Opening Day For New Roosevelt Island Park And Dog Run At Riverwalk Commons East

After a damp and dreary morning, the sun came out in the afternoon for the ribbon cutting ceremony of Roosevelt Island’s new park and dog run at the Riverwalk Commons East developed by the Hudson Related partnership. According to Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President BJ Ryan:

We’re excited to open the island’s newest park, Commons East, a beautiful new addition to our picturesque community. From the swings along Main Street to the sweeping views of Queens and the East River, Commons East offers residents and visitors yet another inviting space to relax, gather, and experience the best of what our island has to offer. Thank you to Hudson Related and RIOC’s grounds team for creating and maintaining this beautiful park, and welcome to our neighbors and canine friends who will be enjoying it!

Here are the full remarks of RIOC Assistant Vice President of Communications Bryant Daniels, RIOC President B.J. Jones, Hudson Companies President David Kramer and Related Companies Andrew Siegel.

Followed by the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony – everybody say:

Who’s The Good Boy!!!!!

I spoke with developers Jordan Camina of the Hudson Companies and Andrew Siegel of Related Companies about the features and challenges of building the new Roosevelt Island park and dog run.

According to Mr. Camina:

This is a very steep hill from Main Street all the way down to the East River. So, the park needed to incorporate a lot of different retaining walls and very complicated sidewalk network in order to get down to the river and maintain ADA accessibility which we are able to do. There’s a lot of green space in the park. We have a lot of benches and seating areas. There’s the famed swings which are already getting good use. And then we have a dog run which is split into large and small dogs….

Mr Siegel adds:

… Going back to the planning of this park is figuring out something that would be complimentary to Commons West, a much more passive park whereas here it’s more active … You have swings, you have picnic tables, you have a dog run. It’s an area where you can have active and passive activity.

I took a walk thru thru the new Rivewalk Common East Park at about 4:15 this afternoon. Follow along.

It was noted by several dog owners that there were no doors on dog run. Hudson Related said that doors will be added in the next few days.