Empire City — Mayor Cornelius Bray cut the ribbon on the Vandemeer Crossing on Monday, calling it “a bridge this city has waited thirty years for” and declining, across eleven minutes of questions, to say what is on the other end of it.
Nothing is on the other end of it.
The structure begins at the foot of Vandemeer Street, rises to a height of ninety feet, extends four hundred feet over open water, and terminates in a railing, a bench, and a sign reading THANK YOU FOR CROSSING.
City engineers confirmed the bridge is structurally sound, well within budget, and eleven months ahead of schedule. They described the absence of a far side as “a scheduling matter.”
“The bridge is finished,” said borough engineer Halvard Nim, who has led the project since 1994. “I want to be precise, because there has been some confusion. The bridge is finished. The other side is a separate project, with a separate budget, in a separate borough, and that borough has not agreed to be there.”
Asked whether the north bank had been consulted, Mr. Nim said the north bank had been sent a letter.
Opening Day
The Crossing opened to pedestrians at noon and to cyclists at half past twelve. It was closed at two o'clock, after eleven people reached the bench and refused to turn around.
Among them was Wilhelmina Grote, 71, of the harbor wards, who told the Times she had waited thirty years for the bridge and intended to see it through.
“I was told there would be a market,” Mrs. Grote said. “I have been coming down here since 1978 and I was told there would be a market on the other side. I would like to know where the market is.”
There is no market. There is a bench.
Mrs. Grote remained on the bench until half past four, at which point she was joined by a further nine people, and the Department of Buildings classified the gathering as a queue.
Next Steps
The Mayor's office said Monday evening that a second phase would be announced “in the fullness of time,” and confirmed that the second phase does not currently have a bridge, a bank, or a borough.
The Vandemeer Crossing will reopen Saturday between noon and two o'clock. Visitors are asked to bring a coat, and to turn around.