Unpave a Parking Lot, Put Up an East River Paradise

Above, rendering of the proposed park; below, photograph of the site in its current state

A $114 million plan to put a waterfront park on the East River, just south of the United Nations, came into focus yesterday; the four-acre site is where a parking lot for a Con Edison power plant used to reside. City Councilman Daniel Gardonick said, "The opportunity to create this riverfront park is an opportunity we cannot afford to let slip away." The Municipal Arts Society renderings for the park envision a floating pylon in the river, featuring a restaurant, viewing platform, exhibition space and ferry landing.

The proposal, to be discussed at a City Council hearing next week, would be coordinated with developer Sheldon Solow's plan to build 6 apartment towers between 38th and 41st streets. The complex would be located on the other side of FDR drive from the proposed park, and Solow would have to give up a 30-foot wide sliver so the FDR could be rerouted away from the waterfront to pass underneath the park's deck.

Solow seems eager to accommodate, especially since he still needs City Council approval for his buildings (which have raised eyebrows as they would be taller than the 505-foot-tall UN Secretariat building). A spokesman for the developer told the Post: "We will certainly consider creating an easement and hope the City Council will agree that our project, including a new 5-acre park overlooking the river, will be a win-win for all New Yorkers." (With a few extra win-wins tossed in for Solow.)

Edward Rubin, co-chairman of Community Board 6's land-use committee, told the NY Times, “The East Side has been the poor stepsister of the West Side...The East Side had a lot of piers, industrial stuff, a highway right next to the F.D.R. Drive — and it’s very hard to connect to the waterfront." You can see the plan here at the Vision for an East Side Waterfront Park website.