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== North Cove at Brookfield Place ==

== North Cove at Brookfield Place ==

[[File: Brookfield_Place_-_Waterfront_Plaza_15.jpg|thumb|Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place]]

[[File: Brookfield_Place_-_Waterfront_Plaza_15.jpg|thumb|Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place]]

[[Cesar Pelli]], architect of [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|Brookfield Place]], selected [[Siah Armajani]] and [[Scott Burton]], along with landscape architect [[M. Paul Friedberg]], to design the 3 1/2 acre plaza at North Cove, in front of Brookfield Place. The plaza has an upper and lower level, with two granite reflecting pools and fountains separating the levels.<ref name=”Goldberger”>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=1988-10-12 |title=Review/Architecture; Winter Garden At Battery Park City (Published 1988) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/12/arts/review-architecture-winter-garden-at-battery-park-city.html |access-date=2025-11-11 |language=en}}</ref> The plaza surrounds a small harbor for [[yacht]]s.

[[Cesar Pelli]], architect of [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|Brookfield Place]], selected [[Siah Armajani]] and [[Scott Burton]], along with landscape architect [[M. Paul Friedberg]], to design the 3 1/2 acre plaza at North Cove, in front of Brookfield Place. The plaza has an upper and lower level, with two granite reflecting pools and fountains separating the levels.<ref name=”Goldberger”>{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=1988-10-12 |title=Review/Architecture; Winter Garden At Battery Park City (Published 1988) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/12/arts/review-architecture-winter-garden-at-battery-park-city.html |access-date=2025-11-11 |language=en}}</ref> The plaza surrounds a small harbor for [[yacht]]s.

[[Scott Burton]] designed the ”Waterfront Plaza” at the North Cove. This includes a series of tripartite units, comprised of a circular shape paired with two 3-step stairs, located in front of two 150-ft long fountains at Brookfield Place. They can function as seating area with a table. Burton also designed four long granite benches situated at the edge of the water, along the North Cove.<ref name=“johnson”>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Ken |date=March 1990 |title=Poetry & Public Service |journal=Art in America Archive |volume=78 |issue=3 |pages=160-219}}</ref><ref name=”Goldberger”/>

[[Scott Burton]] designed the ”Waterfront Plaza” at the North Cove. This includes a series of tripartite units, comprised of a circular shape paired with two 3-step stairs, located in front of fountains. They can function as seating area with a table. Burton also designed four long granite benches situated at the edge of the water, along the North Cove.<ref name=“johnson”>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Ken |date=March 1990 |title=Poetry & Public Service |journal=Art in America Archive |volume=78 |issue=3 |pages=160-219}}</ref><ref name=”Goldberger”/>

[[Siah Armajani]] created the fence railings along the North Cove, in front of [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|Brookfield Place]]. Excerpts from poetry are spelled out with bronze letters along the railings, including from [[Walt Whitman]]’s ”City of Ships”, from [[Leaves of Grass]], and from [[Frank O’Hara|Frank O’Hara]]’s ”[[Meditations in an Emergency]]”.

[[Siah Armajani]] created the fence railings along the North Cove, in front of [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|Brookfield Place]]. Excerpts from poetry are spelled out with bronze letters along the railings, including from [[Walt Whitman]]’s ”City of Ships”, from [[Leaves of Grass]], and from [[Frank O’Hara|Frank O’Hara]]’s ”[[Meditations in an Emergency]]”.

There are various public artworks located throughout Battery Park City. Many of the artworks are located at the end of residential streets at the entrance to the esplanade. Others involve design of public space and incorporating artworks at Brookfield Place waterfront plaza area and at South Cove. There also are various sculptures and artwork in the neighborhood’s public parks.

