Marsha P. Johnson State Park, located on the Brooklyn waterfront, serves as a tribute to the LGBTQ+ activist, drag performer, and early advocate for transgender rights. Designed as an inclusive public space, the park’s development involved a broad outreach effort led by the landscape architecture firm, Starr Whitehouse, engaging local communities with diverse perspectives and priorities. This process included discussions with neighborhood groups, Johnson’s family, State Parks staff, frequent visitors, local vendors, and transgender leaders of color.Through a series of workshops, mobile engagements, and town halls totaling forty-eight hours, horticulture emerged as a unifying element for the park’s two primary stakeholder groups—LGBTQ+ advocates honoring Johnson’s legacy and local residents seeking a natural, open space. The park’s landscape draws inspiration from the fresh flowers Johnson often wore in her hair, shaping the design of flexible green spaces. A floral gateway marks the entrance, leading to a Kentucky Coffee Tree allée and vibrant rain gardens surrounding open lawns.Interpretive panels, created by a team of transgender leaders of color, provide historical context about Johnson and broader transgender identity issues. At the park’s final overlook, a mosaic installation offers visitors a space for reflection on Johnson’s life and the ongoing struggles faced by transgender individuals. The park’s design represents an effort to balance historical commemoration with the practical needs of the surrounding community.

The perennial-rich journey through the park honors local residents’ long campaign for a programmatically-flexible waterfront park.<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/starr-whitehouse?name=Starr_Whitehouse">[1]</a>

Marsha P Johnson State Park

Marsha P. Johnson State Park

Bushwick Inlet Park is part of an ongoing effort to transform Brooklyn’s East River waterfront into a space for recreation and environmental restoration. Designed by Starr Whitehouse and Kiss + Cathcart Architects, the park features a promenade leading to the water, with various public spaces integrated into the landscape.A new field house on Kent Avenue serves both park maintenance and community functions, incorporating a fully accessible green roof that slopes toward the ground, creating playgrounds, terraced lawns, and views of the Manhattan skyline. Sustainable infrastructure includes in-ground heating loops, photovoltaic electricity, and stormwater irrigation. A multi-purpose sports field provides year-round recreation while storing stormwater underground.At the waterfront, a grass knoll and tree-shaded terrace overlook the river. The shoreline incorporates an offshore island, rocky edges, and marsh plantings, designed to support marine and bird life. A freshwater pool filters stormwater, offering food and shelter for migrating birds. The engineered shoreline sustained minimal damage during Hurricane Sandy, demonstrating the resilience of its design.

Bushwick Inlet Park

Arverne East, a planned 35-acre nature preserve on the Rockaway Peninsula, is part of New York City’s first net-zero community. Established as a mitigation measure for new development on the barrier island, the preserve is designed to restore native habitats while protecting existing vegetation.While the initial concept emphasized conservation, some residents expressed concerns that an unlit landscape could create a barrier between the neighborhood and the beach, limiting nighttime access. In response, planners, including Starr Whitehouse, adjusted the approach to focus on urban ecology, incorporating elements that serve both environmental and community needs.The preserve features well-lit pathways following Department of Transportation standards to ensure accessibility. A network of trails guides visitors through five distinct ecologies—maritime forest, shrubland, grassland, swale, and dunes—while avoiding disruption to sensitive plant communities. Designated gathering areas provide space for birdwatching and engagement with the natural environment, with signage offering ecological context.In addition to supporting biodiversity, the preserve integrates stormwater management and aims to provide educational, social, and mental health benefits for the surrounding community. Its evolving design reflects efforts to balance environmental restoration with equitable access to waterfront spaces.

Arverne East Nature Preserve 

By the 1820s, the Battery had become an entertainment destination, with the conversion of Castle Clinton into a theater venue. During the mid-19th century, the modern-day Battery Park was constructed and Castle Clinton was converted into an immigration and customs center. The Battery was commonly known as the landing point for immigrants to New York City until 1890, when the Castle Clinton immigration center was replaced by one on Ellis Island. Castle Clinton then hosted the New York Aquarium from 1896 to 1941.

In 1940, the entirety of Battery Park was closed for twelve years due to the construction of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and the Battery Park Underpass.

The park reopened in 1952 after a renovation, but then subsequently went into decline.

The Battery Conservancy, founded in 1994 by Warrie Price, underwrote and funded the restoration and improvement of the once-dilapidated park.

In 2015, the Conservancy renamed the park to its historic name of "the Battery".

