Stuyvesant Cove Park

Stuyvesant Cove Park is a 1.9 acre public park on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs from 18th Street to 23rd Street between the FDR Drive and the East River. Part of the East River Greenway, it is located to the south of the Waterside Plaza apartment complex, to the east of Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village, and to the north of the East River Park, and connects to the Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk on the south end. Stuyvesant Cove is served by the NYC Ferry Soundview route.

Background
Located on the what was once the brownfield site of a former ready-mix concrete plant and a parking lot, the park was created after the failure of the proposed Riverwalk mixed-use development that would have included residential units, offices, a hotel and a marina. Surplus concrete dumped from trucks into the East River has created a small beach in the middle of the park near the end of 20th Street, which is not intended to be accessed by pedestrians.

The park, which was completed in 2002, cost $8.3 million and was designed by Donna Walcavage Landscape Architecture. Roadways in the surrounding area were reconfigured to maximize the size of the park, which included shifting the northbound service road of the FDR Drive from the east side to the west side of the elevated viaduct, converting Avenue C into a two-way boulevard between 18th Street and 23rd Street. Solar 1, an environmental learning center with a small outdoor stage for public performances, is located at the north end of the park.

Since 2009, Stuyvesant Cove Park has been artfully planted with a wide variety of native plant species. In 2018, park manager Emily Curtis-Murphy embarked on a program to showcase plant species originally native to Manhattan and Long Island in a manner that positions the park as an outdoor classroom for students attending local schools.

The park features a two-way bike path along with ample bike parking, and several picnicking areas with tables and seating. In 2018, ferry service was added to the park with a stop on NYC Ferry's Lower East Side route. The ferry landing has been served by NYC Ferry's Soundview route since 2020, when the Lower East Side route was discontinued.

The park was closed at the end of 2020 and rebuilt to allow for the construction of a new floodwall with flood gates as part of the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency project. This project also removed the gazebos and some seating from the park, replacing it with stadium style seats and more tables. The northern section of the park was reopened to the public on May 31, 2023.

Native Plants of Stuyvesant Cove Park
As of 2016, these are the native plant species that vegetate at the park: