20 Million Oysters Added To West Village Chunk Of Hudson River

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The Hudson River's mollusk population just added a whole lot of neighbors as 20 million oysters were just deployed into the body of water in the West Village to help support marine life and strengthen the river's health.

The Hudson River Park Trust completed its installation on Thursday of the large-scale habitat enhancement effort.

The oyster restoration project is part of an ongoing process of converting the Gansevoort Peninsula into a 5.5 acre-park that is expected to open in the spring of 2023.

“This new underwater habitat at the Gansevoort Peninsula advances the Trust’s mission of protecting and supporting the Park’s Estuarine Sanctuary by creating new homes for the variety of marine life that resides in or passes through Park waters, and it will also help us create a more resilient Park,” said Noreen Doyle, President and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust, in a press release.

The oysters were set on hundreds of submerged structures called reef balls and gabions, and then lowered into the Hudson River.

The structures will also serve as a place where the local fish population can hide from predators.

As the juvenile oysters mature and reproduce, they will create an oyster reef complex that improves the underwater habitat for many of the animals living within the water — including over 85 fish species.

“Billion Oyster Project is excited for another summer fabricating structures, setting reef balls and gabions with oyster larvae, and deploying these structures at Gansevoort Peninsula in collaboration with Hudson River Park Trust and Trevcon Construction,” said Danielle Bissett, Director of Restoration at Billion Oyster Project, in a news release.

Construction of the Gansevoort Peninsula started in 2021 and will open this upcoming spring with direct river access, a salt marsh, a dog run, an adult fitness zone, and a full-sized field.

The Gansevoort oyster effort follows the success of the Trust’s Tribeca Habitat Enhancement Project, which deployed 11.2 million oysters between Pier 26 and 34.

Funding for the projects was provided by the city.