Long Island City got its own High Line park last week when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg opened a new 5.5-acre waterfront esplanade.
The $66 million Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park is being created from abandoned industrial tracks and sites to serve the newest neighborhood to be built in LIC.
The multiphase Hunter’s Point South development will ultimately have 5,000 new apartments, the majority of which will be designated “affordable,ˮ 17,000 s/f of retail, a new 1,100-seat school, 28,000 s/f of community space and the five acre park, all of which will be storm-proof.
“The Hunter’s Point South project has provided the City with an unprecedented opportunity to create an entirely new neighborhood – from park space and new infrastructure to affordable housing, schools and transportation,” said HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua.
“Green space and parks help to tie communities together by offering people a place where they can interact, gather, and enjoy the outdoors. The Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park will be a fantastic amenity for the future residents of the affordable housing and for all New Yorkers.”
Designed as a neighborhood amenity and a destination for New Yorkers across the five boroughs as well as visitors, the park integrates new infrastructure, landscape and architectural design into the creation of an open waterfront.
It includes a central green, a playground, a waterside promenade and additional recreation space, as well as a 13,000 s/f pavilion housing comfort stations, concessions, an elevated café plaza, and a maintenance facility for the Department of Parks and Recreation.
“Opening up more of our city’s waterfront for public enjoyment has been a top priority for this Administration,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Around the city, we’ve reclaimed abandoned or neglected parts of our waterfront, and turning them into innovative open spaces. I know that Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park will quickly join the list of beloved green spaces along our city’s shores.”
Kyle Kimball, president of the Economic Development Corporation which led construction of the park, said he believes could help turn the Hunter’s Point into “a vibrant middle-class neighborhood and a destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike.”
The park, which also features an adult fitness area, a dog run, a garden that incorporates historic rail tracks on the site with vegetation, and a small beach, is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
The infrastructure, roadway, and park design was led by Arup, which served as the project’s prime consultant and infrastructure designer. Landscape architecture firm Thomas Balsley Associates and architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi designed the park.
Sixty-four photovoltaic panels located on the roof of the pavilion will generate 37,000 kWh per year, powering over 50 percent of the entire park. Additional panels can be installed over the remainder of the roof to provide 100 percent of the park’s operating power.
Money for the project came from city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The Federal Highways Administration provided $1.56 million for roadway development and the New York City Council (Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer) provided $320,000 for natural turf in the park.
Thomas Balsley, principal of landscape architecture firm Thomas Balsley Associates, said “What was once a barren post-industrial site has been transformed into a world-class park that is both urbane and otherworldly.”