Quennell Rothschild &amp; Partners worked closely with NYC Parks and the Battery Park Conservancy on this $17M, 12-acre redesign which includes an expansive new gathering space, a pastoral bikeway, a monument walk, and streamlines circulation. Battery Green: Two acres of Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue, shaded by 38 stately trees, carpet the sweeping new Battery Green oval, a gathering space for up to 9,000 concert-goers. Battery Bikeway: The new curvilinear bikeway, flanked by colorful perennials and shrubs, provides the critical link between the Hudson River Park and East River bikeways, as well as safe access through the park. Monument Walk: Previously scattered around the park, ten of the 23 monuments in the park have been restored and moved to the perimeter, where they provide focal points at all the major streets leading in. Planting: The longevity of the park's 250 mature trees has been assured through new paving that preserves their root systems. Unnecessary paths have been removed, making way for more lawn and woodland where the old trees can happily spread above and below ground. Circulation: Former conflicts between pedestrians, bikes, trucks and buses have been resolved. View-framing plantings enhance the main entrances, while new entrances connect The Battery with Pier A to the west and Peter Minuit Plaza to the east. To reinforce its role as the city's first line of defense against hurricanes, the park has also become more pervious. By replacing mown lawn with swaths of native grasses and reducing paving, Quennell Rothschild and Partners have prevented any additional stormwater from being generated. The Battery has finally been restored to a beautiful, sustainable twenty-first century public space worthy of its cultural, archaeological, and historic significance.

Battery Playscape Groundbreaking, Major redesign of playground in Battery Park launched, focused on climate resilience and children’s play

The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a 25-acre public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. The park contains attractions such as an early 19th century fort named Castle Clinton; multiple monuments; and the SeaGlass Carousel. The surrounding area, known as South Ferry, contains multiple ferry terminals, including the Staten Island Ferry's Whitehall Terminal; a boat launch to the Statue of Liberty National Monument (which includes Ellis Island and Liberty Island); and a boat launch to Governors Island.The area was originally occupied by the Lenape Native Americans. Dutch settlers populated the area as part of the settlement of New Amsterdam in the early 17th century. Sited on the historic southern tip of Manhattan, The Battery takes its name form the 'battery' of cannons erected by Dutch settlers in the 1600s. What was a worn, formal Moses-era park a mere twenty years ago is now a lush destination for the seven million people who come here each year to board a ferry, visit the memorials and urban farms, stroll the Bosque Gardens and waterfront promenade, and take in the magnificent views of New York Harbor. Located at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, The Battery is one of New York City's oldest public open spaces. It is where Dutch settlers landed in 1623, and where the first "battery" of cannons was erected to defend New Amsterdam. Encompassing 23 acres of waterfront parkland, The Battery is the largest public open space downtown. Over 350,000 people work within walking distance of The Battery, and over 20,000 residents live in the surrounding area. After 22 years, the redesign of the Battery, one of the city’s most historic and dramatic public spaces, will be complete by October. Quennell Rothschild and Partners was part of the team leading the transformation from a worn, formal Moses-era park into a world-class destination. The Battery Conservancy and the New York City Parks Department are the clients. The Battery Green, a two-acre oval lawn shaded by mature trees, will open on June 24, and will accommodate up to 10,000 people. Also to be completed by Archtober is the Monument Walk. Previously scattered haphazardly around the park, ten of the 23 have now been restored and moved to positions of dignified prominence along the perimeter Monument Walk. The pastoral bikeway, a missing link in Manhattan’s greenway, is flanked with colorful plantings by Piet Oudolf; cyclists also benefit from a shady café and upgraded comfort station. Sustainable features include the replacement of mown lawn in the Woodland with native grasses; the reduction of impervious areas; and new paths that minimize risk to the 250 old trees. Along with existing attractions like the urban farm and the lush Bosque Gardens, visitors now have even more ways of enjoying the breathtaking harbor views.

At park's left is&amp;nbsp;Pier A, at park's right is&amp;nbsp;South Ferry Terminal. On the far right is the&amp;nbsp;East River.

 Courtesy Battery Conservancy, Rick Darke

An early view of the Battery painted by John Drayton and engraved by Samuel Hill, it shows recent tree plantings and other improvements. The flagstaff base, characterized as a "gigantic&amp;nbsp;churn" by&amp;nbsp;Washington Irving, was built in 1790. Print depicts June 10-20, 1793 visit of&amp;nbsp;French frigate Embuscade (1789)&amp;nbsp;to Battery Park and&amp;nbsp;Evacuation Day&amp;nbsp;commemorative flagpole.  

