NEW YORK | New East River access

[uaarkson]

Rules.

[NYguy]

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2012...reenpoint-park

City Attempts to Develop Long-Stalled Greenpoint Park




Bushwick Inlet Park and 65 Commercial Street
The city has promised acres of open waterfront space in Williamsburg that it still has yet to deliver, including this plan for Bushwick Inlet Park.


August 14, 2012
By Meredith Hoffman

Seven years after promising to deliver more than 30 acres of park land to Williamsburg and Greenpoint, the city is making a new attempt to deliver part of the space at 65 Commercial St. by Newtown Creek.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation Monday requested proposals for a developer to buy air rights to part of the land — a waterfront lot by Newtown Creek that still houses MTA trams — so that the city could afford to relocate the trams and to deliver the promised park.

The air rights, local park advocates explained, would allow a developer nearby to construct denser and higher buildings according to zoning rules. The land at 65 Commercial St. would remain in use by the city to create the park.

Williamsburg Council Member Stephen Levin, who has long advocated for the park, called the request for proposals a "significant step in the right direction for Greenpoint" and "hopefully a sign" that the city would work on the rest of its open space promises to the area. "The release of the RFP is great for our community," he said. "Hopefully we'll all be enjoying a new park in North Brooklyn in the near future."

Another longtime Greenpoint park advocate who declined to give his name said the money from the air rights should go directly to affordable housing, which the city also promised in 2005. "Through the sale they could fund the first phase of the park as well as the affordable housing promised as part of the plan," explained the source, but noted that the money should not be necessary to move the trams. "The sale of the air rights should have nothing to do with whether the park gets built," the source said. "One should not depend on the other."

But the city said that the money was necessary for the project's completion. "The proceeds from the sale of the Development Rights will enable the City to relocate the MTA from the Commercial Street Lot, so that it can be utilized for the construction of a long planned waterfront park that will serve the City's residents," the city says on its website requesting proposals.

Bushwick Inlet Park and 65 Commercial Street
The city has been housing MTA trams at 65 Commercial Street but, years after promising to turn the land to park space, is seeking a developer to convert the property.

[Busy Bee]

I've never heard of minibuses being called trams.

[NYguy]

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2012...ot-for-couples

Gantry Park Becomes Romantic After-Hours Spot For Couples





September 7, 2012
By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

Nothing makes a date more romantic than a beautiful setting.

And Gantry Plaza State Park, with its stunning views of Manhattan, breeze coming off the East River and comfortable chaise longues installed along the esplanade, provides just that — especially after hours.

Nearly every night, the park attracts couples from around the borough and the city, with the East River flowing by and the lights of the city blinking ahead.

Eric and Biva, who didn't want to give their last names, came to the park a couple of nights ago from East Elmhurst and were kissing passionately on one of the park’s piers.

“We just love it here,” Eric, 42, said.

“We could stay here all night long,” added Biva, 41, who came to the park for the first time and was amazed by the view.

The park closes at 10 p.m. but, since the curfew is not strictly enforced, many park-goers stay after hours.

Bill Bylewski, vice-president of Friends of Gantry Neighborhood Parks, a volunteer group that helps keep the area clean, said the park was in many ways designed to be romantic.

“A lot of these seats along the esplanade were designed in such way that two people can cuddle up on them,” Bylewski said.

[NYguy]

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2012...k-this-weekend

City to Open Transmitter Park This Weekend





August 20, 2012
By Meredith Hoffman

A long-anticipated riverside park the city promised in 2005 is finally swinging open its gates this weekend, officials said.

WNYC Transmitter Park, a 6.6-acre space between Greenpoint Avenue and Kent Street by the East River, will open Saturday for the public, the New York City Economic Development Corporation confirmed, which has been designing and constructing the grassy area, kids' play space, and pedestrian bridge over an inlet.

nycmayorsoffice

[NYguy]

http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6305

Lighting the Way to Freedom
Tillett Lighting Design's subtle approach to New York's Four Freedoms FDR Memorial.





10.17.2012
Alan G. Brake

After languishing for nearly 40 years as paper architecture, the monumental slabs and stunning views of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park will open to the public on October 24. For lighting designer Linnaea Tillett, who is currently implementing a nighttime lighting scheme at the park, layering the most appropriate illumination on Louis Kahn’s stark design is a process of careful calibration.

Tillett is approaching the task from the landscape rather than from the architecture, choosing to carefully highlight the memorial’s linden trees and copper beeches. She and her team tested spot and flood fixtures in LEDs and metal halide at the nursery where the memorial’s trees were grown. “You have to listen to the tree—the leaves, the branches, the branching patterns,” Tillett said.

After numerous tests, Tillett and her team settled on a multi-head iGuzzini LED fixture, which casts light in two directions. The design allows each tree to be illuminated from two sides: half the fixture is pointed at one tree and the other half is pointed at the next. Tillett further modified the fixture with tiny custom louvers, which allow the light to hit more of the lindens’ tiny leaves. She and her team meticulously adjusted the fixtures to make sure the light hit the trees as evenly as possible, making the most with the smallest number of fixtures. “That’s my definition of sustainability,” she said. The result is remarkably delicate.

nycmayorsoffice

[Duck From NY]

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=6305

-
I generally prefer the classic style of sculptures and monuments, but this is cool in a creepy kind of way.

I wonder if the "chair" represents his disability, or the fact that he was mostly alone with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

[NYguy]

I think it's a pretty cool memorial. It's gotten mostly positive reviews. It's monumental without being overbearing.

[NYguy]

archidose

[mrnyc]

fdr's head in a box sure is creepy

yet

not

unfamiliar...

[Duck From NY]

Does anyone know if the water fountain at the tip of the island is still active?

[jd3189]

The FDR memorial seems similar to the 9/11 memorial in general layout of trees and grass.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by jd3189

The FDR memorial seems similar to the 9/11 memorial in general layout of trees and grass.

Yeah, it's also very fitting that this memorial/park sits on Roosevelt Island, somewhat viewable from the FDR Drive.

[NYguy]

Still more photos of Four Freedoms Park...


Scoboco

[vandelay]

Truly a monument worthy of the name FDR and the Empire state.

[BStyles]

I love it. Reminds me of the simplicity of the WTC Memorial, as well as the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Simplicity, at it's best.

[pico44]

The new fdr memorial is absolutely gorgeous. What a relief to see that the prolonged incubation did nothing to diminish the immense genius that created it. Bravo to all involved in its resurrection.

The greatest piece of architecture of this decade, and I don't see it being surpassed.

[The North One]

Thats actually a really awsome park, very well done.

Except for the creepy head glaring at you through the lawn.

[NYguy]

ibarrett

[woodrow]

SPECTACULAR!!! Thanks for all the wonderful photos. I am excited to see this in person. Kahn was a genius.