Parks Department

Re-opening day for the McCarren Park pool, June 28, 2012

Murals Coming to McCarren Play Center Pavilion, Brooklyn

7:30 am on August 16, 2016 By Evan Bindelglass

One of the city’s major public pool and park facilities will soon be getting a splash of new art. Come next month, two murals will be installed at the McCarren Play Center. That’s at 776…

Riverside Park Skate Park Upgrade Receives Blessing from Landmarks Commission

7:00 am on July 22, 2016 By Evan Bindelglass

Skateboarders in Upper Manhattan are in for a new experience. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation gave its blessing to a proposal to upgrade the 20-year-old skate park in Riverside Park.

Request for Proposals Launched to Transform Allen Street Pedestrian Mall Into Food Facility, Lower East Side

6:30 am on July 22, 2016 By Reid Wilson

The Parks Department and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation have launched a request for proposals (RFP) to redevelop the long-vacant, single-story Allen Street pedestrian mall, the former public bathroom located at the intersection with Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. As disclosed earlier this year, the city hopes a developer or business can convert the little building into a “food service facility,” DNAinfo reported. Community facilities are apparently not being considered at this time. Repairs to the structure will have to include significant work to the roof, walls, and floors, in addition to the replacement of door and windows, and the installation of necessary infrastructure. The restaurant and/or food vendor may also include outside seating. Proposals are due September 15, and the city expects to select a team in early 2017.

City Moving Forward with Public Park Plans at 50-02 39th Avenue, Sunnyside

11:00 am on June 21, 2016 By Reid Wilson

The city’s Parks Department is planning to move forward with transforming the vacant lot at 50-02 39th Avenue, located on the of 50th Street in Sunnyside, into a public park. The city recently designated $3 million to acquire the property from its owner, DBH Associates, DNAinfo reported. DBH acquired the plot in 2007 for $1.45 million and is open to selling the property. The owner attempted to built a two-story, eight-unit apartment building at the site, but the Landmarks Preservation Commission disapproved the plans in 2014. The site is located within the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District, which means the design of the park (and its structural elements) will have to be approved by the LPC.

New Renderings Revealed of Brooklyn Strand Project, Downtown Brooklyn

6:30 am on May 10, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in November of 2015, renderings were revealed of the renovations that are planned to go into repositioning the Brooklyn War Memorial and Cadman Park Plaza. The upgrades are associated with a large-scale revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn’s parks and public spaces, dubbed Brooklyn Strand. New details and renderings of the entire 50-acre project can be revealed now that the two-year-long community input process has completed. The Community Vision Plan will now go through the city’s review process.

Councilman Advocates Building of Two-Block Park Over Brooklyn-Queens Expressway In Williamsburg

6:00 am on May 10, 2016 By Reid Wilson

After former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in 2010, rejected plans to build a public park over a two-block span of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between South 3rd and 5th streets in Williamsburg, Councilman Antonio Reynoso is re-proposing the project. Dubbed BQ Green, the $200 million project could potentially be incorporated into the city’s $2.265 billion budget for park capital spending, according to Gothamist. As currently envisioned, a concrete platform would completely cover two blocks of the BQE, while partially covering the below-grade expressway one block in either direction. The part of South 4th Street that currently spans over the BQE would be reconstructed as parkland, and the existing green space lining the expressway will be revitalized. The proposal also includes a baseball diamond, a waterpark, and wooded and landscaped areas. DLANDstudio is behind the design of the 2010 proposal. The project is expected to be discussed before the city’s budget is adopted.

Final Approvals Granted for Pier55 Park Off the Meatpacking District

6:00 am on April 28, 2016 By Reid Wilson

In June of 2015, slight changes to Pier55’s design were revealed as the park project was making its way through the approval process. Now, the Hudson River Park Trust has announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has green-lighted the project, according to Crain’s. The 2.7-acre, 62-foot-tall structure, to be built off the Meatpacking District in the Hudson River, will include grassy hills, recreational event space, and an amphitheater. It will connect to Manhattan via a pedestrian bridge at West 13th Street. The bridge will be funded with federal money, but the park itself is being financed by a non-profit partnership between Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg. The duo have already contributed $113 million, and construction is expected to kick off in early May.

City Plans to Build Underground Sewage on Alloy Development Site in Gowanus

6:30 am on April 27, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Back in December of 2015, Alloy Development proposed to build two 104,000-square-foot office buildings, along with 138,000 square feet of public park space, at 234 Butler Street and 242 Back in December of 2015, Alloy Development and the property owners of 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street proposed to build two 104,000-square-foot office buildings and, along with a 50,000 square-foot public park, in northern Gowanus. The proposal aimed to convince two city agencies, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Parks Department, to build two underground sewage tanks mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency under Thomas Greene Park—instead of seizing, through eminent domain, the properties currently ground-leased by Alloy. The EPA has been pushing to install the tanks beneath the park, because it’s already owned by the city and will need to be excavated eventually to clean up contaminants.

The Bronx’s Crotona Play Center Getting New Entrance, 1700 Fulton Avenue

7:30 am on April 11, 2016 By Evan Bindelglass

A WPA-era park in the Bronx is getting a bit of an update. Last Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved construction of a new entrance and pathway at the Crotona Play Center, located on the grounds of Crotona Park with the address 1700 Fulton Avenue.

City Acquires Large Swath Of Planned Bushwick Inlet Park At 1 North 12th Street, Greenpoint

6:00 am on March 11, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Since the 2005 rezoning of Greenpoint and Williamsburg, the city has slowly been building out Bushwick Inlet Park, which was planned to span the waterfront from North 7th to 15th streets when combined with the East River State Park. A large swath of the waterfront is still occupied by CitiStorage warehouses between North 10th and 12th streets, and that site is expected to be sold to a team of developers, but the city is moving in to acquire the swath of land at 1 North 12th Street, between North 12th and 14th streets. The city is paying $53 million for the seven-acre plot of land, currently occupied by a three-story warehouses and the Bayside Fuel Oil Depot’s storage tanks, according to The Real Deal. If the initial plans are executed, the city will demolish everything and convert the entire lot into public park space. The new park space would be located right across Bushwick Inlet from the planned USS Monitor Park.

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