NEW YORK (AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented an environmental award to the artist who created the "Waterfalls'' art installation on New York City's East River on Friday, despite criticism that its salty spray might be damaging trees and plants.
PHOTO GALLERY: Waterfalls Wash Over NYC
The mayor gave the 2008 Doris C. Freedman Award to Danish artist Olafur Eliasson and the Public Art Fund, the organization that commissioned the four manmade waterfalls.
The award, named for the fund's founder who also was a former director of the city's cultural affairs department, was established in 1982 to honor people or groups that enrich the environment.
"The Waterfalls have had a major impact on New York City, and I'm not just talking about the glowing critical reception they received or the financial benefits we have received from the many visitors,'' Bloomberg said in a statement.
He was referring to earlier predictions that the project would generate more than $55 million in economic activity as visitors spent money on boat excursions, hotels and restaurants. Updated estimates of how much revenue had actually been produced were not available Friday.
"This project proclaims that New York City is home to bold visions and visionaries,'' the mayor's statement said.
Last month, the Public Art Fund announced it was cutting the installation's operating hours in half after the Brooklyn Heights Association complained that mist from the falls was destroying trees and plants on the Brooklyn Promenade. The association had asked the city to dismantle the installation after Labor Day.
Judy Stanton, the association's president, said Friday while she wasn't in a position to comment on Eliasson's artistic reputation and congratulated him on the honor, she ``wished that he and others associated with the art project took into account the environmental impact that saltwater blown by winds from the waterfalls could have on the promenade garden.''
The $15.5 million installation, which runs through Oct. 13, was funded by donations from individuals, foundations and corporations, including Bloomberg's media company Bloomberg LP, and state funds.
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