History

The public art program was initiated by the Battery Park City Authority in the early 1980s with creation of a Fine Arts Committee.^[1] The committee included notable people in art and architecture, including Michael Graves, art historians Linda Nochlin and Robert Rosenblum, Barbara Haskell, curator of the Whitney Museum and Linda Shearer, curator at the Museum of Modern Art.^[2][3] The program was modeled on the Percent for Art programs in other cities.^[4] Artists were selected to work alongside architects and landscape architects to design public spaces, and various artworks were commissioned in the late 1980s and 1990s. The public art was intended to help draw tourists, as well as make the neighborhood more attractive for residents and office workers.^[5]

In 2019, the Battery Park City Authority compiled an inventory and had Art Dealers Association of America conduct an appraisal of its public art collection. This was undertaken after concerns about long-term stewardship and costs of maintaining the artwork. Altogether, 15 artworks in Battery Park City were appraised at $63 million.^[6]

North Cove at Brookfield Place

Cesar Pelli, architect of Brookfield Place, selected Siah Armajani and Scott Burton, along with landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg, to design the 3 1/2 acre plaza at North Cove, in front of Brookfield Place. The plaza has an upper and lower level, with two granite 150-ft long reflecting pools and fountains separating the levels.^[7] The plaza surrounds a small harbor for yachts.

Scott Burton designed the Waterfront Plaza at the North Cove. This includes a series of tripartite units, comprised of a circular shape paired with two 3-step stairs, located in front of the fountains. They can function as seating area with a table. Burton also designed four long granite benches situated at the edge of the water, along the North Cove.^[8][7]

Siah Armajani created the fence railings along the North Cove, in front of Brookfield Place. Excerpts from poetry are spelled out with bronze letters along the railings, including from Walt Whitman’s City of Ships, from Leaves of Grass, and from Frank O’Hara’s Meditations in an Emergency.

On the upper level, off to the side, is Pumphouse Park which has a wooded area with walking paths, along with a round grassy area surrounded by a walking path. Armajani designed the gate at the entrance to this park from Liberty Street and South End Avenue. The gate is made of metal with tall trellis-like structures.^[8]

As part of the Northwest Battery Park City Resiliency project, Burton’s geometric shapes and steps are being removed
and will be put into storage.
They will return to Battery Park City once the resiliency project is complete,
though the Battery Park City Authority plans to place them at the end of Albany Street, next to the Esplanade.
^[9][10]

South Cove

South Cove is a 3 1/2 acre waterfront park area at the southern end of Battery Park City, located just to the north of Wagner Park. It includes a circular pergola, with a bridge connecting it to a lower level walkway and a steel lookout tower, with a pair of circular staircases to get to the observation level. There are blue ships’ lanterns and boulders along the lower wooden boardwalk walkway. There also is a wooden boardwalk with benches, extending out over the water, on the north side of the cove. There are timber pilings that remain in the water in the South Cove. The upper section of the park has additional walkways, include some that pass through a small grove of honey locust trees.^[11]

The park was designed as a collaboration between artist Mary Miss, landscape architect Susan Child and architect Stan Eckstut.^[12] Construction of the park was completed in 1987, at a cost of $13 million,^[13] and it was dedicated in July 1988.^[14] Mary Miss wanted the South Cove area to be close to the water, as at the time, it was generally difficult for people in New York City to access the water.^[15]

In 2018-2019, the Battery Park City Authority conducted repairs on the pergola and bridge in South Cove, replacing many of the wooden piles and deck boards, as they had deteriorated conditions.^[16]

Upper Room

Upper Room (1987), by Ned Smyth, was a colonnaded court resembling an ancient temple and included a raised courtyard and open-air plaza, located at the western end of Albany Street at the entrance to the esplanade, overlooking the Hudson River. Inside the plaza, there was a concrete table with chess boards, and twelve stools. There was also a small temple-like structure with a pyramid-shaped roof. The plaza is surrounded by columns, made of gravelly concrete aggregate, with some resembling palm trees.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}
The Upper Room was commissioned by the Battery Park City Authority in 1987.^[21]

Smyth spent part of his childhood in Italy, and his father was an art historian. His art incorporated pattern and decorative elements.^[21]

The Upper Room was inspired by architecture of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

The Upper Room was an important outdoor community gathering space during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and over the years, a popular place for birthday parties and other social gatherings.^[22]

