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Counting Down the Best of #HRPK20

2018 marked the 20th Anniversary of the Hudson River Park Act, the legislation that created HRPK. All year we’ve celebrated this major milestone throughout the Park’s four mile footprint at hundreds of free public events, here and on social media.

As we kicked off our 20th Anniversary Summer of Fun season, we asked you to share your #HRPK stories, and as we wind this spectacular season down, we’re thrilled to share some of our favorites. Thank you for showing us the ways HRPK has grown into your neighborhood garden, your outdoor gym, your open-air classroom—your west side backyard.

This year’s celebrations gave us the opportunity not only to look back, but also ahead: as we celebrated all that HPRK has achieved in its first two decades, we experienced a year of diverse and outstanding growth, and launched projects that build your Park’s bright, green future—including the innovative and imaginatively inspiring Chelsea Waterside Park Play Area and commencing construction on Tribeca’s Pier 26, HRPK’s first pier dedicated to ecology.

As we say so-long to 2018 and #HRPK20, we’re counting off all that made this such a milestone year in Hudson River Park:

From horticultural projects to sustainability initiatives, 2018 saw HRPK growing green.

Volunteers help add mulch to the trees in Hudson River Park

  • This year our horticulturists and volunteers planted more than 16,000 flowers and 300 trees and shrubs.
  • More than 1,750 volunteers donated over 5,000 hours to keeping HRPK beautiful and sustainable.
  • Our Community Compost Program collected 75,000 pounds of local food scraps—a 50% increase from 2017.
  • We were able to divert more than 400,000 pounds of organic waste from landfills for compost.

From educating science lovers of all ages to surveying our sanctuary waters, Hudson River Park’s Estuary Lab meaningfully connected thousands of New Yorkers to the Hudson River.

Hudson River Park educators help students learn about the marine life in the river

  • Estuary Lab educators hosted 410 education programs, reaching more than 27,000 people.
  • We held a record 250 field trips for 7,200 public school students from all five boroughs—including 4,320 students from boroughs outside Manhattan.
  • HRPK Estuary Lab scientists removed close to 1,000 pounds of macroplastics from the Hudson River—300 pounds more than last year.
  • More than 2,000 members of the community joined us for participatory science programs.
  • 1,700 community scientists took part in our oyster restoration initiatives.

From concerts to movies to salsa to world-class dance performances, HRPK’s free public programs welcomed the community for a season-long celebration.

Dancers leap as the sun sets behind them in Hudson River Park

  • The Park hosted 177,000 people at 781 events during our 20th Anniversary season.
  • Sunsets plus music equaled HRPK gold: nearly 6,000 of you joined us for our Sunset on the Hudson Series and more than 15,000 came for our Sunset Salsa!
  • This year, our single most popular event was HRPK’s annual SUBMERGE Marine Science Festival, which welcomed more than 8,500 for a family-friendly day of interactive marine science.

To our wonderful Park community, thank you for giving us so much to celebrate during our 20th Anniversary year. Here’s to the memories we’ll make in Manhattan’s west side backyard in 2019 and for decades to come. As we kick off the new year, here are some memories that made us smile during #HRPK20. Click on the quote below to read the full stories!

“Growing up in NYC, there was no Hudson River Park. It’s incredibly rare to be able to watch any project of this size go through the planning, construction, and ultimately, become a success, all in your life time — but THAT IS the story of the Hudson waterfront.”

–  Instagram user @sambular131313

“As an aspiring urban planner, the park is an example of city renewal done right. Its paths are perfect, the reuse of piers and old berths into playgrounds and plazas still resonates with people. Giving people access to the Hudson River makes people care about the environment, it’s New York’s most amazing natural resource. So from a child of Chelsea who owes much of his imagination and happiness to it, thank you @hudsonriverpark for providing a space to breathe for us all. Happy Twentieth old friend.”

–   Instagram user @wandering_nomad_nyc

“I was going through photos the other day and came across some photos a family of Canada geese who raised their little ones in the West Village section in 2013. They were a hit amongst the Park staff and patrons that spring/summer and we’d share updates on the little ones as we crossed our daily paths…. Seeing the little goslings grow was such a wonderful, happy thing that spring, especially after a taxing fall/winter season with all the challenges post-Sandy.”

–  Instagram user @ask_cheeves