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New Waterfront Park Set For Lower Manhattan

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – A new park is under construction in lower Manhattan.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reports

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In between a large abandoned building and a sketchy parking lot on Montgomery Street, community leaders have begun to plan what could be a major step in the ring around Manhattan.

"Right now, it's parking. It's storage," state Sen. Daniel Squadron said. "What's possible here is open space, green space, drawing people in—both from the community and from all over the city. This Pier 42 is as big as the biggest piers in Hudson River Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park and it can be linked to them."

The Bloomberg administration and other officials, including Squadron, have already agreed to provide $14 million to assist in the demolitions costs required before further construction begins. More funds could come from federal aid originally provided to rebuild the area after World Trade Center attacks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the sky's the limit for this park.

"We'll listen to all the ideas, do some community listening sessions, work with community-based organizations and then come up with a wonderful plan for this new open space with the amazing views from the Statue of Liberty all the way up to Queens," he said. "This is the place where the East River makes a big bend and it couldn't be a more striking waterfront location."

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