Concrete Plant Park is a public park in the Longwood section of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It consists of located on the west bank of the

Bronx River The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river i ...

between

Westchester Avenue Westchester Avenue is a major east-west street in the South and East portions of the Bronx, New York City. It runs from Third Avenue and 150th Street in the Hub to Pelham Bay Park in the Pelham Bay section. It crosses many neighborhoods of the ...

and

Bruckner Boulevard The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 (I-278) and Interstate 95 in New York, I-95 (and formerly Interstate 878 (1959), I-878) from the Triboroug ...

. The centerpiece and namesake of the park is a group of restored structures from the

concrete plant A concrete plant, also known as a batch plant or batching plant or a concrete batching plant, is equipment that combines various ingredients to form concrete. Some of these inputs include water, air, admixtures, sand, aggregate (rocks, gravel ...

which once occupied its site. It is maintained by the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

History and description

The Transit-Mix Corporation operated a

on the site from the late 1940s through its abandonment in 1987, according to NYC Parks, although the city's land records indicate the property was foreclosed for non-payment of taxes in 1981. In 2000, the property was transferred to NYC Parks, which formed a partnership with community organizations, including the

Bronx River Alliance Bronx River Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving, preserving, and improving the health of the Bronx river The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area ...

, to design and construct the park. The city stabilized the old structures from the abandoned plant, cleared tons of debris, and constructed other park facilities. The park was opened to the public in 2009. Besides the restored concrete plant structures, which have fences around them, the park includes a walk along the Bronx River, grassy lawns, seating (some of it under a small metal canopy), a "reading circle" of concrete chair-like structures, and a paved bicycle and pedestrian trail that is part of the developing

Bronx River Greenway The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river ...

. The park's north entrance is on

just east of Whitlock Avenue, and its south entrance is on

west of Bronx River Avenue. The ruined

Westchester Avenue station The Westchester Avenue station is a former railroad station located in the Bronx in New York City, partially suspended over Amtrak's busy Northeast Corridor line. It was built in 1908 with rich terra cotta detailing to a design by Cass Gilber ...

, which was built in 1908 and designed by architect

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and We ...

, stands near the park's northern entrance, where it is partly suspended over Amtrak's busy

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

. One proposal to save the station from demolition involves moving part of it to a pier in the park. However to date no source of funding for the project has been identified.

Gallery

Image:Concrete Plant Park 01.JPG, Reading circle, with

ruin and a

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

train on 6 train service in the background Image:Concrete Plant Park 02.JPG, Looking south towards the concrete plant structures.

is on the left and

on the right Image:Amtrak_167_Bx_Riv_jeh.JPG, A view of the park from across the tracks

References

{{Protected areas of New York City Parks in the Bronx Urban public parks Longwood, Bronx