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New York's East River to Host Artist Eliasson's `Waterfalls'

By Henry Goldman

A temporary public art installation of four mechanical fountains depicting waterfalls will dominate New York's East River off Lower Manhattan beginning in July, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

``The New York City Waterfalls,'' created by artist Olafur Eliasson, will cascade from heights of 90 to 120 feet (27 to 37 meters), illuminated at night and visible from Manhattan's South Street Seaport. The installation will be visible from the Staten Island and Governors Island ferries, which run for free, the mayor said.

The display, running from mid-July to mid-October, will be the second large public art project undertaken by the Bloomberg administration. In 2005, ``The Gates,'' 7,500 saffron-colored banners arranged by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude in Central Park, drew millions. The mayor predicted the waterfalls would produce $55 million in economic benefit.

``The waterfalls project will bring a sense of awe back to the harbor and encourage all of us to see a familiar part of our city in a completely new way,'' Bloomberg said.

Eliasson, 40, is best known for ``The Weather Project,'' his 2003 installation of a giant sun made of 200 yellow lamps, mirrors and mist that drew more than 2 million people to the London Tate Modern.

The $15 million cost of the waterfalls was privately donated, said Susan Freedman, president of the Public Art Fund, which led the several-year effort to create the project.

Constructed on Scaffolding

Constructed on scaffolding intended to mimic the look of buildings under construction, its design will be environmentally protective of fish that inhabit the river, and its pumps will be powered from the water current, Eliasson said.

``They are as real as any waterfalls; it is real water falling,'' Eliasson said of the project. ``The scaffolding supports are clearly visible and may be recognized as the same kind that has been used to build New York over the past century.''

The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. The company is one of several private sponsors of the project.

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