Despite intense pressure, controversial Race Street Pier hydraulic lift system to remain

Above: Early last week, before the completion of the new pier, park officials tested the controversial hydraulic lifts. The lifts are intended to "clear the homeless" who remain on the pier after the 11 o'clock curfew.

Philadelphia, PA--The announcement came over the temporary, 2"X4"-mounted loud speakers, startling curious residents checking in and the plethora of construction workers scurrying to complete the City's newest park.

"All personnel are to clear the pier in preparation for the hydraulic lift test," said a cold, yet excited voice. "Five minutes to liftoff."

As the last of the bricklayers, landscapers, railing fasteners and deck builders exited the pier, a faint humming sound began to emit from beneath the murky, debris-laden Delaware River water surface. Seconds later, the seamless gateway between the urban sidewalk on solid ground and the new park began to separate, elevating like a yawning drawbridge.
It is the first of its kind in the country say the designers of the brand new Race Street Pier, a magnificent new park jutting out into the tidal Delaware River adjacent to the iconic Ben Franklin Bridge. The former Municipal Pier 11 has been transformed from a decaying, weed-strewn, concrete and steel skeleton to an inviting, grab-a-sandwich-and-hang-out park.

Why on earth does the City's newest public space--complete with fine wood benches, dramatic Trex step seating with panoramic views of the busy port and a pocket-sized grass lounging area--raise like a movie set clapboard?

The massive hydraulic lifts are primarily a way to ramp the park so that "homeless and other individuals" that remain on the pier after the 11 pm closing time will gently and slowly slide off benches and steps, waking from their slumber, and into the river below. The lifts, which support up to 22 million tons, were designed and manufactured in South Korea, shipped through the Panama Canal, and can "become perpendicular in seconds or hours."

"Listen, we wanted to discourage use of the park after the 11 o'clock hour by anyone, but the William Penn Foundation, who made a sizable donation towards the park's construction, forbade us from installing a gate at the entrance claiming that it would be 'an unfriendly welcome' to visitors," said Tyler Sinclair, the park's creator and a partner with Cooper-Sinclair and Associates, a Center City firm made up of landscape architects, planners and architects. "So we designated two million dollars towards a lift system. Simple as that."

A sign at the entrance, however, warns visitors that "this wonderful park will become vertical beginning at 11:05 p.m., please vacate the pier by this time."

"For individuals that can really hang on, the pier can go past the 90 degree angle and actually become slightly inverted over the water," said Sinclair. "We can also shake the pier back and forth somewhat, in case there are some real troopers."

On Monday, Max Francis, a rookie bricklayer working on the park lost a closely contested rocks-papers-scissors contest obligating him to be the first test person cleared from the pier using the lift system.

"I laid on a bench and just kind of waited while all of my co-workers looked on from the sidewalk," said Francis. "I could feel the park getting higher and then, swoosh. I slid from the bench down the decking and right into the river. I'll admit ... it was a little fun. A little ... uplifting?"

Protesters, however, from across the country have converged on the city to voice their concerns, including celebrities such as Mary Stuart Masterson, Brent Phillips, Sarah Jessica Parker, Larry Mendte, Joan Cusack and John Cusack.

"This is outrageous," said Bethany Marks, a protester leading a group of anti-hydraulic lift citizens that went by the name Lick the Hydraulics and who were emphatically chanting outside the Mayor's office at City Hall. "Remove those lifts Mr. Mayor. Remove those lifts."

"I'm not sure what all the fuss is about," said Gail Cooper, the Cooper in Cooper-Sinclair. "There will be plenty of flotation devices at the end of the park and powerful magnets will hold can-filled shopping carts in place. The 'cleared' individuals can claim the shopping carts on the following morning. We have a system in place ... a very well thought out system."