Hudson River Park: Manhattan Waterside Destination
In the last decade, the decrepit piers and industrial zones along five
miles of the Hudson River on Manhattan’s West Side have been utterly
transformed. Hudson River Park is now a destination that gets 17 million
visits annually, with a bike path, green spaces, playgrounds and
recreation ranging from mini-golf and skateboarding to kayaking and even
stand-up paddleboarding.
Melissa Lopez rented a bike a few weeks ago from Bike and Roll at Pier
84, near 44th Street and 12th Avenue, and was amazed at what she saw as
she rode downtown through the park.
“It was gorgeous, like a little nature haven, beautiful flowers, trees,
and only when you looked over to your left (at the buildings), did you
realize you were in between a concrete jungle and this beautiful river,”
said Lopez, 29, who came in from her home in suburban Westchester for
the day. “Everyone was doing something active — sunbathing,
rollerblading, bike riding. There was one pier with a volleyball court
with sand. I kept telling my boyfriend, ‘Are we really in New York
City?’”
Lopez’s reaction is proof of just how much things have changed along the
river. For much of New York City’s history, “the waterfront was where
the industrial areas were,” said Madelyn Wils, president and CEO of the
Hudson River Park Trust. “Then in the 1960s, the port business went away
and the waterfront areas became so derelict they were an embarrassment.
If you saw pictures of what this looked like even 10 years ago, you’d
say, ‘How could anyone let that happen?’”
Your Comment