Aluminum Sculptures Adorn Yonkers Station

Sculpture on a grand scale is being installed on both sides of the MTA Metro-North Railroad viaduct at the newly renovated Yonkers Station.

Photo by Rob Wilson, MTA Arts for Transit.

"Muhheakantuck, The River That Flows Two Ways," by Barbara Segal, celebrates Yonkers' connection to the river and the railroad's effort to increase access to it. Cast in aluminum, these two 72-foot-long sculptures evoke the swirling waters of the Hudson, just steps from the tracks, and catch even the smallest amount of light, giving them great dimension. The work takes its name from a Lenape Indian word for the Hudson River, which is strongly influenced by the tides.

The Yonkers Station restoration includes a new passageway under the tracks with a sweeping vista of the river where a brick wall had been. This new portal will open onto a new promenade being built by the City of Yonkers as part of its riverfront redevelopment project. Metro-North's station restoration work also included the creation of a 10,000 square-foot park where a bus layover area had been adjacent to the historic station building. The park serves as an outdoor connection between the waterfront park, mass transit, and the network of green spaces in the lower downtown area.

Segal, who lives in Yonkers and teaches at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, was chosen unanimously from among 66 artists who applied to MTA Arts for Transit, which commissioned the work as part of the Capital Program renovation of the Yonkers Station. The selection committee included representatives from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metro-North, the City of Yonkers, and the Westchester County arts community.

MTA Arts for Transit encourages the use of public transit by presenting visual and performing arts projects in subway and commuter rail stations. Since 1985, Arts for Transit has installed permanent works of art at 15 Metro-North stations, and new works will soon be completed at Larchmont, Riverdale, and Dobbs Ferry stations.