In this image extracted from Page 725 of 'King&amp;rsquo;s Handbook of New York City', by Moses King, the newly-constructed elevated railroads are visible, with the Battery Park surrounding them. 

This is a view of the old New York Aquarium which opened on December 10, 1896, at Castle Garden in Battery Park. The Aquarium was closed in 1940.  

 Courtesy Battery Conservancy, Josie Connell

 Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park occupies a unique site, characterized by its relatively small area located at the center of colossal surroundings. The main function of this public place&amp;mdash;and the reason for its existence&amp;mdash;is the privileged viewing of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor. The design of the park comprises three main components: a pair of all&amp;eacute;es that brings pedestrians towards the main park entrance; a pair of pavilions connected by a bridge constituting the main building; and a lawn terrace framed by continuous paths and benches. This &amp;ldquo;Y&amp;rdquo; shaped architectural ensemble is the backbone of the park, resting in gardens and fields of grass that connect to the Battery Park City Esplanade and to Battery Park. The building is conceived as a large, over-scaled, massive masonry wall split in the center, framing the view to the Statue. On the wall&amp;rsquo;s surfaces, a variety of brick patterns are displayed following a precise figurative symbolic strategy. This &amp;ldquo;lithic&amp;rdquo; formation is used to develop a pair of large public steps that seemingly prolong the all&amp;eacute;es and bring the public up to a pair of balconies overlooking the lawn and harbor. From the center of the bridge connecting the two balconies, the viewer&amp;rsquo;s direct relation to the Statue of Liberty is &amp;ldquo;face to face.&amp;rdquo;  

The Battery

 Jean Parker Phifer, NYC architect and author of Public Art New York, reads a selection about The Battery, located in downtown Manhattan. 

 Warrie Price discusses the new landscape of Battery Park, including the Gardens of Remembrance, a new fountain, and a food kiosk. 

Warrie Price discusses the future projects planned for Battery Park, including architect Frank Gehry's plans to build a play area and the ongoing project to wind the Hudson River bike path through the park.

This shady park at the tip of the city was renovated in 2005 with lovely seating, a fountain, and ornamental gardens. A good place to enjoy a cool sea breeze. Once a two-acre area of asphalt, the Bosque now fulfills historic Battery Park's potential as a destination. Full of natural abundance, with spaces to sit, eat, and play, it is a lushly planted porch to the vast acreage of New York's Inner Harbor.The key to this transformation was the synergy between the concept of a garden on the waterfront and the design of new park elements that could complete this atmosphere. The curvilinear park geometry was designed to support Dutch designer Piet Oudolf's perennial plant vocabulary. This radical idea of a public park as a garden that is able to support thousands of flowering plants was bolstered by an emphasis on occupying the new park with hundreds of linear feet of seating and new activities including a water feature and dining. To work with the unique curves of The Bosque, WXY's River Bench system was designed to be comfortable and use less material than conventional systems.The planning of the Park took into account the punishing load of an annual count of four million tourists boarding boats to the Statue of Liberty as well as the influx of new residents and downtown workers. Supporting evening and weekend activity is the integration of lighting into the design of the park's features. Under the trees are bollard lights by Tilllett Lighting that have lenses that allow rainwater to collect and be part of the lighting effect. Food kiosks are designed to be lantern-like at night, using cold cathode fixtures. Although an ellipse shape seems only possible with custom design, this system was created to be modular so that it can be replicated easily and all pieces can be easily replaced.

The park at the tip of the city was re-equipped with a series of public spaces and features such as a spiral walk-through water feature, benches, a kiosk, a fountain, and ornamental gardens, spread out across the park.

Battery Bosque, Carousel, Kiosk, and Benches

 Claire Weisz discuses the fountain at the Battery Bosque. 

 Claire Weisz discusses the design plan for the Battery Bosque. 

“The BIG U is a protective system around Manhattan that shields the city from floods and storm surges while providing social and environmental benefits to the community.” The BIG U is presented as a 10-mile climate‑resilience system designed to protect Lower Manhattan from coastal flooding, sea‑level rise, and extreme weather. The project is divided into three compartments, each able to operate independently during a storm. The design emphasizes community‑driven planning, integrating flood protection with parks, recreation spaces, ecological restoration, and improved waterfront access. The website highlights the project’s origins in the Rebuild by Design competition after Hurricane Sandy and frames it as a model for how cities can combine infrastructure, public space, and climate adaptation.

