Category:Plaza Lafayette

English: Plaza Lafayette is a small (0.09 acre) New York City Department of Parks and Recreation park in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, the parklet is roughly trapezoidal in shape, and is bounded by Riverside Drive on the west (originally called Boulevard Lafayette), the westbound lane of West 181st Street on the north, the eastbound lane of West 181st Street on the south, and Haven Avenue on the east. The land was acquired by the city on February 23, 1918. The parklet, which is located near the highest natural point in Manhattan (in Bennett Park, about 5 blocks away) has unobstructed views of the George Washington Bridge, the Palisades, and the Hudson River. (Source: "Plaza Lafayette" on the NYC Parks Dept. site) Across what is now Riverside Drive is a small viewing area. The platform has stairs leading down to what is now the Henry Hudson Parkway, and what was at the time Riverside Drive. The staircase is now gated off, but can still be seen from the Hudson River Greenway, on the other side of the parkway.