Industrial Pier Becomes a Park on East River Shore
On July 3, City officials formally opened the final phase of the revitalization project that has transformed the disused cargo dock, warehouse, and vehicle storage lot at Pier 42 into an eight-acre waterfront park. Located on the East River shoreline between Montgomery and Jackson Streets (midway between the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges), Pier 42 has been the focus of a decade-plus effort to transform the most glaring break in the sequence of riverside parks that gird Lower Manhattan.
The area that opened on Wednesday includes an upland park with native plantings, walking paths, a playground, restrooms (with a green roof), and open-lawn picnic areas. Also newly available are a soccer field, tennis courts, half-sized basketball courts, and an adult fitness area. Less visible are enhancements like bulkhead repairs to the deck and solar-powered lighting.
City Council member Christopher Marte said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, “Pier 42 is a great example of turning over public land to the public and making the best use of our waterfront.”
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine added, “residents and visitors have a beautiful new park with waterfront access. This total revitalization from an industrial warehouse and parking lot to open, green, recreational space is an incredible investment in a healthier, more equitable Manhattan. Plus, any initiative that adds to New York’s public bathroom stock is a win.”
Budgeted at $33.6 million, this final phase of the project was originally slated for completion in 2022. The park at Pier 42 is situated at the hinge point between two large flood-protection projects—the East Side Coastal Resiliency initiative and the Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience plan—which are budgeted at a combined $2 billion. Pier 42 complements these undertakings with resilient floodable landscape components and terrain that allows for stormwater absorption.
The overall design was created by the firm of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, whose work will be familiar to Lower Manhattan residents from projects including Tribeca’s Bogardus Plaza, and Pier 25 and Little Island in Hudson River Park.
Built in 1963 as a newsprint terminal, Pier 42 later served as an import station for Dole bananas. By the time it closed in 1987, it was the last working cargo pier in Manhattan. In the decades that followed, it has functioned primarily as a parking lot, during which time it was closed to the public.