There's tons happening at the Brooklyn Bridge Park right now, but two of the biggest changes are taking place on Pier 6. The more controversial item involves the building of two residential towers on the pier. But way before that—actually, it's opening just next month—there's a meadow coming to the park.

Another extension of the Brooklyn Bridge Park is happening on the DUMBO side, near the Manhattan Bridge. Main Street Park and John Street Park, which will be adjacent to 1 John Street, an upcoming condo building, represent the re-imagining of an old park as well as the creation of new space on formerly industrial land. There will be new landscaping, tidal marshes, and concrete bridges over the water. See here for a behind-the-scenes look at park construction from last year.

Governors Island continues to rapidly develop itself into a beautiful retreat from the concrete jungle. Two recent announced developments that will surely contribute to the ambience: four man-made hills offering unparalleled views of Manhattan and the harbor, and a transformation of former military quarters into an "affordable day spa."

The plazas and the streets around Astor Place are undergoing a green-ification with new landscaping, pedestrian plaza, and an expanded Cooper Park. The makeover has first proposed nearly five years ago, so it's nice to see this steadily progressing.

The 9/11 Memorial plaza is certainly the green jewel of the World Trade Center, but the under-construction Liberty Plaza will add another natural element to the new complex. The elevated park will have 54 trees and seating areas over a one-acre site bounded by Liberty, West, Cedar, and Greenwich streets. Santiago Calatrava's St. Nicholas church will eventually be built adjacent to the park

Awkward triangles are ripe for parks, it seems. This piece of land in Chinatown, bordered by Forsyth Street, Canal Street, and the Manhattan Bridge, will provide passersby with seating among new landscaping and Weeping Cherry and Honey Locust trees. It's expected to be completed by the end of the year.

While some parts of Hudson River Park are years away from getting the TLC they need, others will be revamped in the next few years. Last year, funding was secured to build a long-talked about estuarium education center on Pier 26, where a new restaurant and boat house have also been constructed.

This park site has been the subject of many disagreements. First, the residents of 1 Sutton Place South fought to keep the land private to them, but ultimately, the city's plan to reinvent it as a public esplanade won out. But a few months ago, the park, which was slated to reopen in the fall of this year, was once more delayed when the Parks Department questioned its design. Hopefully construction will begin next year.

On the other side of Manhattan, things are slowly progressing at Pier 35, where neighbors have been awaiting an "eco park" for years. Preliminary work (like removing an hold storage shed) is underway, and the real construction should begin this fall, with completion set for 2017. The new pier is part of the fourth section of the East River Waterfront Esplanade.

Pier 42 on the East River is also awaiting its makeover, though a partial park has been opened here for a few years. Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects designed a plan that turns the pier into a verdant waterfront oasis, with grassy knolls, nature trails, pedestrian and bike pathways, and a bridge that juts out over the water. Construction is expected to being next year.

When the design for this Lower East Side park, part of the Essex Crossing megaproject, first was revealed, the community took issue with it not being very, well, park-like. After all, the design only allotted 35 percent of the space for greenery. And so, landscape architect Claire Agre of West 8 altered the design so that the green was more of a focal point by moving a piece to the center. But community members still harbor concerns about the space and have asked to have their input be taken into account. According to the current timetable, the park will arrive around the same time as the first buildings in 2017.

This planned floating park on the Hudson may look pretty awesome, but it has already seen a lot of controversy. The last time we checked in on it, a lawsuit was forming concerning its possibly negative environmental impact. And previously, it came under fire for its potential to be too noisy, too ritzy, too shady, and too flashy. If it isn't shut down, the pier is expected to finish construction by late 2018 or early 2019. Billionaire Barry Diller is footing the $130 million bill, and Thomas Heatherwick is designing.

The rebranded Atlantic Yards gets its new name, Pacific Park, from the green space that will connect the new residential buildings. Designd by landscape architect Thomas Balsley, the 8-acre park will have a fountain, bocce court, dog run, basketball court, and water garden. It will be opened in sections, as a piece will open with each new building.

As part of the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment, Two Trees will create a public waterfront park that has been described as an "Artifact Walk." James Corner Field Operations will create the green space, which will incorporate salvaged pieces from the original factory, including 80-foot gantry cranes, old rail tracks, structural columns, and dials from the old machinery.

All megaprojects need a green space to balance out the increased human density. Greenpoint Landing is no exception, with its planned waterfront park designed by James Corner Field Operations, the firm behind the High Line. The four-acre park, along with the rest of the project, isn't expected to be done for a long time—up to decade.