You have, no doubt, noticed the imposing chain link fence that went up around the east end of Seward Park in the past several days.
It’s your signal that the city is beginning a large-scale restoration of one of the Lower East Side’s main public gathering spaces. Seward Park was one of the winners of the 2016 competition, Parks Without Borders, which is meant to better integrate city parks into surrounding communities.
The other day, work crews were starting to take down parts of the fencing near the Seward Park Library (you’ll have to use a passageway to reach the library’s main entrance while this work is going on). The main focus of the project is the barren space in front of the library. In the months ahead, it will be transformed with new pavement, a meadow, a small amphitheater, benches, tables and chairs and game tables. The perimeter fences will be dropped to 4 feet. You can see the full plan here.
According to the Parks Department’s capital tracker, $4.879 million is allocated for the project and it’s expected to be completed in November of next year.
The improvements have been championed by the Seward Park Conservancy. You can learn more about their work here.
