Photographs Courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design
By the end of the year, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and State Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh expect to announce plans to transform the East River shoreline from the Brooklyn Bridge to 38th Street into a more accessible “Blueway.” “For too long, the river has been forgotten. It’s hidden behind a highway suffering from years of disinvestment and neglect,” says Stringer. The firm behind the transformation, WXY Architecture + Urban Design, spent the past year brainstorming ideas with local residents and organizations. Its goal, said principal Claire Weisz, is to “bring nature to the city.” WXY has granted New York Magazine an exclusive preview of some of the proposed plans.
One idea is to equip the two-and-a-half-block stretch from Market Slip south to the Brooklyn Bridge with three new piers for fishing and recreation. Stairs from the southern pier will lead to the sandy beach under the bridge. There are also plans to create freshwater wetlands that will filter oil and detritus before releasing the cleansed water to the saltwater marshes below them. Photo: Courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design
Isolated Corlears Hook Park at the easternmost tip of Manhattan was once a thick marsh on which the Lenape Indians landed their canoes. The proposed development will heighten its accessibility with trees and a path along the FDR’s western edge to Grand Street. The bridge between Corlears Hook Park and East River Park will be widened and greened, providing a grand entrance to the East River amphitheater. Photo: Courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design
Imagine two bridges soaring over the FDR that may even have benches overlooking the river. Photo: Courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design
Glass walls for buffering noise on the bridge by the pinch point at 14th Street. Photo: Courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design
The crescent-shaped Skyport Garage will feature a rooftop restaurant. The seaplane pier will move south of the garage, creating an expanded esplanade and riverside walkway. Photo: Courtesy of WXY Architecture + Urban Design
