Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2026 State of the State address pointed to investing in Harlem infrastructure, including revitalization plans for the Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, New York City’s most visited state park. The rooftop green space is named after the late, long-time Assembly Member Herman “Denny” Farrell, who represented the nearby uptown community.
“For more than 40 years, Denny Farrell fiercely represented the Harlem community in the New York State Assembly,” said Hochul. “I can think of no better way to honor his legacy of community activism than making the needed upgrades to the park that bears his name. Through this multi-year plan, we will revitalize Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park so our neighbors in Harlem can have access to the world-class community hub they deserve.”
The renewal efforts will focus on emergency infrastructure repairs and address loose terracotta panels on the park’s facade, which eroded from water damage and pose potential safety threats to the more than 4 million annual visitors. The multi-year revitalization will also upgrade park facilities, including the amphitheater, playgrounds, and restrooms, as well as implementing retrofits to comply with modern standards of the American Disabilities Act.
In 2017, the state renamed the park in honor of Farrell. A year later, the state lawmaker and former mayoral candidate died at age 86. Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park today boasts a skating rink, an Olympic pool, and a Puerto Rican restaurant called Sofrito.
Hochul’s State of the State also mentioned ambitions to extend the Q train, which runs on the Second Avenue Subway line, west across 125th Street with stops on Lenox Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, and Broadway. Her office funded a feasibility study, which found the tunneling process not only doable but potentially cost-effective when built off the current East Harlem work.
Such a project would create a rare east-west subway line in Manhattan, where most trains move north-south. Ultimately, a crosstown subway would connect West and Central Harlem to East Harlem better and allow strap-hangers to transfer trains among seven train lines without leaving uptown.