The Municipal Art Society, Councilmember Dan Garodnick and Manhattan’s Community Board 6 sponsored a design workshop last week in which six prominent landscape architects collaborated to devise a plan for the East River waterfront. The results of the workshop, which were presented to the public yesterday, are meant to influence the city and developers as plans to complete a greenway that stretches from the Bowery to Harlem start to take shape. At present, a large section of the area next to the East River is in play as the state readies to rebuild the Midtown expanse of the FDR Drive, developer Sheldon Solow plans to build a huge mixed-use complex on the site of the former Con Ed plant between 34th and 41st streets, and the U.N. prepares to expand its Turtle Bay campus. The workshop’s participants–who included Ken Smith and Ricardo Scofidio–generated a design that addressed how the forces behind the various projects could work together to construct an uninterrupted greenway that is open to the public. The design also featured a ferry terminal, restaurant and vertical public space. TRD
and more [AMNY]
Designs on the East River greenway
