Governor Paterson was among those who spoke at the dedication of West Harlem Piers Park on Saturday, May 30.

West Harlem Piers Park, a two-acre site between 125th and 135th Streets, was opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, May 30. The park connects West Harlem to the Hudson River Greenway and includes docking and fishing piers, bicycle and pedestrian paths, public art and landscaped open space. The ceremony, which was held where the original piers stood, was widely attended by community activists who had fought to build the park and also by some of the community’s elected officials.

"I remember that as a child, during the summer we would take the Amsterdam Avenue trolley to the 125th Street cross-town trolley which brought us to the piers, where the ferry would take us across the Hudson to the Palisades Amusement Park. There were always people coming and going, always a lot of children, so it’s nice to have this bright and shiny park and pier to bring the community back to the river," Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr. said.

Assemblyman Farrell speaks to the group of community members and activists who attended the dedication of Piers Park.

Assemblyman Farrell was joined at the park opening ceremony by community members and public officials including Governor Paterson, the mayor, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, Councilman Robert Jackson and Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. Parts of the park had been open since the previous fall, but the park area is now fully accessible.

"This project began for me in 1993, when I started working with Vince Tese, who was then head of the Urban Development Corporation, which is today the Empire State Development Corporation," Assemblyman Farrell said. "We were trying to get funding to replace the original piers so that the Circle Line could stop and pick up passengers. With the change of administrations in 1994, I was not able to get them involved at that time, though they later took up the cause. I am glad to see that the concept has grown to include both a park and a pier."

Assemblyman Farrell greets two community members who attended the park’s opening ceremony.

Piers Park, which was previously a parking area for the Fairway Market, was built at a cost of $20 million as an effort to rehabilitate the half-mile-long lot into an attractive and accessible waterfront area for public use. Funding for the project came from the City, State and Federal governments, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Borough President Stringer’s office, the City Council and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.

"This new beautiful park is good news for West Harlem residents who have worked long and hard to reclaim access to our magnificent riverfront," Borough President Stringer said. "Our city green space is a symbol of the city’s recent prosperity and we have to make sure we support and fund our parks, even during an economic downturn."

Assemblyman Farrell thanks Cecil Corbin-Marks of WE ACT and Community Board 9 Chairwoman Pat Jones for their years of hard work on the Piers Park project. Both organizations contributed to the rehabilitation of a former parking lot into an attractive riverfront.

In addition to providing a safe and managed venue for riverside activities in West Harlem, Piers Park connects trails that stretch from the Battery to Dyckman Street, continuing the waterfront’s ongoing transformation from industrial to recreational use. Among the organizations that collaborated to bring the project to fruition were the Economic Development Corporation, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Community Board 9.

"This project serves as a model of what can be accomplished when everyone pulls together for the good of the community," CB 9 Chair Pat Jones said.

"I am happy to see that everyone’s hard work has resulted in such a beautiful addition to the West Harlem neighborhood," Assemblyman Farrell said. "I look forward to visiting Piers Park during the summer months to watch the community enjoy it."