Honey Locust Park Officially Unveiled After $1.67 Million Reno

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Honey Locust Park finally resembles a park.

After years as a staging area for city water and bridge work, the Parks Department unveiled the fruits of a $1.67 million project at the south side of the Queensborough Bridge between First and Second avenues to reimagine the park as a... well, park.

“I’m excited to unveil the first renovation of Honey Locust Park in recent history,” said city parks commissioner Sue Donoghue at Thursday's ribbon cutting event. “Any expansion and reconstruction of open, green space is a win for New Yorkers, and we’re grateful to our sister agencies at DOT and DEP for working with us to make this a more welcoming space to sit, relax, and enjoy the shade.”

It's not very big by any stretch — a proper pocket park — but the space formally filled with municipal equipment and vehicles is now filled with new plantings, benches, a water fountain, paving stones and a small patch of freshly sodded grass. The parks department says the new park will also help with stormwater retention in the area.

"The NYC Parks Department has done an exceptional job revitalizing this underutilized green space," said Community Board 8 chairperson Russell Squire in a statement.

However small, the new open space is a welcome addition in a neighborhood severely lacking in park space.

City Council Member Julie Menin applauded the work, noting in a Tweet that the Upper East Side ranks nearly last citywide in green space.

“As the Council Member representing one of the densest districts in New York City, the renovation of Honey Locust Park in Midtown East is critical for residents who live near this busy thoroughfare," Menin said.

State Assembly Member Alex Bores said when it comes to parks, size is not everything.

“Small parks dotting the neighborhood provide needed respite. This project took perseverance and creativity," Bores said.

The $1.67 million project was completed in roughly nine months last year, jointly funded by the Mayor's office and the Department of Environmental Protection, who occupied the site for years while performing water main work.

While the park is operated and maintained by the parks department, the land technically belongs to the Department of Transportation. Over 90 years ago, the DOT granted NYC Parks a permit to indefinitely use the space as a public park, according to the Parks Department.

But as a sign of goodwill towards the land's true owners, or just a reality of the park's location, a large area alongside the bridge is covered in pavers and nothing more, apparently to give DOT workers easy access to perform bridge on the Queensborough Bridge.

And if you want to see what a transformation this is, compare to this image from 2015.

One of two trees that fell last September in a storm can be seen in this 2015 image, but so are loads of cars, construction trailers, staged equipment and all sorts of stuff that's not really easy to sit on and eat lunch. In addition to the more obvious changes, the city also planted four new trees.