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New Park Is Coming to Life on Canal St.
Speaking last month at a groundbreaking ceremony where construction is underway, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe pointed to a newly excavated pit where pumps are to be installed, providing the flow of water along what will be a new sculpture. “This big hole is about to be transformed into one of the loveliest parks ever built in Downtown New York,” Benepe said during a groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 18. Construction of the park will be paid for with $2.3 million in federal funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, $500,000 from the Paul and Irma Milstein Foundation and nearly $400,000 from the city. The site, for years a parking lot for Port Authority vehicles, is bordered by Canal, Varick and Laight Streets—the inspiration for the park’s name. More than 40 new trees will stand within the fenced perimeter of the shade-starved landscape. A granite stone path will wind through the site and parallel to Canal Street will be the 120-foot-long water sculpture. A fence, gated at each of its three corners, will feature a stainless steel etching of a different period in the triangle’s history: the intersection in its undeveloped state as a grassy wetland; its 19th century incarnation as a residential block; and an early-20th century rendering of the steel factory that once operated there.
Although the water sculpture lining its northern side pays homage to the 19th-century water channel for which Canal Street was named, the sculpture’s designer, Elyn Zimmerman, said the inspiration for her design comes more from the Erie Canal than the fetid trench that once connected Collect Pond to the Hudson River. “What we had to do was create something visually strong and simple,” Zimmerman said, adding that the 120-foot-long sculpture will resemble modern locking channels, as recycled water will flow down a stepped slope toward Chinatown. Wittwer-Laird said that she was mindful of the fact that the park abuts one of Manhattan’s busiest streets, and is near two subway stations and the Holland Tunnel. The sound from the water sculpture, she said, will help muffle the roar of traffic. In addition, the park will be laid out with rows of planting beds and trees along the periphery, providing a buffer between the seating area and the streets.. Despite the park’s proximity to noisy Canal Street, Wittwer-Laird said she is confident that New Yorkers will be drawn there. “It’s crazy where people will sit if there’s a bench and a little shade,” she said.
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