BY SYDNEY PEREIRA | Governor Andrew Cuomo is kicking in $23 million to help finish Hudson River Park, he announced Tuesday in his annual State of the State address.
The “magnificent” park on Manhattan’s West Side was started by former Governor Mario Cuomo and Mayor David Dinkins, the current governor noted, and now he and Mayor Bill de Blasio will “finally finish that park,” Cuomo said Tuesday.
At least year’s State of the State, Cuomo allocated $50 million in funds for the waterfront park, which has been under segment-by-segment construction for more than two decades.
“We are grateful to Governor Cuomo for his leadership and support and thank him on behalf of the millions who enjoy and rely on the park,” Madelyn Wils, the C.E.O. and president of the Hudson River Park Trust, said in a statement.
“With approximately $900 million in design or under construction through public and private partnerships, the finish line is now within reach.”
The Trust says that, even with Cuomo’s latest pledge, an additional $23 million is still needed for capital projects for portions of the park’s esplanade between 29th and 35th Sts., as well as between 39th and 44th Sts.
That figure does not include the open space portion of Pier 40, the commercial redevelopment of Pier 76, and Pier 26’s estuarium and capital maintenance projects, according to Yolles.
The Trust has been making headway on a variety of portions of the park in the past year.
In November, a $100 million project to repair Pier 40’s dilapidated piles was about one-fifth of the way completed, funded through a sale of “air rights” from the W. Houston St. pier to the St. John’s Building, where Google plans to expand its offices.
The Trust began its construction at Tribeca’s Pier 26 in October with a project to build a “science playground,” two playing fields, a lounge area, tiered seating, and a marsh area designed to attract birds and fish native to the Hudson River. Pier 26 is expected to open in 2020, and an estuarium with classrooms and a technology exhibit is planned for the future once the Trust secures more funds.
In Hell’s Kitchen, Pier 97, at W. 57th St., is also in the design development phase for a $38 million redo. That pier has been rebuilt, but is currently just a concrete slab and still needs to be landscaped and have park amenities added.
