Hudson River Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for recreational use. The park includes tennis and soccer fields, batting cages, children's playground, dog run, recreational piers, and many other features.
Hudson River Park connects many other recreational sites and landmarks including Battery Park, Batter Park City, The World Trade Center site, the World Financial Center / Winter Garden, Chelsea Piers, Pier 63 (site of historic ships Lightship Frying Pan and Fireboat John J. Harney), Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, and Riverside Park. It runs through the Manhattan neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan, Battery Park City, TriBeCa, Greenwich Village, Gansevoort Market (The Meatpacking District), Chelsea, Midtown West, and Hell's Kitchen (Clinton).
It is a joint New York State and New York City collaboration and is a 550 acre park, the biggest in Manhattan after Central Park.
The park arose as part of the West Side Highway replacement project in the wake of the abandoned Westway plan.
[edit] Trivia
- During the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, the New York City Police Department used Pier 57 as a makeshift jail to hold people arrested during protests related to the convention. The holding pens were dubbed "Guantanamo on the Hudson" by activists. Various lawsuits were filed against the city related to conditions at the site and allegedly illegal arrests, including those of bystanders. Proposed plans for the future of the pier have included an Italian cultural center or an extension of Chelsea Piers.
