Change often begins in small ways, but seldom does change arrive with an architectural installation that has a 1-square-foot footprint. That’s what has happened with El Barrio Bait Station on the East River Esplanade in New York City.
A sculptural steel bait station serves an underserved population and adds art to an urban setting
The esplanade runs along the east side of Manhattan from Battery Park to 125th Street, providing recreational space and waterfront access for New Yorkers. The area north of 96th Street that borders Harlem has grown decrepit, pock-marked by sinkholes, and it misses out on much of the public/private funding that the southern portion receives. The advocacy group, Friends of the East River Esplanade, has been working to bring attention to this neglected stretch. It identified a passionate and unique community—fishermen—that were underserved by the condition of the esplanade and saw an opportunity to demonstrate social justice and environmental equity.
Photos: Ryan Lahiff/Clariss Diaz
The result is the handicap-accessible El Barrio Bait Station, a collaborative project to create a prototype that could be duplicated along the esplanade. Jacobschang Architecture, New York City, interviewed groups of fishermen and worked with El Barrio Fishing Club to identify their needs, including where bait and catch are prepared, which was currently done on nearby benches.
“The fishermen have been requesting a bait station for decades,” says Sari Chang, principal at Jacobschang. “They fish day and night all through the year except in the dead of winter. I was surprised by how much time they spend out there. This was a way for us to focus on fishermen and also bring attention to accessibility. We wanted to make sure that everyone was welcome.” The station sits at the confluence of the East and Harlem Rivers, an area called Hell Gate, where a wide variety of fish congregate.
A large group of project participants (see sidebar) helped secure a $15,000 grant that covered some costs, but much of the time and energy was provided pro bono by the collaborators. Jacobschang provided design services and coordinated the engineering and steel fabrication, which was done by Maspeth Welding, Flushing, N.Y.
The station, fashioned from 3/4-inch COR-TEN steel from Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, was designed to fit between the balusters of the existing railing. The station includes a surface for preparing bait and cleaning fish, slots to hold knives, a pump to clean the surfaces, a chart of native fish species drawn by a local artist and a solar-powered overhead light.
“We chose COR-TEN because we wanted it to be touchable and vandal proof,” says Chang. “We didn’t want to paint or maintain it because who paints it or maintains it is often a question about what happens to these amenities.”
The heavy, natural steel fits seamlessly into the setting, matching the massing and bulk of the bridges nearby as well as other urban structures. It speaks of permanence in an area where permanence can seem fleeting due to the crumbling infrastructure.
“Civic architecture doesn’t need to be overly large to have an outsized impact,” says Chang. “Once it was built, it had a material presence to it. People imposed on it all new layers of meaning. That’s when it becomes real.”
The hope is that the esplanade will receive more bait stations as well as a revitalization that makes the shoreline along Hell Gate as accessible as the southern part of Manhattan.
“It’s been a real success in terms of what it’s meant to do,” says Chang. “Its expectations have far surpassed the initial intent. Its way more purposeful beyond the initial utility. I wanted something that would surprise and delight people who walked by.”
Perhaps the best proof of this kind of architecture is its utility. Does the intended population use it, and do they use it in the way intended? “As soon as we finished installing it,” says Chang, “like a cue in a movie, this man rolled up and says, ‘This is amazing.’ That was pretty exciting.”
