As Robert posted on Curbed today, the rehabbed Grand Ferry Park has been open for about two weeks now (the opening was put off a couple of weeks to miss the Fourth of July and the huge n-ewplant-killing crowds it would bring). The renovation was funded by the New York Power Authority, as part of the mitigation package for the gas generating plant next door.
The new park came out very well. There is a lot more green than the old park (the wood chip piles are now grass), and the plantings are now clustered to make more intimate spaces. Along the water there is now a walkway, so you no longer feel as though you are falling into the East River. Making lemonade from lemons, the new design adds a ravine filled with small stones to move storm water flowing downhill from Grand Street (no more Grand Ferry canyon).
Overall, it is a very successful new design, one that manages to make a very small park feel much bigger. Be sure to check out the more complete set of photos here.