Technically, the sand wasn’t intended for public use. But Manhattan is not your usual island, and beaches are whatever Manhattanites say they are: sidewalks, tar-paper roofs, the hoods of cars or, in this case, acres and acres of landfill. — The New York TImes
Though Manhattan skyline has been the focus of countless photographs, movies and television shows, there are still images out there that can defy expectations. For a brief period, between the late 1960's and the 1980's, the lower West end of Manhattan (known as Battery Park City) was an "ersatz beach," the consequence of a failed makeover planned by New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller which, according to the New York Times, "was so exuberant that it could only fail."
Officially known as "the Battery Park City landfill," the unplanned beach front provided a surreal stage for many of New York's diverse set of classes, including artists and college students. Sculptor Nancy Rubins, for instance, collected waste and compiled it into what eventually became a 15 foot structure (above).
By the mid 1980s, a masterplan was made once again for the area, and by 2000 the bohemian beachfront gave way to skyscrapers and manicured parks. Though few pockets of New York City remain with as much freedom of spirit as the Battery Park City landfill to this day, these photographs remind us that out of every architectural failure could potentially spring a vibrant - if brief - cultural experience of its own.
Back in the mid 2000's before he passed I met Guy Tozzoli. He was in charge of building the World Trade center towers for the Port Authority. While shaving one day he was thinking of all the dirt they had to excavate and it occurred to him that rather than trucking it out to New Jersey he would use that earth to extend the island of Manhattan into what is now Battery Park. Guy sounded just like Joe Pesci with the textbook North Jersey accent but don't be fooled he was nominated for Nobel prize more than once. He was also the man who came up with idea of using the gantry crane system used at the sea ports to offload shipping containers directly onto the back or trucks. Before the dock workers had to touch old crates dozens of times to get cargo off the ships and onto the trucks. A game changer that drastically reduced the cost of importing goods.
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WTC was underrated. Also amazing you can just create an extension of a city from nowhere...
In the interest of precision, BPC is on the WEST side of Manhattan.
Back in the mid 2000's before he passed I met Guy Tozzoli. He was in charge of building the World Trade center towers for the Port Authority. While shaving one day he was thinking of all the dirt they had to excavate and it occurred to him that rather than trucking it out to New Jersey he would use that earth to extend the island of Manhattan into what is now Battery Park. Guy sounded just like Joe Pesci with the textbook North Jersey accent but don't be fooled he was nominated for Nobel prize more than once. He was also the man who came up with idea of using the gantry crane system used at the sea ports to offload shipping containers directly onto the back or trucks. Before the dock workers had to touch old crates dozens of times to get cargo off the ships and onto the trucks. A game changer that drastically reduced the cost of importing goods.
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