High Line Moynihan Connector, spur connection, © SOM, JCFO | Miysis

Governor Kathy Hochul has unveiled designs for a 1,200-foot-long elevated pedestrian pathway that will connect the High Line to the recently opened Moynihan Train Hall. The $50 million project will also connect Chelsea with other West Side destinations like Hudson Yards, Manhattan West, Penn Station, and the Javits Center. The plan was first floated by former Governor Andrew Cuomo in January as part of his extremely ambitious agenda to redevelop Midtown West. Under the direction of Governor Hochul, the pathway is expected to be completed by Spring 2023.

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All renderings courtesy of SeeThree and ODA

When the coronavirus pandemic hit New York City last spring, the city launched a successful effort to give pedestrians safe outdoor space through its”Open Streets” program, which closed some streets to cars. Extremely popular with New Yorkers, the initiative, along with its Open Restaurants and Open Culture counterparts, was expanded and made permanent this year. A local architecture firm is looking to capitalize on this reclamation of public city space with a new proposal aimed at reviving the once blossoming Flower District.

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Photo by Jim Henderson on Wikimedia

The city is moving forward on restoring the Upper West Side’s 79th Street Boat Basin as a waterfront resource for the community. In December 2019, the Parks Department unveiled a $90 million proposal to reconstruct docks damaged by previous storms, add additional boating berths to increase capacity, make the area more resilient to climate change, and expand ecological research and education. To make this possible, the entire marina will be dredged to enable vessels to navigate it at all tidal cycles. With support from the local Community Board and many residents, the plan is now moving ahead, with construction expected to commence in 2023.

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175 Park Avenue, looking northeast. Rendering by Ekoomedia, Inc. / Courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

In February, we got our first look at the 1,646-foot tower proposed for the Grand Hyatt site next to Grand Central. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the sustainable mixed-use building would rise 83 stories and become the second-tallest tower in NYC behind One World Trade Center. Though 175 Park Avenue takes advantage of the Midtown East Rezoning, developers RXR Realty and TF Cornerstone are still seeking several special zoning permits, including those for hotel use and added height in exchange for transit and infrastructure improvements. To obtain these variances, the project has now entered the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), and with it, has revealed several new renderings.

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+ POOL, designed by Family New York & PLAYLAB, INC. Rendering by Luxigon

A plan to build a swimming pool on the East River is finally moving forward after being in the works for over a decade. In an Instagram post published on Saturday, the nonprofit +POOL announced the group had received confirmation from the city to proceed with due diligence on their project: a floating, self-filtering pool on the south side of Pier 35 on the Lower East Side.

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Renderings by FXCollaborative

It’s been two years since Macy’s first floated the idea of building a 700-950 foot office tower atop its Herald Square flagship, and it looks like the plan is getting closer to reality thanks to a $235 million private investment in transit accessibility and public infrastructure. This includes upgraded subway access, improved transit connections, ADA-accessible elevators, and a modernized car-free Herald Square and Broadway Plaza.

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Photo of Riverside Park by Momos on Wikimedia

The city announced this week plans to provide $348 million in funding for the rehabilitation of major infrastructure in Riverside Park, marking one of the largest investments at the waterfront park since the 1930s. The project restores the “overbuild,” a series of bridge structures built over the Amtrak tunnels between West 72nd and West 123rd Streets. The deteriorated structure has damaged pathways and affected the park’s usability, according to the city.

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Rendering courtesy of NYC Parks

Construction officially kicked off this month at a new section of the Bushwick Inlet Park in Williamsburg. The long-awaited two-acre green space, dubbed 50 Kent, is scheduled to open in April 2022. Designs of the parkland, which was promised by the city as part of the 2005 rezoning of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront, were approved in 2018, but work stalled due to COVID-related budget cuts, as Brooklyn Paper reported.

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All photos courtesy of NY State Parks on Flickr

A former New York City Police Department tow-pound on the Hudson River will open as a public park this summer, more than 20 years after the state designated the lot as future open space. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said work at Pier 76 has already begun, with an expected opening date as early as June 1. The plan for the 5.6-acre park aligns with the governor’s ambitious $51 billion redevelopment of over 100 acres of Midtown West, announced earlier this year.

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All renderings courtesy of James Corner Field Operations and BIG- Bjarke Ingels Group

The proposal to construct two mixed-use skyscrapers and a public beach on the North Brooklyn waterfront is moving forward, although with an updated design, timeline, and name. As first reported by Brooklyn Paper, Two Trees Management is preparing to start the city’s uniform land use review procedure (ULURP) in the coming weeks for its project “River Ring,” which includes two huge towers designed by Bjarke Ingels with more than 1,000 units of housing, a YMCA, and an environmentally-conscious park with a cove and beach.

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