NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Pier 76 on Manhattan’s West Side will become a public park that will open as soon as June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.
The pier, which was built in 1964 and long housed an NYPD tow pound, will be stripped down to its frame and then turned into an “open space” as part of a $19.8 million renovation.
“We believe it can be open as early as June 1,” Cuomo said, adding that construction was already underway.
State lawmakers passed a law last year mandating that the 5.6-acre site be vacated and turned over to the Hudson River Park Trust. It came 20 years after plans were first announced to relocate the tow pound and make the pier part of the 4.5-mile-long Hudson River Park.
Cuomo said the new park would be “architecturally interesting” since the pier's steel frame will remain as part of the open-air recreational space.
The $19.7 million renovation is an “interim step,” Cuomo said, as the Hudson River Trust will develop a long-term redevelopment plan for the pier in coordination with the community.
