Lately, the ideas and projects (like competition: REIMAGINING THE WATERFRONT: Design-Ideas Competition)have been coming from across town, with projects for another green space. But this project is diferent and comes with a twist — the proposed park would be underground, in a dank former trolley terminal under Delancey Street that is controlled by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority:
The Delancey Underground project seeks to transform an abandoned trolley terminal into New York City's first underground community green space. Beneath one of the least green areas of the city, the Lower East Side, lies a massive, unused space nearly the size of Gramercy Park. This project envisions using an advanced solar technology to channel sunlight underground, enabling plants and trees to grow.
Trolley Terminal in 1930s.
Built in 1903 and abandoned in 1948, the Williamsburg Trolley Terminal was the destination for streetcars that carried passengers from Brooklyn to Manhattan over the Williamsburg bridge. It is 1.5 acres in size-- nearly 60,000 square feet-- roughly 2/3 the size of Gramercy Park.
Delancey Streetscape in 1930s.
Above ground, Delancey Street has always been a bustling immigrant thoroughfare and key artery for generations of merchants. In the 1930s Delancey Street was a vibrant space, before auto traffic dominated the neighborhood.
Current Delancey Street.
We are based on the Lower East Side-- an area that desperately needs more green space. This shot is of Delancey Street, right above an incredibly large unused underground space...
The SPURA site: above Delancey.
The location, known by the community as the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA), is the largest amount of land currently under review for massive revitalization in lower Manhattan. An amazing opportunity for new design thinking!
