The Lower East Side has a new green space offering respite from the concrete jungle.
A 15,000-square-foot park at the Essex Crossing megaproject opened to the public Monday designed by lauded landscape architecture firm West 8, known for The Hills at Governors Island.
The new space on Broome Street between Clinton and Suffolk streets is the latest feature in developer Delancey Street Associates (a collaboration between L & M Development Partners, BFC Partners, Taconic, Prusik Group, and the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group) megaproject to materialize.
“The community has been wanting this for a long time. There aren’t that many open spaces in the neighborhood and this is going to fill a void that hasn’t existed,” said Ernie Padron, with BFC Partners.
The airy space boasts a playground including wooden animal springers, a “freestanding mini net” and an undulating balance beam. The park also features a mix of benches, movable seating, and fixed tables and stools, and is lush with flora that was once native to the area including lowbush blueberry shrubs, trumpet honeysuckle, and fragrant sumac.
On opening day, locals were already wandering into the space with children scaling the playground’s rope jungle gym and adults lounging on stone benches gazing at the park’s greenery.
“People wanted a balance between a space that was heavily planted and a place where they could sit, reflect,” said Isaac Henderson, the project manager for Essex Crossing with L+M Development. “It already seems like it’s a park that’s really going to be used.”