New views of the upcoming Harlem River waterfront park

As part of Bill de Blasio’s massive $723 million commitment to complete the Manhattan Greenway, a 32-mile waterfront ped and bike path wrapping the island, new renderings of a seven-acre park filling the greenway gap along the Harlem River were just unveiled to Community Board 11, Patch reports.

Replacing the previous staging area for the Department of Transportation, the new park will span 125th to 132nd streets and feature an athletic area, pedestrian and bicycle pathways, a meadow walk, and a tree-lined grove. There will also be public art, a playground, picnic, and barbecue areas.

The park, designed by landscape architects Starr Whitehouse (also behind the Marsha P. Johnson State Park redesign in Williamsburg), will be raised almost 11’ above the water’s height to accommodate any rising tides brought on by climate change.

The public art is commissioned by artist Eto Otitigbe, a polymedia artist who is also an Assistant Professor and Head of Sculpture in the Art Department of Brooklyn College. The sculpture will be both a work of art and a musical instrument: an organ powered by the tides of the Hudson River.

Construction will start next year and the project is expected to be completed in 2025, two years beyond its originally scheduled date. Langan Engineering will repair the decaying marine structure, replace or improve the existing platforms, seawalls, and bulkheads as part of the process.

• Harlem (Urbanize NYC)