Evoking Manhattan’s past with a strikingly modern vision, the Whitney Museum of American Art unveiled designs on Wednesday night for a massive, airy sculpture by David Hammons crossing into the Hudson River — a project that would be one of the largest public art installations in New York.

Whitney officials presented the plans to a committee of the local community board, the first step in a delicate process of building support for an endeavor that would alter Hudson River Park and potentially raise environmental questions. The committee unanimously approved the plans after hearing from members of the neighborhood and others, who mostly expressed praise for the Hammons work.

“I love this project,” said Florent Morellet, a prominent former restaurateur in the neighborhood. “It’s history and contemporary art.”

The artwork, “Day’s End,” an expansive frame of brushed stainless posts, would sit along the edge of Pier 52, known as Gansevoort Peninsula, and extend south into the water.