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Mysterious Hudson River Bridge Off Riverside Park to Get $4.3M Renovation

By Emily Frost | September 23, 2015 11:59am
 Work on the bridge is expected to start sometime in 2017 or 2018, the Parks Department said. 
West 69th Street Transfer Bridge
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UPPER WEST SIDE — A more than century-old disused railway bridge whose presence has baffled Riverside Park-goers for years will undergo further renovations, with plans that include a new walkway so visitors can explore it up close, the Parks Department said.

The West 69th Street Transfer Bridge is a 1911 relic of the system used to transport goods from the rest of the country to New York City and vice-versa. A railway that used to run along Riverside Park connected to the bridge, which was used to lift rail cars full of goods onto ferries that traveled across the Hudson River to New Jersey. 

The bridge, which is not currently connected to the park but sits in the shallows of the Hudson, is rusting and covered in many coats of lead paint, explained architect Karen Bausman, who is overseeing the next phase of reconstruction. 

The reconstruction project involves painting the bridge green and restoring windows and doors at its apex, as well as adding lights so that it can be viewed at night, Bausman told Community Board 7 Monday night. The Parks Department will also add signage that explains the role of the bridge.

Although there was talk among residents of knocking down the bridge a few decades ago, the Parks Department has remained committed to its full restoration since 2011.

The agency has already spent $2.23 million on securing the bridge, which had been sinking into the Hudson, with another $4.3 million in combined federal, city and private funds going toward the next phase of reconstruction, Parks Department officials said. 

"We think [the transfer bridge is] really, really important. It’s one of the few remaining structures that relates to the history of the park," said Margaret Bracken, the department's assistant landscape architect for Riverside Park.

Though the agency presented plans for phase two to CB7 members Monday, that phase of reconstruction won't begin until at least 2017 or 2018, said Adrienne Hamilton, a Parks Department official. 

The infusion of federal funding means the Parks Department has to go through a lengthy project review process that it's only just begun, she said. Hamilton also couldn't say how long the reconstruction would take.

After the second phase is completed, the city can begin considering adding a walkway that attaches the transfer bridge to the park, Hamilton noted. But she had no idea when that might be.

CB7 members said the explanation plaque should come as soon as possible, because many park-goers are confused about the bridge. 

"The most-asked question is: 'What is that thing?' I can’t tell you how many people ask that," said CB7 member Steven Brown, who added that he runs by it every day and has always wondered about it. 

Similarly, there needs to be more of a connection made between the railroad car in Riverside South and the transfer bridge so that people understand their context, he added.

Having signage explaining these historical artifacts is crucial, members agreed, but they also felt the Parks Department was spending too much on these restoration projects. 

"This is really a lot of money for something that’s [just] to look at," said CB7 Parks Committee chair Klari Neuwelt, "but we are where we are." 

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