EXCLUSIVE: Divine additions at Sherman Creek

 EDGEucation Pavilion Winning Design

Courtesy NYRP

Brooklyn firm Bade Stageberg Cox won with a proposal for two rusted-steel pavilions looking out over a small cove in the river.

Bette Midler is floating another big idea for the Harlem River.

The New York Restoration project, founded by the Divine Miss M, has been managing Inwood’s 15-acre Sherman Creek Park for 17 years. Now the nonprofit is prepared to install its crown jewel — albeit a rusty one.

The last untouched half-acre of this former brownfield is set to become a boathouse and outdoor classroom surrounding an existing launch in the river.

RELATED: INWOOD RESIDENTS FINALLY GET ACCESS TO WATERFRONT

And it won’t just improve access to this once derelict stretch of the city between 163rd and 200th Sts.

In the wake of Sandy, the buildings are also designed to be storm-proof, and even teach kids about rising water levels.

In the wake of Sandy, the buildings are also designed to be storm-proof, and even teach kids about rising water levels.

Courtesy NYRP

In the wake of Sandy, the buildings are also designed to be storm-proof, and even teach kids about rising water levels.

“Our relationship with the water is changing, and kids need to understand that, too,” said Deborah Marton, senior vice president for the Restoration Project.

RELATED: COUNCILMAN RODRIGUEZ HAS BIG DREAMS FOR NORTHERN MANHATTAN

The nonprofit held a design competition in July, and invited eight up-and-coming local architects to participate.

Brooklyn firm Bade Stageberg Cox won with a proposal for two rusted-steel pavilions looking out over a small cove in the river.

The buildings are built right on the water’s edge and open on all sides, with a perforated surface that lets the water out and the scenery in.

RELATED: FIVE MONTHS AFTER SANDY, IT’S STILL PARKS & WRECK

Rendering of the winning design for a new, rust-covered boathouse and outdoor classroom to be built by the New York Restoration Project on a currently contaminated site (below) in Sherman Creek Park in Inwood. 

Courtesy NYRP

Rendering of the winning design for a new, rust-covered boathouse and outdoor classroom to be built by the New York Restoration Project on a currently contaminated site (below) in Sherman Creek Park in Inwood. 

“We want these buildings to embrace the river, not recede from it,” architect Jane Stageberg said.

The larger of the two will house 24 racing sculls. The hope is that ROW NY, which operates a nearby boathouse and supports local kids, will run the space, though other rowing crews will be invited.

The classroom — though smaller, is the main attraction. The Restoration Project runs outdoor education programs in the park, but it never had anywhere to host them.

The building itself serves as an interactive lab, with a dozen features that can teach students about nature and the park.

The hope is to help residents — be they from schools, housing projects, businesses or beyond, connect with the river.

“This community, it’s a waterfront community, even if it doesn’t think of itself as one,” Marton says. “We hope the park will change that.”

mchaban@nydailynews.com


Lifestyle – NY Daily News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*