NYC OKs Plan To Turn Abandoned Terminal Into Underground Park

New York City has approved a plan that will turn an abandoned trolley terminal into an underground park. The project was announced months ago, and renders of it have been provided by The Lowline showing walking spaces, green plants, and solar technology used to provide light. The park will be developed at the Lower East Side's Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, and will eventually be the first underground park in the world.

This approval is said to be "preliminary," and it'll still be a lot of work and time before we see the park finished, assuming it ultimately proves successful. The park's developers have been eyeing this project for years; it'll have some advantages over above-ground parks, namely green spaces even when the world above it is covered in snow.

Such a park may prove beneficial for depression that arrises in the winter time, giving residents a place to get 'sunlight' and chill on grass even if the other parks in the state are in the midst of winter bliss.

The park's developers still need other permissions before they can officially create and open a park there. Documented plans for the development need to be created, submitted, and approved, $10 million in funds need to be furnished, and more. Assuming the developers are able to meet all the requirements and follow through with the city's requirements, the park will open no earlier than 2021.

A public space smaller than the planned underground park but featuring the same solar technology has already been opened, and has so far had over 70k visitors, according to NY Daily.

Speaking about the park, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said:

The Lowline represents an incredible fusion of technology and public space. For eighty years, this underground space has sat idle. ... We can't wait to see this experiment unfold.

SOURCE: New York Daily News