair staged in a series of Modernist houses, we’ll have to wait until the fair takes over the
Beverly Hilton-adjacent grounds in February 2022.
The David Hockney pool at the Roosevelt. Photo courtesy Hollywood Roosevelt.
A rendering of the bridging berm.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the July/August 2014 issue of our print magazine. One of the projects, the multi-purpose levee, will be discussed at the Community Board 3 land use committee meeting Wednesday, July 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Manny Cantor Center, 197 E. Broadway.
By any measure, the announcement was a big deal. On June 2, Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, came to the Jacob Riis Houses on East 10th Street to reveal that the Lower East Side had hit the jackpot. The federal government was coming forward with $335 million to build a protective berm along the East River, the result of a high-profile design contest launched following Superstorm Sandy.
Mayor de Blasio announced today that more money will be pouring into Lower Manhattan for storm protection. The federal government has already awarded $335 million to the city for a bridging berm from 23rd Street to Montgomery Street. From the mayor’s press release put out a short time ago:
Mayor de Blasio announced today that the City is committing millions of dollars to further resiliency planning and implementation around Lower Manhattan, part of a comprehensive climate adaptation plan underway across the five boroughs. This includes $6.75 million from the City and State for comprehensive flood protection planning below Montgomery Street and around the tip of Lower Manhattan to the west side, and another $8 million in City capital funds for Battery Park flood protection design and implementation both aimed at protecting Lower Manhattan residents, businesses, and infrastructure from future extreme weather while enhancing the vitality of the area.