BY GABE HERMAN | As more parts of the Essex Crossing development on the Lower East Side continue to open, including the new Essex Market and a 14-screen movie theater, the latest opening is a 15,000-square-foot public park.
The park, which opened in mid-June, is located along Broome St. between Suffolk and Clinton Sts. Delancey Street Associates (DSA) will own and maintain the park, which is part of the Department of City Planning’s POPS (privately owned public spaces) program.
The new park was designed by West 8, a landscape architecture firm that was also behind The Hills, a 10-acre public park on Governors Island that opened in 2016.
The Broome St. park includes a playground with wooden animal springers, an undulating balance beam, and a freestanding mini net. It also has an open plaza with native plantings around it, including honeysuckle and serviceberry trees, and trumpet honeysuckle, fragrant sumac and lowbush blueberry shrubs, according to DSA.
“Even before we were chosen to build Essex Crossing, we knew a beautifully crafted public park would be a must for any thoughtful master plan,” said Don Capoccia, principal at BFC Partners, one of the Essex Crossing developers. “Essex Crossing continues to come to life and we’re eager to see the park buzzing with activity — I imagine it won’t take long.”
The new park will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., from April through October, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. November through March.
Another major attraction coming to Essex Crossing is The Market Line, expected to open later this summer. The market will be a bazaar-like space spanning 700 feet along Broome St. At 150,000 square feet, it will be the largest marketplace in the city, according to DSA, and will include foods, a gallery and a performance space.
