Aerial shot of the South Bronx. The Hunts Point peninsula is dotted with warehouses and distribution centers reflecting varied industrial uses along the waterfront, with a small residential pocket at the upland core.
Photo credit: Hunts Point Vision Plan

Hunts Point Landing in the South Bronx, our latest project, was described by Michael Kimmelman in the New York Times, “River of Hope in the Bronx” this July. It is the fourth in our 20-project South Bronx Greenway master plan, conceived in 2006 to reclaim portions of the borough’s industrial waterfront by transforming brownfields into greenways and park space and providing public access to the river for the first time in 60 years.

Greenway routes and destinations from the South Bronx Greenway Master Plan (2006).
Photo credit: Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects/NYC Economic Development Corporation

The Hunts Point peninsula, loosely bounded by the elevated Bruckner Expressway and ground level rail lines, is a relatively isolated locale. It is laden with massive food distribution operations, oil depots, waste-handling operations, scrap metal dealers, auto salvage yards, a sewage treatment plant, a prison, and a small mixed-use residential community. Our park is located at the former terminus point of Farragut Street at the Long Island Sound, wedged between a food distribution center and a City of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) salt shed.

Clearly, the site’s constrained size presented considerable design challenges. In addition to these, our Green Team was also faced with an additional quandary—what to do about massive amounts of contaminated soil from a coal gasification plant that used to occupy the site? To meet our goal of restoring the degraded shoreline to a functioning tidal marsh and to treat all of the site’s stormwater in a biofiltration pond, we knew we had to excavate it. But the disposal of that much fill would have been very expensive. Trucking, lack of available receiving facilities, and disposal fees would have quickly added up to a large sum.

Material excavated from the shoreline (right) was stockpiled on site and dewatered prior to placement and fine grading of the upland berm.
Photo credit: Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects

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In our first blog, The Green Team: Part 1, we introduced you to our green research team and how we approach landscape design in the urban environment—for humans. This post reflects on design for another city resident: man’s and woman’s best friend.

Designing for the Dogs

Parks are not just for people—they are for pets, too! With the number of pet owners reaching record numbers in the U.S.—79 dogs for every 100 households according to Gallup, and with more people moving to cities than ever before, urban dwellers need public outdoor spaces for their pets. The growing urban population is embracing dog runs as an important component to the recreational quality of a park. In addition to giving their pets a place to romp, city parks also bring dog owners together.

Dog Runs, including the West Thames Park completed by MNLA in 2010 are being integrated into a number of park redevelopments.  Image credit: Elizabeth Felicella

Most dog parks evolve around a simple idea: find an open space, fence it in, let dogs run. Unfortunately, finding that patch of grass is not so simple in densely built urban areas. This has resulted in the evolution of dog runs, beyond simple mulch and fence to solid surfaces.

When we were approached to design a dog run for the Tribeca section of Hudson River Park, our green team went into action. We built on the research from previously designed dog runs at West Thames Park and Battery Park City to develop applicable design criteria for a durable, practical solution to enhance the canine experience, benefitting both pet and pet owner.

Pups at play at Kowsky Park’s dog run in Battery Park City. Credit: Mathews Nielsen.

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When we tell people that Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects is based in New York City, the standard response goes like this: “What is left to landscape in such a densely settled city? Where do you find nature?” Our answer: “A LOT. Nature is all around you!”

Newport Green, Newport, NJ
Photo credit: Mathews Nielsen

The most challenging aspects of our work here are the variations in growing conditions, soils, aspect, drainage patterns, and the many different program types we find in urban landscapes. Site specific is a requirement; it is the landscape architect’s modus operandi.

Hunt’s Point Landing Revetment Pools, Bronx, NY
Photo credit: Mathews Nielsen/NYC Economic Development Corporation

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