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A new reason to travel down to Battery Park City just popped up.
Months after the 3.5-acre Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park reopened in July following a two-year renovation project, the Wagner Park Pavilion, the park's central structure, is now officially accessible. The new destination offers a free, publicly accessible rooftop that provides visitors with panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Hudson River.
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Located at the southern tip of Battery Park City, the reimagined Wagner Park boasts a 63,000-gallon cistern to recycle rainwater, a buried floodwall meant to defend against another Superstorm Sandy and saltwater-friendly gardens that will flourish even as tides rise. It's all part of the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency initiative, engineered to combat climate change.
As Battery Park City Authority president (BPCA) and CEO Raju Mann put it, "opening the Wagner Park Pavilion reminds us of the reality that underlies this significant milestone in BPCA’s ongoing resiliency work. Not only are we dedicated to creating a more resilient lower Manhattan that can withstand the storms to come, we also want to create beautiful public spaces for all to enjoy. Two goals perfectly encapsulated in the new pavilion."
Designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners, the Wagner Park Pavilion sits atop two sloped gardens and can be accessed by either Battery Place or the waterfront esplanade. Arched vaults serve as gateways to the park, framing views of the Hudson River and of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The Wagner Park Pavilion also boasts a net-zero carbon certification given sustainable features like geothermal heating and cooling, stormwater reclamation systems, LED lighting equipped with occupancy sensors, window shades and high-performance glazing, low-flow fixtures and recycled building materials.
Still to come are a classroom/community space and a restaurant, both of which are expected to be finished and open to the public in 2026.