NEW YORK CITY-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and state officials will sign a memorandum of agreement late Thursday that will allow the United Nations to expand its Manhattan campus and fill the last remaining gap of the East River Greenway, the city announced in a statement. Under the agreement, the United Nations Development Corp. would make payments totaling $73 million to a special purpose fund and the Eastside Greenway park fund to purchase the land adjacent to its current campus, located between East 41^st and East 42^nd Streets on 1^st Avenue.

In leading up to the agreement, legislation was passed in June that created a framework for the UN to utilize the western portion of space into a public park. The legislation also included parameters to allow the UN to consolidate their office space into one central location that could connect to its existing East Side campus. When complete, the park will complete the 32-acre greenway tract spanning 38^th and 60^th Streets.

“For decades, residents along New York City’s waterfront have been cut off from this precious resource,” Bloomberg says, in a prepared statement. “Since the beginning of my time in office, we’ve worked to change that by reclaiming and revitalizing the waterfront and building new parks and open spaces in all five boroughs. Today’s agreement puts in place a critical missing link – the last major gap in the Manhattan Greenway – that will make the waterfront a resource for the whole City to enjoy. We are honored to be home the United Nations – one of the City’s largest employers – and this win-win deal allows them to grow, thrive and create more jobs.”