Ribbon cutting for Seward Park upgrades
BY GABE HERMAN
City officials and Lower East Side
community members celebrated
on Thursday the renovation of
Seward Park — the first completed project
in the city’s Parks Without Borders
program.
The $5.9 million reconstruction of the
park, which is bordered by East Broadway
and Essex Street, included renovations
to several areas. These included
the courtyard around the Seward Park
Library, an adjacent garden, a promenade
on Essex Street, and sidewalks around
the perimeter.
The project also added new pavements
and curbs, benches and tables, a storytelling
alcove, fitness equipment, new
lighting and plants. Fence heights were
also lowered, as the existing fences were
cut down to size.
Seward Park — named for William
Seward, the New York statesman and
secretary of state, William Seward, who
helped spearhead the U.S. purchase of
Alaska in 1867 — opened in 1903 and
was the first permanent, municipally-built
playground in the United States, according
to NYC Parks.
Officials at Thursday’s ribbon cutting
noted that before the renovation, the park
had been much less welcoming.
“Seward Park looks amazing,” said
Matthew Washington, Manhattan deputy
borough president. “I can remember all
the nights I would come by and it seems
like a dark cloud was over it, but now the
sun is shining on it.”
Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver
said that in 2014 he was introduced
by Mayor de Blasio as commissioner at
Seward Park. He recalled being told by
The ribbon cutting at Seward Park on Jan. 16.
locals that the park looked a lot better for
that ceremony than it had the previous
week.
“I never forgot that,” Silver said. He
thanked the Seward Park Conservancy
for its advocacy.
“And here’s the best part, it was on
time and under budget,” he added.
Silver noted that a temporary sign
at the “Togo” statue, honoring the heroic
leader of an Alaskan dog sled team,
would soon be replaced with a permanent
plaque, with support from the Seward
Park Conservancy and Disney +.
“One of the unique aspects of this park
is its beautiful library,” Silver said, adding
that the renovation had “married” the
Seward Park branch and the park.
Vicki Been, Deputy Mayor for Housing
and Economic Development, said she
came to Seward Park 15 years ago for
a program, “and it was not the pleasant
experience that this is today.”
“Parks Without Borders,” Been added,
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
“is about breaking down barriers and
making things accessible to all our residents,
making all New Yorkers feel like
every amenity is for them and open to
them.”
Parks Without Borders has the stated
goal to upgrade city parks and make
them more accessible. It was announced
in 2015 with a call for New Yorkers to
nominate sites they thought would benefit
most from the project.
Seward Park is one of the eight selected
showcase projects, which are getting $40
million in funding. The others include
Fort Greene Park, Prospect Park, Van
Cortlandt Park, Hugh Grant Circle/
Virginia Park and Playground, Jackie
Robinson Park, Faber Park, and Flushing
Meadows Corona Park. An additional $10
million is also going to 40 other capital
projects in the works.
Other officials at the Thursday ceremony
and ribbon cutting included Council
Member Margaret Chin, State Senator
Brian Kavanagh, and Bill Castro, Manhattan’s
Parks Borough Commissioner.
“This is now your park and garden,”
said Amy Robinson, President of the
Seward Park Conservancy. She quoted
Marcus Tullius Cicero: “If you have a
garden and a library, you have everything
you need.” Robinson added, “We are
lucky enough to have both on the Lower
East Side.”
Trever Holland, Chair of Community
Board 3’s Waterfront and Resiliency
Committee, said the park was used by a
diverse community of people in the area.
“So we’re happy to see the investment in
parks, especially in this neighborhood,”
he said.
After the ceremony, Robinson and
Holland said there were separate efforts
underway to renovate the park’s Jacob
H. Schiff Fountain, which was dedicated
in 1895 and is in disrepair. The Seward
Park Conservancy is trying to raise funds,
along with funds hopefully coming from
NYC Parks as well, Robinson and Holland
said. They added that they were confident
the project would get done, though
there was no specific timetable yet.
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
The Seward Park Library and part of the renovated area of Seward
Park. (NYC PARKS / DANIEL AVILA)
4 January 23, 2020 Schneps Media