In 2024, the Battery Park City Authority announced that the Upper Room would need to be demolished in order to allow installation of flood gates as part of the Northwest Battery Park City Resiliency Project, and that there was no feasible option to relocate the artwork.^[23] The columns of the Upper Room were developing cracks, according to an art conservator who was hired 6 years prior to assess the condition of the artwork, but she believes the artwork could have been saved. The Manhattan Community Board 1 also “urged the Authority to explore every possible option to preserve the work”. The Battery Park City Authority did not seek out any expertise in preserving such artwork.^[24] Removal of the Upper Room occurred in November 2025.^[25][24][26]

Rector Gate

Rector Gate (1989), by R.M. Fischer, is a 45-foot tall stainless steel and bronze arch at the entrance to the esplanade from Rector Place and Rector Park.^[27] Fischer was commissioned in 1985 by Battery Park City Authority to create the artwork, which was completed in 1989. Fischer aspired for it to be “larger than life” and “fanciful”, and compliment the scale of the surrounding buildings. Fischer incorporates nautical elements into the design, and atop the arch, there is a dome shape structure that mimics design elements with the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place. There also is some seating space at the base of the gate, with the artist intending the gate to also serve as a meeting place. At night, the gate emits a glow to illuminate it.^[28]

Berlin Wall

There is a segment of the Berlin Wall in Battery Park City. The segment was painted by Thierry Noir and is located in Kowsky Plaza, next to the Gateway Plaza apartment buildings.^[29] Berlin donated this piece of the Berlin Wall, consisting two wall slabs, to Battery Park City in November 2004.^[30][31]

Other public art

• The Real World (1992), by Tom Otterness, is a collection of cast-bronze sculptures located in Rockefeller Park in a playground setting. It depicts cartoon-like human figures and animals in various scenes,^[32][33] including a “creeping cat”, “miniature figures playing chess” and an “island built on a mound of bronze pennies and teeming with ankle-high creatures”.^[34]

• Pavilion (1992), by Demetri Porphyrios
• Ape & Cat (at the Dance) (1993), by Jim Dine, is a cast-bronze sculpture located in Wagner Park, in Battery Park City. It was depicts an ape and cat in an embracing dance, and was inspired by a small 19th-century ceramic figurine that Dine found in London.^[35][36] The sculpture includes a base that Dine added later. After construction of the nearby Museum of Jewish Heritage, a portion of the sculpture base, thought to resemble “railroad ties”, was buried into the ground. Dine objected to this alteration, saying “That’s outrageous,” and “By burying a part of my piece of art, they’re defacing it. They bought it from me, does that give them the right to destroy it?”^[37] During reconstruction of Wagner Park, as part of the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, the sculpture was relocated to Rector Park East.^[38]
• Pylons (1995), by Martin Puryear
• Eyes (1995), by Louise Bourgeois
• Resonating Bodies (1996), by Tony Cragg, are a pair of bronze sculptures, one which resembles a lute and the other a tuba.^[39][40]. The sculptures are located in Wagner Park.^[41]
• Ulysses (1997), by Ugo Attardi
• Sitting Stance (1998), by Richard Artschwager

• Sunrise, Sunset (Revolution), by Autumn Ewalt and Dharmesh Patel, consist of nine triptychs created with aluminum panels and crystal prisms.^[42][43] From 2017-2019, the artwork was on display at Pier A Plaza in Battery Park and then was relocated to Rockefeller Park in Battery Park City.
• Justice Reflected (2022), by James Yaya Hough^[42]

Past public art

• The Welcoming Hands (1996), by Louise Bourgeois, was a set of six bronze sculptures on a granite base. The sculptures resembled clasped hands and “a single baby’s hand”, and were created as a memorial for immigrants. It was located at the southern end of the neighborhood, overlooking New York Harbor and across from the Statue of Liberty.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). When the Museum of Jewish Heritage was built, the Battery Park City Authority, made the decision to relocate the artwork due to concerns about offending Holocaust survivors who visit the museum and that the hands could resemble “severed body parts from the death camps”.^[37]
• Blessing of the Boats: River to River (2020), by Muna Malik
• The House That Will Not Pass for any Color than its Own, by Mildred Howard
• Wheatfield, a Confrontation (1982), by Agnes Denes
• Battery Park Landfill (1973), by Mary Miss, consisted of five rectangular wooden flats, each measuring 5 1/2 ft tall and 12 ft wide, with a large circular cut out.^[44][13]

References

External links