The Bronx River’s Starlight Park Phase 2 completed the post-construction review stage of Envision Verification in November 2025, confirming the project’s Envision Gold Award (2021). The $41-million, multi-staged project closed a critical gap in the Bronx River Greenway and linked communities that had been isolated by highways and train lines.
The first phase of the project was completed in summer 2020, while the second phase was completed in 2023. Phase 1 of the work, which was managed by the NYS Department of Transportation, constructed the existing portion of Starlight Park, with a restored shoreline, boat dock, soccer fields, a playground and a 0.6-mile-long portion of the Bronx River Greenway. Phase 2, managed by NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) for NYC Parks, added a critical greenway link between Starlight Park and Concrete Plant Park. Two pedestrian/bicycle bridges were built – one crossing Amtrak lines at E. 172 Street and another crossing the Bronx River just north of Westchester Avenue.
The following quotes were provided at the time of the Envision Gold award announcement:
“DDC is very proud to be part of an effort to not only complete a crucial portion of the Bronx River Greenway, but to also link the Bronx neighborhoods surrounding Starlight Park,” said DDC Commissioner Lorraine Grillo. “With new pedestrian bridges and additional entry points to the park, this project will bring together neighborhoods that have been cut off from each other by expressways and train lines. I thank the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure for recognizing our efforts with their prestigious Envision Gold Award.”
“One of our main goals at NYC Parks is to expand and improve access to parks and greenspaces for all New Yorkers. With three brand-new access points, a greenway extension, and additional parkland, the project at Starlight Park truly epitomizes this mission,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “I am honored that we are being recognized by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure with the Envision Gold Award for Phase two of the project, and I look forward to its completion which will benefit Bronxites, and the city at large, for decades to come.”
The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure developed and manages Envision, a framework that encourages systemic changes in the planning, design and delivery of sustainable and resilient infrastructure through education, training and third-party project verification.
The Envision sustainable infrastructure framework assesses project sustainability across five categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World and Climate and Resilience. To earn an Envision Gold award, a project must achieve a heightened range of sustainability and resilience outcomes. Starlight Park Phase 2 was cited by ISI for restoring balance and reuniting communities, restoring the environment and stimulating economic prosperity and development.
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About the NYC Department of Design and Construction
The Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager. In supporting Mayor de Blasio’s long-term vision of growth, sustainability, resiliency, equity and healthy living, DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, and new or upgraded roads, sewers and water mains in all five boroughs. To manage this $14 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to City projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.
About NYC Parks:
NYC Parks is the steward of more than 30,000 acres of land — 14 percent of New York City — including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds, 1,800 basketball courts, 550 tennis courts, 65 public pools, 51 recreational facilities, 15 nature centers, 14 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches. We care for 1,200 monuments and 23 historic house museums. We look after 600,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. We are New York City’s principal providers of recreational and athletic facilities and programs. We are home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals.
Press release: NYC Parks, NYC DDC, and partners officially open $41 million major greenspace expansion in starlight park in the Bronx.
Image details, header and clockwise from top left:
(1) The shoreline has been pulled back from the existing mean higher high-water mark, and concrete bulkheads were demolished in order to create restored tidal wetlands.
(2) Drastic changes in grade allowed the creation of cascading stone water features built into the stormwater drainage system.
(3) Removal of bulkheads allowed the creation of lush plantings and newly created wetland areas, while the grade changes provided opportunities for the design of unique spaces to overlook the park from.
(4) Complex grading scheme, along a circuitous and meandering path, uses precast blocks to create curved retaining walls and achieve the required path length to ensure that the grade changes of the path from the water’s edge to the pedestrian bridge over Amtrak was fully ADA-compliant.
(5) Custom arched bridge ensures connectivity between the South and North sections of Starlight Park Phase 2 and a continuous greenway.
(6) The project maximized use of available project area to provide an ADA-compliant multi-use path, while incorporating rain gardens for sustainability.
