Soundview Park (sometimes referred to as Sound View Park) is a park on Clason Point in the southern portion of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The park is adjacent to the Clason Point, Hunts Point, and Soundview neighborhoods, situated where the

Bronx River The Bronx River (), is a river that is approximately long, and flows through southeastern New York (state), New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. It originally rose in what is no ...

flows into the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

, roughly opposite

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

and

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

. The park is bounded by the Bronx River Estuary/East River, Lafayette Avenue, Morrison Avenue, Story Avenue, Metcalf Avenue, O'Brien Avenue, and Bronx River Avenue. Soundview Park is equipped with playgrounds, running tracks, sports fields, basketball and handball courts, outdoor fitness equipment, and kayak/canoe launching sites along the Bronx River Estuary. A bicycle path runs through the park from Bronx River and Lafayette Avenues to Leland and O'Brien Avenues. Soundview Park is operated 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

Soundview Park was built on landfill over intertidal marshland under Parks Commissioner

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

during the administration of New York Mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Y ...

. The first of the park were acquired by the City of New York in 1937. more were acquired along the water's edge in December 1939. Plans to dredge and fill the shoreline had been developed by Moses and Sanitation Commissioner William F. Carey in 1938, and the

New York City Board of Estimate The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City responsible for numerous areas of municipal policy and decisions, including the city budget, land-use, contracts, franchises, and water rates. Under the amendments eff ...

approved initial funding for the construction project at Sound View Park in March 1939. In the summer of 1942, a strange gas that caused silver to tarnish and gave people headaches and

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

was noticed in the Clason Point neighborhood. Experts and residents initially suspected that the garbage in the landfill under the parkland had not been handled properly, but finally the cause was determined to be dumping of sulphur from a

Consolidated Edison Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...

plant into nearby stagnant pools. The area remained largely undeveloped until the 1950s, and adjacent land was used in 1947 for a

New York City Housing Authority The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the ...

temporary housing project made up of 947 apartments in 473

quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I. Hund ...

s. One remaining

Quonset Hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I. Hund ...

is still visible on the south side of Seward Avenue at Croes Avenue. Further, more permanent public and private housing projects were built adjacent to the park in the 1950s. Extensions of the park were made by purchase of adjacent land in 1952 and 1967, when the park reached its current size. Clasonlagoonjeh

As part of Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

's PlaNYC city planning initiative, the park is slated to be redesigned by landscape architects Thomas Balsley Associates (TBA). The landscape architects describe their planned intervention at Soundview Park:

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

hosts a weekly 2.60-mile Open Run.

References

External links

New York City web siteNYC Parks History pageThomas Balsley Associates Project websitePlaNYC Project OverviewGreenway Master Plan: Soundview Park to Ferry Point Park
* {{Protected areas of New York City Parks in the Bronx Soundview, Bronx Robert Moses projects