New York City Waterfalls

[TaoJones]

From today's New York Times, comes word of an interesting addition to the view from the water:

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‘Waterfalls’ Display Opens on Harbor

By Sewell Chan


Olafur Eliasson’s “New York City Waterfalls,” at dawn. (Photo: Vincent Laforet/The New York Times)

“New York City Waterfalls,” Olafur Eliasson’s $15.5 million quartet of temporary cascades dotting the New York Harbor, formally opened on Thursday morning with a ceremony at South Street Seaport and a publicity blitz by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who criss-crossed four morning television programs to tout the installation."

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For the rest of the story, go to:

Waterfalls Display Opens on Harbor - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog

TaoJones

[TaoJones]

Here's a link to a New York Times slide show of the waterfalls:

‘Waterfalls’ Opens in New York - The New York Times > N.Y. / Region > Slide Show > Slide 1 of 11

TaoJones

[lannen]

When I saw the article I was immediately curious...

Was the Dutch artist successful in selling the Brooklyn Bridge back to the city along with this art project?

[fourgeau]

Absolute waste of good money> Just came back and sailed twice through them. Interesting piece of trivia: they almost had they firrst two casualties yesterday when two cayaks came too close because of the current, got cought under the water chute and owed their life to their life jacket and the cost guards

[TaoJones]

From today's New York Times, comes this reminder that the view from the water is often the best way to take in this phenomenal city:

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Weekend in New York | On the Water

"Where River Views Are From the River


Robert Caplin for The New York Times

"The Moët & Chandon America II, which once raced in the America’s Cup, now takes on paying passengers.

Published: July 13, 2008

"MANHATTAN ISLAND sure looks different if you’re doing six knots through New York Harbor on a Colgate 26 racing sloop on a breezy summer Sunday. You can smell not a single pile of rotting trash outside McDonald’s and feel not a single blast of furnacelike heat from a subway platform. This serene, stark postcard image may be illusory, but it’s also an illuminating reminder of what we so often hear but rarely absorb: New York is a city of islands and rivers. But with Olafur Eliasson’s four “New York City Waterfalls” dotting the waterfront, all eyes — and more bodies than usual — are on the city’s rivers."

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For the rest of the story, go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/travel/13weekend.html

TaoJones

[TaoJones]

For any and all who belittled this stunning engineering and artistic endeavor, and sneered at what a waste of money it was, here's an interesting update from the New York Times:

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"'Waterfalls' Brought in $69 Million for NYC

"By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

"Published: October 21, 2008

"Filed at 6:02 p.m. ET

"NEW YORK (AP) -- 'The New York City Waterfalls' was apparently a windfall.

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the public artwork by Olafur Eliasson that put four waterfalls in the East River and New York Harbor brought in an estimated $69 million for New York City, exceeding initial expectations of $55 million. The work drew 1.4 million visitors from June 26 to Oct. 13 to view the installation off Manhattan's East Side."

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For the rest of the story, go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts...=1&oref=slogin

TaoJones

[Soundbounder]

There is a great deal of renewed interest in NY Harbor and its waterfront.
One thing I have noticed in the last decade is the increase in kayakers paddling the waters.