The Spliced City

The summer routine: writing, thinking, natureculturing next to the mighty Hudson. Waking up in the morning and looking out over Riverbank State Park, which is and isn’t part of Riverside Park.

I have grown so fond of this busy neighborhood park. It houses my favorite track running in Manhattan, and the views up and down the Hudson from its elevated decks are stunning.

Yet Riverbank State Park hides a dirty secret. It opened to the public in 1993, the year I first moved to Upper Manhattan. I came to know about it primarily as the result of a formidable Environmental Justice battle.

That’s because this park is actually a 28-acre green roof built atop the North River Sewage Treatment Facility. This plant was an unwanted neighborhood nuisance (a “LULU” in Plannerese) that only landed in Harlem after residents in Chelsea and on the Upper West Side successfully lobbied their representatives to move it further north. This racist re-siting sparked the formation of WE ACT. The plant was approved despite the decades-long opposition to it. Getting the park built atop did not immediately minimize all the harmful impacts of the facility, of course – many more community fights were necessary to get key upgrades approved, funded and completed.

As it stands today, the park features wonderful community amenities for athletics (an amazing outdoor track, gyms, fitness rooms and more), aquatics (outdoor and indoor pools), skating (ice in winter, roller in summer) along with picnic areas, a restaurant and more.

During my runs up and down Riverside Park, I often do a final little detour through Riverbank Park to circle around the springy red track a few times so I can end my outing on a happy, bouncy note. I love that on most days, I have to dodge a few soccer balls rolling across the lanes because so many kids use the infield to practice their shooting skills and show them off to mom and dad. Meanwhile, just to the side, folks are gardening, planting veggies in their community beds.

I can’t wait to be back.