http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/nyregion/move-over-rats-new-york-is-planning-an-underground-park.html 2016-10-07 20:45:55 Move Over, Rats. New York Is Planning an Underground Park. Efforts are underway to build what its supporters say would be the world’s first subterranean park, in an abandoned trolley terminal on the Lower East Side. === Verdant oases have been squeezed into every corner of New York City, tucked between towering skyscrapers, carved from former military posts and abandoned railroad tracks, and even laid on top of landfills. But it is still not enough. So now the latest frontier in the quest to carve out more parkland is the city’s subterranean level — home to subways, sewage lines and rats. Plans are underway to build what its supporters say would be the world’s first underground park. An abandoned trolley terminal near the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side of Manhattan would be transformed into a green space built by a nonprofit group that has spent years experimenting with solar technology. The group proposes to illuminate the underground space with sunlight collected by high-tech panels above ground and reflected down through a series of pipes. Called Alicia Glen, the city’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development, said the Lowline would create more public space in one of the city’s most densely populated neighborhoods and could serve as a model for other cities. The underground park proposal has already attracted the attention of city officials, urban planners and developers as far as London, Moscow, Paris and Seoul, South Korea. Besides, as Ms. Glen acknowledged, “it’s not exactly the hottest property in New York City.” When the city called for proposals for the site, it received only one: the Lowline. “To be honest, most people don’t think of the underground as a super happy place to be,” she said. “It does take a level of imagination and optimism.” Some people were undaunted and said they were intrigued by the idea of having a park lying right at their feet. “Sounds like a cool thing to take friends to,” said Dave Wiskus, 35, a singer and guitar player in a local rock band, But others winced at the possibility of encountering stale air or worse — rats and other vermin — down below. Robin Malcom, 47, a construction worker who said she got enough of the underground world just riding the subway, added that she would feel confined and isolated, especially if there were another terrorist attack in the city. “I’m going to need my parks to be above ground,” she said. Dan Barasch, the executive director of the Lowline, said the park would have a ventilation system in addition to the garden to freshen the air, and full-time security on site. The park would be kept clean and well maintained, he said, and garbage would be removed swiftly to prevent rodent infestations. The Lowline has won the support of the local community board and some advocates. But Victor Papa, president of Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, a community development and housing organization on the Lower East Side, said he remained skeptical, though he was willing to give it a chance. Mr. Papa, 71, said he did not want the park to become a magnet solely for celebrities and wealthy patrons with no stake in the community. In return for using public land, he said, the park should offer free science programs and other activities for local children, many of whom are from low-income and immigrant families. “Public property is for the common good,” he said. The Lowline, which would cost $80 million to build, still faces significant hurdles, and would not open until 2021 at the earliest. The New York City Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the city-owned site, has given the Underground Development Foundation until July to submit a detailed design and raise at least $10 million, among other things. City officials have yet to commit any money to the project. The park would resurrect part of the Williamsburg Bridge railway terminal, which served as a hub for trolley cars for more than four decades before it closed in 1948. On the lower level of the terminal, passengers waited to board cars that came off the bridge and turned around on U-shaped tracks to go back over. “It was another step in the transit expansion between Brooklyn and Manhattan,” said Jodi Shapiro, 44, an associate curator at the After trolley service was discontinued — and the tracks over the bridge were replaced with car lanes — the underground level of the terminal was largely forgotten by the public until James Ramsey, an architectural designer, heard about the space and began poking around. Mr. Ramsey, 39, envisioned filling it with light to bring it back to life. Through friends, he met Mr. Barasch, a former marketing manager for Google. At that time, in 2009, the High Line, a freight railroad line converted to a park, had just opened on the west side of Manhattan. As the two talked about creating an underground park, people started calling it “the Lowline.” The name stuck. To show what it could look like, they set out to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter to pay for a one-month exhibit in 2012. They received more than $150,000. They converted a dark warehouse into a park, with a Japanese maple tree growing on top of a mossy hill. More than 11,000 people visited. Last year, a second Kickstarter campaign raised $225,000 for a demonstration lab on Essex Street a few blocks from the underground terminal. Along with a South Korean company, SunPortal, they installed a system for redirecting sunlight that they have described as “remote skylights.” A tracking mirror installed on the roof of their building follows the sun across the sky, reflecting its rays into a curved optical lens resembling a giant periscope. The light is concentrated and reflected down through pipes to three apertures in the ceiling of the lab. A 30-foot-wide “solar canopy” made of aluminum panels distributes the light below. For cloudy days, there is a backup LED light system. The centerpiece of the lab is a lush garden with 3,000 plants, representing more than 60 species. Ferns, mosses and mushrooms have thrived along with tomatoes, onions and garlic. Mint started taking over and had to be pruned daily (workers added it to their sandwiches). Strawberries grew ripe enough to eat. Not all survived, though. Hop plants died and a coffee plant grew so spindly it was removed. Mr. Ramsey’s favorite is a scrappy green ash tree that was found growing between two bricks on the rooftop in June and relocated below. Now standing two feet tall, it sits in the center of the garden. “This guy’s a survivor,” he said. “It’s a real New Yorker right here.” More than 80,000 people have visited the demonstration lab, including the mayor of Seoul. Touching the plants is allowed. Lingering is encouraged. Yoga and meditation classes are held there, along with scavenger hunts for children. An after-school program has taught science and math lessons to 2,000 middle school students. Mr. Barasch said the lab had shown that people were ready for an underground park. “It’s a daily struggle in New York to get a little space, a little room, a little nature,” he said. “People go crazy for a tree or a bench on their block. Every square inch is so precious in this city.”