They’re all in!
The city is finally building a long-awaited second entrance to Bush Terminal Piers Park in Sunset Park, and locals are giving the notion two green thumps up, because it will be easier to get to the notoriously hard-to-find green space.
“The park is pretty isolated, and more entrances will help people get to it and enjoy it,” said park-goer Estefana Ramos, who lives in the neighborhood. “It’s a great park and has a lot to offer. The easier they can make it to access the better.”
Locals have been demanding the second entrance since the park opened, and the Economic Development Corporation, which built the green space, promised last year to create one.
Currently, recreationists must wind 500 feet through an industrial back lot off of First Avenue and 43rd Street to reach the park entrance. A city-owned building right next to the current entrance collapsed from neglect last year.
The new bike-and-pedestrian entrance at 50th Street and First Avenue means people can now get in and out of the 10-block waterfront park at either end — though they’ll still have to schlep through a bit of industrial wilds, plans show.
Construction on the new entrance — expected to begin in November and wrap up in summer 2017 — will take place in two phases.
First workers will demolish a small portion of the Bush Park Industrial Complex to clear the way for bike routes. Then they’ll pave pathways and install new lights, fencing, and traffic dividers, said a spokeswoman with the Economic Development Corporation.
The park itself took notoriously long to open, but a local pol’s office is promising the new entrance won’t share the same fate.
“Local Sunset Park residents are very anxious to get this open,” said David Estrada, the chief of staff for Councilman Carlos Menchaca (D–Sunset Park). “And we’ve been in touch with residents who are saying, ‘Where’s our entrance?’ and we’re letting them know it’s on the way.”
