Future Harlem Park Will Connect To RFK Bridge, MTA Says

HARLEM, NY — The waterfront park being built in East Harlem will include a new pedestrian connection to the RFK Bridge, allowing new access to Randalls and Wards islands, officials announced Wednesday.

Once built, the ramp will give people the ability to walk from East Harlem to the park, ballfields and other attractions on the 432-acre islands. That access had been taken away in October 2020, when the RFK's north walkway closed to accommodate the new vehicular ramp connecting to the Harlem River Drive.

The walkway will begin inside the seven-acre park being built along the Harlem River between 125th and 132nd streets. Work is set to begin next year on the park, which is expected to open by 2025, completing a missing link in the effort to build a continuous greenway around Manhattan.

The ramp will cost $19.6 million to build, according to a contract approved by the MTA board on Wednesday. It will be ADA- accessible, spanning about 650 feet long and clearing a 45-foot-tall vertical gap between the bridge and the waterfront.

As it stands, Randalls and Wards islands have only two other entry points from Manhattan: a pedestrian walkway from 124th Street and Second Avenue and the footbridge on 103rd Street. People can also take the M35 bus from 125th Street.

"This is an exciting project that will enable New Yorkers to travel on foot directly between the forthcoming Harlem River Greenway and the many recreational opportunities of Randalls and Wards islands," MTA acting chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement.

Joining in the praise was Sonal Jessel, policy director for the Harlem group WE ACT for Environmental Justice, who pointed out the climate-related improvements to East Harlem's seawall that are also included in the park project.

"The seawall will help protect both of these flood-prone communities while the green space and improved waterfront access will help East Harlem residents cope with the extreme heat they experience as a result of the climate crisis," Jessel said.

The new RFK vehicular ramp that opened in November 2020 was intended to divert traffic from Harlem's residential streets. Officials said at the time that it would divert about 17,000 cars each day from East Harlem's streets, cutting CO2 emissions and possibly curbing child asthma rates.

Construction on the pedestrian ramp will be done by spring 2023, but it will not open until the park does about two years later.

"We are happy to have collaborated on the ramp’s design in order to increase the Harlem community’s access to its waterfront through new and existing green space," Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff said Wednesday.

Related coverage:

• East Harlem Waterfront Park Moving Ahead, City Says
• Harlem Gets New Views Of Upcoming Waterfront Park: SEE IT
• New Harlem River Drive Ramp Opens, Easing Neighborhood Traffic

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that there are two existing Manhattan entry points to Randalls Island, not one.