Muscota Marsh

When Columbia University built its new athletic facility in the Inwood neighborhood near Baker Field at the top of Manhattan, the school agreed to the city's demand to open a public space nearby.

That space is a new park, Muscota Marsh, a multi-use facility that runs adjacent to restored marsh land on the south side of the Harlem River. The strings and flags protect a salt-friendly type of grass from the ever-present Canada Geese who would enjoy eating it.

Here, a visitor can launch a canoe or kayak and explore the river on boat or simply sit on one of the many benches and wait for the fly-in of a Great Blue Heron. The park was designed by James Corner Field Operations, the team that dreamed up the High Line.

On the day before a major winter storm arrived in the city, a walk through the small new park was actually possible. I don't know when the chance will come again, as the temperatures dropped into the frigid range for the immediate future.

For more: "With University’s Help, New Park on Harlem River Is a Marshland Sanctuary" by Lisa W. Foderaro, NYT, Jan. 20, 2014 http://nyti.ms/1cKJnv9