Wagner Park
Map
LocationBattery Park City, Manhattan, New York
Coordinates40°42′19″N 74°1′7″W / 40.70528°N 74.01861°W / 40.70528; -74.01861
Created1996
EtymologyRobert F. Wagner Jr.
StatusOpen

Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park (also known as Wagner Park) is a green space in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The park is sited on landfill from the World Trade Center site[1] and opened in 1996.[2][3] It was designed by a partnership of Rodolfo Machado, Jorge Silvetti, Hannah/Olin, and Lynden B. Miller.[2] The park is named after Robert F. Wagner Jr., who helped negotiate the 1979 master plan for Battery Park City[4] before his sudden death in 1993.[2] The park is just north of City Pier A at the southern end of Manhattan.[5]

As of 2022, the park was being planned for demolition, although locals are fighting to save the park.[6][7][8][9] The demolition is slated as part of a flood resiliency project, and the plans call for razing and rebuilding the park.[10][11] In response to the public pressure, the committee has enlarged the area dedicated to lawns in the plans, although the rebuilt lawns would still contain 10 percent less green space.[12][13] As of October 2022, the plans called for removing 48 trees and raising the park's elevation from 11 to 20 feet (3.4 to 6.1 m), where 139 trees would be planted.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Wagner Park, From Concept to Construction". Machado Silvetti. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Goldberger, Paul (November 24, 1996). "A Small Park Proves That Size Isn't Everything". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park | The Cultural Landscape Foundation". www.tclf.org. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  4. ^ "Wagner Park - BATTERY PARK CITY AUTHORITY". bpca.ny.gov. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  5. ^ Glassman, Carl (March 27, 2022). "Goodbye to Today's Wagner Park. Two Years of Resiliency Redo Lies Ahead". Tribeca Trib Online. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  6. ^ "Locals Fight to Save Wagner Park in Lower Manhattan". NBC New York. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  7. ^ Maldonado, Samantha (May 16, 2022). "In Battery Park City, Another Plan to Destroy a Green Space In Order to Save It". The City. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Feldman, Eric (August 16, 2022). "Pushback to Battery Park City Resiliency Project leads to proposed changes". www.ny1.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  9. ^ Hemphill, Anjali (August 17, 2022). "Locals Rally to Halt $220M Plan They Say Will Ruin Popular Manhattan Waterfront Park". MSN. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Resiliency - BATTERY PARK CITY AUTHORITY". bpca.ny.gov. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Hu, Winnie; Barnard, Anne (October 21, 2022). "A Plan to Save a Beloved Park From Flooding Has Angered Its Biggest Fans". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Spivack, Caroline (August 16, 2022). "Battery Park City resiliency project gets eleventh-hour greenspace boost". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Allen, Dashiell (August 18, 2022). "B.P.C.A. pledges '10 more trees, expanded lawn space' as contentious Wagner Park raze-and-rebuild resiliency project set to start". The Village Sun. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
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