The sites chosen for the four waterfalls were the East River Esplanade's Pier 35 in Manhattan; beneath the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO between piers 4 and 5, also in Brooklyn; and Governors Island. Work on erecting the four support scaffolds began in mid-March, 2008. On the shore of Governors Island construction teams used pile driving to secure the scaffolding in place. This method was not used at the other locations for various reasons, including the effects of vibrations through car and subway tunnels. Once completed, the scaffolding would total and weigh 270 tons. Eliasson has said that the scaffolds themselves were designed to blend in with their urban surroundings, but that he purposely did not try to conceal them, explaining he "want people to know that this is both a natural phenomenon and a cultural one.” Construction involved the work of 108 different people, including two environmental consultants. The installation was designed to be ecologically-friendly. Some example of this are energy efficient LED lighting by USA based LEDLighting Designers & Manufacturers Boca Flasher, Inc., energy purchased from renewable sources and the filters used to keep aquatic life from taking a ride up-and-over the waterfall. When the project closed the materials were intended to be made available for re-use in a future project.
Costs
The over $15 million project had no city funding and was paid for entirely by private organizations, business and donors. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's company, Bloomberg LP, donated $13.5 million. With estimates that the waterfalls could generate up to $55 million for the local economies, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation gave $2 million to the effort.
Environmental impact
During the run, trees and shrubs along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade were damaged as a result of the saltwater blown into the parks during high winds. Several steps were taken to solve this problem which included cutting the running time to 50 hours a week instead of the original 101. At the Brooklyn Bridge, the owner of The River Café claimed customer loss and plant replacements as a result of the winds on the falls. The known damages were getting attention to the point that The Brooklyn Heights Association asked the committee to take down the falls after Labor Day, instead of the original date; however, there was no response.
