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Posted: Thursday, 26 June 2008 5:39PM
The Waterfalls Unveiled
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Four walls of water cascaded into the East River off Manhattan on Thursday in a public art spectacle that Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the ``most unexpected'' waterfalls between North America and Africa.
SEE: Photo Gallery - NYC Waterfalls Activated 
``New York is a place where big ideas are realized,'' the mayor said at a news conference on the terrace of the South Street Seaport for the official unveiling of ``The New York City Waterfalls.''
The freestanding waterfalls created by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson were more than two years in the making, and the $15.5 million project is expected to generate more than $55 million in economic activity.
``It's been quite a journey. It's been a great challenge to achieve this,'' Eliasson said, describing many middle-of-the-night tests to pump water over the metal scaffolding.
LISTEN: The Artist Speaks 
The four sites, off Governors Island in the harbor, at the Brooklyn base of the Brooklyn Bridge, at Pier 35 near the Manhattan Bridge and off the Brooklyn Promenade, are ``the most unexpected and intriguing waterfall destination between Niagara Falls and Victoria Falls,'' Bloomberg said.
It's the city's biggest public art project since artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude erected ``The Gates'' in Central Park in 2005, adorning 23 miles of footpaths with 7,500 saffron panels. That project drew more than 5 million visitors and generated about $254 million in economic activity.
Hotels are advertising special packages and tourist agencies are offering bicycle and boat excursions to see the waterfalls, which Bloomberg called ``a beautiful symbol of the energy returning to our waterfront.''
The money to build the waterfalls was raised by the Public Art Fund, a private not-for-profit organization. Individuals, foundations and corporations, including Bloomberg's own media company, Bloomberg LP, donated $13.5 million, and a state agency picked up the rest of the tab.
The falls will be on every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Oct. 13, and illuminated after sunset.
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Copyright MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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