Malt Drive Park, a new expansive park along the Newtown Creek waterfront in the Hunter’s Point South section of Long Island City, officially opened to the public on Thursday, Oct. 17.
This public space is meant to advance citywide efforts to bring more New Yorkers back to the water’s edge. Malt Drive Park brings much more public space to the riverfront of the borough into the mouth of Newtown Creek. The park’s name is derived from a former beer distribution center that once stood at the site.
Designed by SCAPE Landscape Architecture, Malt Drive Park is also the setting for residential towers recently developed by TF Cornerstone. Residents of this development can join the public in taking advantage of this outdoor space.
“Working with SCAPE to further unlock this area of the Queens waterfront has been remarkable and incredibly rewarding,” TFC Senior Vice President and Director of Planning Jon McMillan said. “It’s an honor to be a part of the continued growth of Hunter’s Point South and to see so many people from the Queens community and beyond excited about these new public spaces.”
A block party to celebrate the grand opening of Malt Drive Park has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16, from 1-4 p.m.
“We’re so excited to open Malt Drive Park to the public and expand waterfront access for the community,” SCAPE Founding Principal Kate Orff said. “The park embraces the water’s edge, extending the network of parks along the East River in Queens all the way around to this signature site on Newtown Creek. It welcomes everyone to explore its winding paths, with spaces for gathering, play and quiet moments.”
Malt Drive Park expands public space from the adjacent Hunter’s Point South Park by three-and-a-half acres. Additionally, it extends access to the shoreline by about 700 feet. The broad sidewalks and meandering paths in the neighborhood invite those in the community to come in and explore Malt Drive Park. There are also seating areas throughout the park, making for ideal gathering places.
There are plenty of flexible spaces at the park for community gatherings and recreational activities. Such amenities include social seating and play structures, a civic grove and dog run, an open lawn with expansive views of the water and industrial artifacts from the area’s past as a beer distribution center reclaimed during construction.
Flood risk at this new park has been mostly mitigated by its sculpted topography. It was raised to a higher elevation at building entries, slowly sloping down towards Newtown Creek. As a result of this topography, there is much less flood risk for nearby buildings. At the same time, visitors of the park can still take in the ecology at the edge of the creek.
A concrete block mattress was installed at the floor of Newtown Creek at the park’s western end in order to help stabilize the shoreline and create a marine habitat. Another design element that is meant to encourage the growth of the habitat are the assortment of native plantings across the park, including many adapted to the edge of the water. Among these plantings are the bald cypress, swamp white oaks, American hornbeam and red maples.
The nearby Malt Drive residential area spans 1.43 million square feet across two buildings and three towers. Leasing is already open for the South building, located at 2-20 Malt Dr. Of the 575 apartments there, 173 have been set aside for an affordable housing lottery. The North building is expected to launch leasing before the end of 2024. There are 811 apartments in that building, with 244 expected to be set aside for the affordable housing lottery.
The first floors of both buildings will also have restaurants and retail for residents, as well as community members visiting Malt Drive Park, to visit.
