Astoria park

Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City in the United States. It separates Astoria, Queens from Randall's and Wards Islands.

Astoria Park is a 59.96-acre (242,600 m2) park located along the East River in the New York City borough of Queens. The park is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). It is situated in Astoria and adjacent to the Triborough (Robert F. Kennedy) and Hell Gate Bridges.

The Hell Gate Bridge, originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge or the East River Arch Bridge, is a 1,017-foot (310 m) steel through arch railroad bridge in New York City. The bridge carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track across the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Astoria in Queens, and Randalls and Wards Islands in Manhattan.

In 1851, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began to clear obstacles from Hell Gate, a strait in New York City's East River, with explosives. The operation would last 70 years. On September 24, 1876, the Corps used 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) of explosives to blast the rocks, which was followed by further blasting.