Redesigned and Resistant to Flooding, a New Wagner Park Reopens

Wagner Park reopened on July 29 and for the first time since it closed in March 2023, visitors could again stretch out and relax on the lawn. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib 

It’s back.

A nearly $300 million redo of Wagner Park, closed since March 2023 for a total flood-mitigation redesign, reopened on Tuesday with a raised, expanded lawn, hearty native plants that need less water, and an “event terrace” for staged productions framed by dramatic views of New York Harbor.

Kicking off the celebratory opening was a performance by Taylor Mac [1].  (A full lineup [2] of free concerts in the park will continue through the fall.)

The park’s all-new, 19,000-square-foot central pavilion will open in the fall with public restrooms, roof access and a community room. A yet-to-be announced restaurant will open next year, Battery Park City Authority officials said.

“We missed the park very much,” said Ariella Suchow, a Battery Park City resident who had returned with her 5-year-old and 10-month-old on Tuesday. “I’m surprised that it’s open to this extent. I thought that only a patch of grass would be open,” she added. “I’m stunned. It’s beautiful.” 

The fortified 3.5-acre park, located at the south end of Battery Park City, is part of the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project [3], a barrier system meant to protect the southern neighborhood against storms as well as flooding from rising sea levels. It will tie into Battery Park City’s far more expansive North/West Resiliency Project [4], now under construction.

A buried floodwall, driven down to bedrock, stretches beneath the lawn from the Museum of Jewish Heritages at the northern end of the park, to the south, across from Pier A. Also underground is a 63,000-gallon cistern that will retain stormwater as well as collect and recycle rainwater. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is now protected by a new glass-topped floodwall. [5] Still under construction is a barrier system farther to the east that includes a flip-up barrier, exposed permanent wall and burmed floodwall.

The amphitheater-like performance space seats roughly 200 people but can be viewed by more from the lawn’s higher ground behind the seating. 

In response to a number of complaints by community activists and elected officials about the original park design, among them a loss of lawn space and trees, the Authority said it added 74% more lawn and increased the number of trees by 91. (Forty-eight were cut down.) The State Supreme Court had dismissed a legal action to stop the project.

Watching visitors gather in the park Tuesday evening, BPCA President and CEO Raju Mann paused to reflect on this long-awaited moment, its planning begun a decade ago. “I’m just really excited about seeing people back in the park and enjoying it,” he said, “because it’s the people that give it life.”