City To Spend $6M On New Lights At Bush Terminal Park

SUNSET PARK, NY — The city awarded a $6 million grant to install lighting at Bush Terminal Park, providing access to the sports fields at night, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

De Blasio announced the funds during his town hall meeting Thursday night at M.S. 88 Peter Rouget, at Seventh Avenue and 18th Street, and said they would help increase the amount of time residents can use the two sports fields in the park.

"It basically means doubling the amount of time that will be available for those fields," de Blasio said during the town hall.

Councilman Carola Menchaca, who was the host of the event, pushed for the funding for the lights and said it was something residents in the area have long wanted.

"We want to use that park beyond sunset," Menchaca said.

Bush Terminal Park, on Marginal Street between 44th and 50th streets, currently has two baseball and soccer fields inside along with a nature preserve, according to the Parks Department.

The waterfront site formerly housed commercial piers until they closed down in 1974 but was filled with contaminates due to illegal dumping at that time, Curbed reported. The government started work to clean it up to transform it into a park in 1997, but the project was hit with multiple delays and finally opened in 2014.

The city opened a second entrance to the park at 50th Street and First Avenue in July to provide better access to the waterfront for residents after a push by Menchaca.

Image: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Housing Works, Inc.