The BIG U

With a practice concentrating on projects throughout New York City, Starr Whitehouse is especially noted for its work in resiliency planning and in the public sphere.

Explore The Battery with the landscape architects who have helped shape it for nearly three decades. Learn about how The Battery’s location at the tip of Manhattan destined it to become the birthplace of country’s first corporate headquarters — for the Dutch West India Company — and how this strategically located open space has continuously transformed to serve New York City’s social, commercial and climatic forces.

Battery Park City, contains nearly 92 acres of permanently protected open space, including beautifully designed and maintained parks and public gardens, playing fields and playgrounds, plazas, and walkways. It was built on a landfill on the Hudson River using 1.2 million cubic yards of dirt and rocks excavated during the construction of the World Trade Center and other construction projects, plus sand dredged from New York Harbor. Named for adjacent Battery Park in 1968, Battery Park City is owned and managed by the Battery Park City Authority, a public-benefit corporation created in 1968 under the authority of the Urban Development Corporation. Gateway City is the only complex predating the 1979 master plan by Cooper Eckstut. Parcels of land are leased to developers, who build in accordance with the Authority's guidelines. These incorporate green provisions mandating state-of-the-art environmentally-friendly building methods to maximize energy efficiency and minimize water usage. Sustainability is a key part in maintaining Battery Park City with an organically managed landscape and the continual implementation of composting and recycling initiatives.

Battery Park City

55 Water Street

Pier A is the sole historic pier left in Manhattan. A three-story pier head was added in 1900, an in 1919 a clock was installed in the tower in memorial of the soldiers who died in World War I. The clock was the first WWI memorial in the United States.&nbsp;

Pier A

Bronx River House is a cutting edge environmental learning laboratory and base of operations for the restoration of the Bronx River and the development of the Bronx River Greenway. A NYC Parks facility that serves as headquarters of the Bronx River Alliance, Bronx River House includes a boat house, work space, and rooms for community use. 

A living part of the park, River House is wrapped in a double layer living wall system of vines and mosses, irrigated with rainwater, to create a favorable microclimate for energy efficiency, improved air quality, and habitat creation. An integrated PV and daylighting roof system will supply all the building’s energy.

As the Chief of Design for Central Park at the apex of its restoration effort, Laura Starr oversaw the redesign and full construction of the Harlem Meer, a serpentine 11-acre lake situated in the north of the park. Prior to restoration, the concrete wall covering the shoreline had deteriorated to a point where the site was no longer usable. Under Laura’s supervision, the wall was demolished to make way for an undulating shoreline featuring winding paths, aquatic grasses, boulders, and a small sand beach. Public facilities, such as restrooms and information areas, and recreational programming have also helped to attract visitors to the Meer. The Project received national ASLA Merit Award in 1995.

Meet at the Broadway entrance to the Park across from Bowling Green.

The Battery Walking Tour

With over 35 years’ experience working in the New York City area, Landscape Architect Laura Starr is a champion for sustainability, collaboration, and design excellence. As Chief of Design for the Central Park Conservancy, Laura forged consensus among diverse groups of stakeholders to renovate major destinations such as the Harlem Meer, West Side, and Great Lawn. As a founding partner of Starr Whitehouse, she continues to nurture ties between the public, the city, and professional organizations. She has negotiated public-private partnerships both internationally, on master plans for Tel Aviv’s Park Ariel Sharon and Jerusalem’s Gazelle Park, as well as locally, collaborating with The Battery Conservancy on a dozen designs including the award-winning Bosque and Playscape.&nbsp;

Jeffrey Poor brings more than 30 years of experience in the conceptualization, formulation and implementation of sustainable and compelling site design to Starr Whitehouse. His award-winning work spans a wide range of project scales and types, and consistently contributes creative solutions to the challenges faced in the implementation of sustainable design. Beginning with his work in New York’s Central Park, Poor’s interest in environmental, social and aesthetic considerations dovetailed neatly with the foundational design framework of the Greensward Plan. His work for the Central Park Conservancy emphasized the use of natural materials, native plant communities, and the creative treatment of stormwater. In projects such as the Great Lawn, Harlem Meer, North Meadow, and the Reconstruction of the West Side, Poor, in collaboration with Laura Starr, transformed the landscape and reinvigorated the Park’s ideals of social and environmental stewardship through the implementation of sustainable design practices long before the term gained its present currency.

Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners

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