Battery Park City: A bustling nabe with beautiful greenery

When visiting Battery Park City, you might want to bring sunscreen or a light jacket. Although BPC covers only 92 acres, more than a third of the neighborhood consists of parks and public spaces.

With its flower-lined walkways, waterside paths and lush lawns, Battery Park City is a pedestrian’s dream.

For some, it is hard to think that this bustling neighborhood was nothing more than an idea 50 years ago. The first residential building, Gateway Plaza at 389 South End Ave., wasn’t even completed until 1983.

But stemming from the combined efforts of the Battery Park City Authority, the New York State public benefit corporation that has owned and managed the area since 1968, and private developers, it is now a desirable place to call home.

“It wasn’t always a hip place to be, even five years ago,” said Jared Paletti, a broker at Spire Group. “But now … it’s a viable alternative to the West Village, and certainly more diverse.”

Paletti also compared Battery Park City to another popular downtown neighborhood.

“I’m seeing a lot of spillover from TriBeCa. With prices rising in that neighborhood — although the gap has narrowed in price difference between TriBeCa and Battery Park City — there’s an influx of young professionals and couples, as well as families,” he said.

According to the real estate website StreetEasy, the median sales price for Battery Park City is $1.097 million, while TriBeCa’s is $3.8 million.

The neighborhood’s accessibility, excellent schools (including the award-winning Stuyvesant High School), and kid-focused amenities such the New York Kids Club and state-of-the-art playgrounds, attract families.

Enjoyed by all, the 13 parks and public spaces in BPC give the neighborhood a suburbia-in-the-city feel.

Head to the community fields on North End Avenue for a game of touch football or soccer, bring the kids to the playground at West Thames Park, pack a picnic for the great lawns of Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park or simply stroll down The Esplanade and take in the views of the Hudson.

Battery Park City also appeals to art enthusiasts and history buffs.

Several of the neighborhood’s 20 public art pieces are located in Teardrop Park and Rockefeller Park, and the Rector Gate arches, in all their steel, bronze and granite glory, deck one entrance to The Esplanade.

A segment of the Berlin Wall is on display in Kowsky Plaza, while the Irish Hunger Memorial on Vesey Street pays homage to the Great Famine with a 19th century rebuilt cottage, informational plaques and lush landscaping.

Other cultural draws include the Poets House, a library with more than 50,000 volumes of poetry and the Skyscraper Museum, a museum devoted to architecture and design.

By night, once many of the businesspeople from the World Financial Center head home, the streets are significantly quieter, but Battery Park City still has something to offer come sundown.

Restaurateur extraordinaire Danny Meyer opened Shake Shack, Blue Smoke and North End Grill all within the past two years, while standby haunts of the ’hood like Merchants River House and Liberty View Restaurant remain popular. Afterward, locals and visitors alike can head to cocktail bars like Southwest NY or Atrio Wine Bar for casual imbibing.

“What makes Battery Park City unique compared to other neighborhoods is, it’s a middle ground, a place you live in the city before moving to suburbs,” Paletti said.

“You can raise a family here,” he said. “It’s one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Manhattan.

***

Though Coast Guard regulations call for ferries to signal their departure from docks with a six-second horn honk to ensure the safety of smaller vehicles or boaters in the river, some residents are not pleased with what they view as an annoyance.

In an open letter to his neighbors dated July 2, BPC resident Wolfgang Gaebler complained that the honking from the ferries “interrupts our sleep every morning before 6:00 a.m.”

On a Facebook page he created to spearhead the movement, titled “Stop Honking Ferries in New York City,” Gaebler urges his neighbors to write to ferry company NY Waterway and the U.S. Coast Guard and to make noise complaints to 311.
But Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said the law is necessary to keep people safe.

“It’s required by law as a safety measure; any vessel traffic going through the river needs to sound their horn to warn other vessels,” Rowe said. “The Coast Guard is charged with enforcing the law, especially when the safety of others is a concern.”

***