In 2005, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) began the restoration of Sherman Creek in a cooperative venture with the City of New York Department of City Planning. An inlet just north of Swindler Cove Park, Sherman Creek was once a bustling marina and popular recreational boating area in the 19th Century. However, over the past 50 years, the site had become an illegal dumping ground, cutting the area off from its immediate neighbors, including students from P.S. 5 and more than 2,500 residents of the Dyckman Houses, a seven-tower, New York City Housing Authority development.
After removing debris and invasive overgrowth from its slopes and overlooks, Sherman Creek’s natural shoreline was restored and a pedestrian path – the Sherman Creek Nature Trail – was created through the area, serving as a potential new link in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, part of a long-term renovation effort conceived for the neighborhood in collaboration with community groups and the City of New York Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
In Phase II of our Sherman Creek restoration, NYRP executives appeared before the Public Design Committee of the City of New York in June 2008 to present plans to create NYRP’s first-ever, state-of-the-art green facility – the Sherman Creek Center. Connecting to Swindler Cove Park via the Sherman Creek Nature Trail, the Center is a fully functioning building that accommodates and enhances NYRP’s educational programs, extends its operations capacity at Swindler Cove and increases NYRP’s presence along the Harlem Riverfront.
Opening in 2010, this 2,700 square-foot structure will expand upon an existing NYRP education field office – currently a repurposed gas station. Two, new modular buildings will create space for a multipurpose classroom, a library and resource room, an area for public meetings, an office for NYRP field operations and horticulture crews, and a deck overlooking the Sherman Creek waterfront. The Center utilizes pioneering greening practices and the most sustainable technologies available, including a green roof, wall and gardens that dramatically increase the amount of porous surface area for ornamental plantings – providing more effective management of rainwater runoff.
When NYRP's horticulture and design team presented plans for the Sherman Creek Center to Design New York – formerly the Art Commission of New York City – in the fall of 2008, committee members lauded the Center for its many green, sustainable innovations. The commission enthusiastically approved the project, while recognizing the important contribution it would make to the neighborhood and the youth NYRP serves at Swindler Cove Park.