West Harlem Piers Park

Off the northern tip of Riverside Park in West Harlem, not far from Grant's Tomb and just across the Henry Hudson Parkway from the Fairway Market, is a unique stretch of Hudson River waterfront little visited by outsiders. West Harlem Piers Park, also (or once) known as West Harlem Waterfront Park, consists of neatly maintained grass-lined paths and piers made into walkways that extend appealingly over the river.

I approached from a dramatic stairway leading down from the elevated part of Riverside Park.

Crossing to the waterfront I found a stone compass rose at the northern tip of Riverside Park, at a terminus of the path known as Cherry Walk.

Turning north, I entered West Harlem Piers Park and naturally made a beeline for the nearest pier.

Docked semi-permanently at the southern pier is the Baylander IX-514, a decommissioned U.S. Navy freight and equipment lander and helicopter-pilot training vessel from the Vietnam era.

Now owned by the Trenk Family Foundation, the boat retains many of its military accoutrements and is used for events and education. Al Trenk's Air Pegasus runs the heliport at West 30 St., five miles downriver. The Baylander is a lot quieter.

The far end of the angled pier is a great spot for gazing out across the Hudson River. But you can gaze equally well from the strip of parkland on solid ground, where shiny sculptures by Nari Ward representing casting loops (it's a fishing thing) lead you one to the next.

Those angles, with the arched waterfront railroad tracks in the background, make an intriguing picture, especially as the piers light up with the approach of evening.

The northern pier provides an unobstructed view of the other side of the Baylander.

This neighborhood now called Manhattanville used to be a village by that name, then an important waterfront and railroad town, before becoming industrialized. Most recently it's home to an expansion of Columbia University's campus. (It was never the home to Manhattanville College, founded downtown and now located north of the city in the Hudson Valley.)

Everyone knows about Harlem, and New Yorkers are aware of the commercial and cultural importance of 125th St. But if you're not from this part of town, you probably never heard of West Harlem Piers Park. And even if you are, it's a somewhat tricky park to get to. There's construction in the area and there are busy streets to cross.

On the other hand, it's close to the 125th St. station on the 1 train. The westernmost stretch of 125th St. angles upward, bumping into 130th St. as both hit the water's edge. (Similarly, down in Greenwich Village by Jackson Square Park you'll find the northern – yes, northern – terminus of West 4th St. banging into 13th St. Such are the crooked ways of our fair city.)

Street confusion aside, West Harlem Piers Park is well worth a visit. Especially near sunset.

All photos © Jon Sobel, Critical Lens Media

Convent Garden, Donnellan Square, and the Mystery of the Bushman Steps

In the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill section of Harlem is a wee public park that feels like a community garden and a park at the same time. Convent Garden (Google always thinks you want to look up London's Covent Garden) is a block-long triangle with its base at 151st St., its apex poking at 152nd St., and its sides along St. Nicholas Ave. and Convent Ave. after which it's named.

The nearby Convent of the Sacred Heart burned down on August 13, 1888. The institution has since evolved into Manhattanville College, whose origin remains memorialized in the name of the street and park.

Flower density gives Convent Garden a community-garden feel. That and the presence of a local gardener. But there were kids at play too on the warm afternoon when I paid a visit.

Harlem One Stop notes that the Board of Estimate (the city's ruling cabal of earlier times) designated the property a public park back in 1909, but the city neglected to officially transfer it to the Parks Department until 1985, at which time Parks developed Convent Garden into a landscaped sitting area. And a darn nice one at that.

Just one block south is a more humdrum Parks Department property called Donnellan Square. Naturally, being in New York City, this square is a triangle. And it's one of the city's many places that honor New York soldiers who died in World War I.

Private First Class Timothy Donnellan emigrated from Ireland in 1916 and enlisted in the 69th New York Regiment, the "Fighting 69th." He was killed in action two years later. His chaplain, notes the Parks Department website, was Father Duffy of Duffy Square fame, "the most highly decorated cleric in the history of the United States Army" according to Wikipedia.

The little park was enlarged and reconstructed at the beginning of the 21st century. A fair number of locals were hanging out when I stopped by. Some of the younger ones looked at me suspiciously when they saw me taking pictures.

The blooming planting bed at the north end paid me no mind.

A few blocks north and just off Edgecombe Ave. are the Bushman Steps, a small Parks property that used to serve as an entry point to the Polo Grounds, home of the old New York baseball Giants. In a European or South American city, they'd probably just be called 157th St., for which they substitute for a short stretch. Now they take you up to the 157th St. subway station on the No. 1 line. Neighbors tend to the plants.

It seems neither the Parks Department nor anyone else knows why they're called the Bushman Steps.

 

All photos © Jon Sobel, Critical Lens Media