In 1906, the Broadway Bridge (at the northern tip of Manhattan) was replaced with a new double-level bridge that would carry both Broadway and a new subway line extension across the Harlem River Ship Canal. The old bridge was still in good shape, so they simply lifted it off its pier, floated it down the Harlem River, and installed it here as the University Heights Bridge. The bridge was reconstructed around 1990, but its designation as a landmark required its appearance to be maintained.
This is one of a series of five little street-end parks on the Harlem River in Manhattan, from West 202nd Street to West 206th Street, in the mostly industrial part of Inwood known as Sherman Creek. There's a boat launch in this park, just to the right of the photo. (That's the University Heights Bridge in the background.)
That's the little-used name of the mile of I-95 that runs across northern Manhattan. There are four nearly identical high-rise apartment buildings — the one you see here and three more lined up right behind it — and a bus terminal built atop the highway.
This label was added just for Ed Koch. Ridiculous!