By George Capsis
Wikipedia recounts the facts that add up to the greatest tragedy in city development. “What is now Hudson River Park emerged from the failed 1970s and 1980s redevelopment of the dilapidated West Side Higway known as the Westway, which would have upgraded it to Interstate Highway standards as part of an extended I-78. The right-of-way of the new six-lane highway would have demolished the existing West Side piers and replaced it with 220 acres of landfill, which would be tunneled through to create the new highway. In addition to 100 acres of development, the plan also had provisions for 98 acres of continuous parkland to be laid on top of the highway, including four waterside parks and a three-mile-long tree-lined promenade and bike path on the waterfront. Around 90% of the funds for the project were to come from federal aid. The project was abandoned on September 19, 1985 due to political as well as environmental objections, particularly concerns over spending in Congress as well as concerns over the Hudson River striped bass habitat by the courts. Much of the estimated $2 billion in federal funds allocated for the Westway was diverted to mass transit.”
