Riverside Park to get pathways

LPC approves pathways in Riverside Park to improve access to Firefighters Memorial. See full coverage, pg.171. Photo Kevin E. Schultz.

Work will make Firefighter Memorial accessible via paved curvilinear pathways. Landmarks issued a binding report approving the design for new pathways at Riverside Park, a scenic landmark built in 1873-1875, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and located between West 99th Street and West 101st Street in Manhattan.

In the Landmarks application, the Parks Department proposed … <Read More>


Staten Island Greenbelt adds 1.65 acre City park

New park would preserve natural features. The Department of Parks and Recreation sought a map amendment and approval of the acquisition of a 1.65-acre wooded parcel of private land to facilitate the creation of Manor Park on the southeasterly corner of Altamont Street and Manor Road in Staten Island.

The proposed park site, currently owned by Kanaga Corporation, includes a series of kettle ponds, vernal ponds, and young and mature trees. The site is used … <Read More>


New bridge for East 153rd Street approved

Bridge will provide four traffic lanes, two bike paths, two walkways and a needed cross-town connection. The Department of Transportation sought a City Map amendment for the construction of a new East 153rd Street bridge in the Bronx to span the Metro North railroad tracks and reconnect the east-west linkage of East 153rd, between Morris Avenue and the Grand Concourse. DOT closed the original 1899 two-lane bridge in 1988, due to safety concerns, and demolished … <Read More>


Court dismisses late challenge to Museum’s renovation plans

Opponents filed claim 31 months too late. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which leases the land in Central Park from Parks under an 1871 directive of the state legislature, proposed to renovate the museum in 2000 and presented a detailed plan to Parks and Landmarks. The plan called for a new loading dock, the addition of public cafeterias and new auditoriums. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern signed off on the plan in December 2002, noting that … <Read More>


Water taxi dock approved

Dock to be located on the East River next to the Schaefer Landing luxury building. The Planning Commission unanimously approved an application by the Department of Parks and Recreation for the construction of a water taxi dock in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The dock is to be located on the East River adjacent to the waterfront esplanade of the Schaefer Landing luxury apartment building, west of Kent Avenue between South 8th and South 11th Streets.

The floating … <Read More>


Hudson Yards Applications Approved; Sent to Council

New development potential of 26 million sq.ft. of office space and 13.6 million sq.ft. of residential; 24 acres of parks, a subway extension, and a new boulevard approved. On November 22, 2004, the Commission approved the Bloomberg Administration’s major urban planning initiative for Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, the area bounded by West 30th and West 43rd Streets, running from Seventh and Eighth Avenues to Twelfth Avenue.

The ten applications before the Commission would achieve a comprehensive … <Read More>