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All smiles this past Friday morning as Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and Lower East Side community leaders celebrated the start of a major renovation project at Seward Park.
The historic public space, the oldest municipal playground in the country, is receiving a $6.4 million revamp as part of the city’s “Parks Without Borders” program. When the project is completed months from now, there will be a new plaza in front of the Seward Park Library, an expanded garden, lowered fencing, new plantings and new perimeter paving.
Friday’s groundbreaking was attended by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council member Margaret Chin, members of Community Board 3 and local community organizers.
There was praise all around for the Seward Park Conservancy, which led a grass roots campaign for city funding. Before the groundbreaking, Silver noted that he and the mayor came to Seward Park in 2014 to announce his appointment as commissioner. At the time, said Silver, he noticed the high, imposing fencing around the park, and thought the space could be a lot more inviting. Parks Without Borders has since become the commissioner’s pet project.
There is, of course, still lots of work to be done in Seward Park. The conservancy continues to advocate for the renovation of the broken down Schiff Fountain and the reactivation of a community space inside the comfort station.
Much of Seward Park has been shrouded in construction fencing in recent weeks, as the city begins a major renovation project there. On Friday morning, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver comes to the Lower East Side to celebrate the groundbreaking.
Seward Park was selected for the mayor’s “Parks Without Borders” program, which is intended to more effectively integrate parks into surrounding communities. Seward was selected in large part due to strong community support during a citywide competition for funding. The $6.4 million project includes new pavement, curbs, benches, game tables, drinking fountains, trees and other plantings.
The groundbreaking will take place 9 a.m. Friday at East Broadway and Essex streets. Community members are encouraged to attend. RSVP to special.events@parks.nyc.gov or by calling 212-408-0111. For more information, visit the Seward Park Conservancy, which led the grass roots campaign to refurbish the park.
Read our previous coverage here.
 Photo by Amy Robinson. Seward Park is now officially a “Work in Progress.” In December, fencing went up around a portion of the park along East Broadway in preparation for a major face lift for the area surrounding the Seward Park Library. Now the Parks Department has put up signage announcing the project, which is part of the mayor’s “Parks Without Borders” program.
The plan is to transform the southeast corner of the park 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.
The Seward Park Conservancy organized a successful campaign in 2016 which ultimately led to the selection of the historic public space as a featured project in the Parks Without Borders initiative.
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.
The other day we mentioned that Seward Park had been shuttered since last month’s storm. As you might have noticed, the gates are back open this week.
Broken branches were hauled away, but there’s still lots of damage in the park. If you’d like to help out, the Seward Park Conservancy has a cleanup/planting day coming up on Saturday. They’ll be working in and around the garden (near the Seward Park Library) from noon-2 p.m.
By the way, the park is going to be a work in progress during the next year. A major restoration through the Parks Without Borders initiative is about to begin construction.
Police and fire investigators are looking into a series of unfortunate incidents in Seward Park during the past week.
Last night, Wednesday just after 9 p.m., a fire was reported outside the bathrooms on the east side of the park. No one was hurt, but today both the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms are closed. There’s still a strong smell of smoke in the area, there’s a hole in the ceiling of the girls bathroom and the electricity is out.
A shopping cart and other items belonging to a homeless woman were burned in the fire. Those charred items were piled up on the curb near the park entrance on East Broadway this morning.
According to the 7th Precinct, officers responded last night to a report of a fire in the general area. The police report indicated a trash can fire at the corner of Essex and Canal streets. Six or seven teenagers (ages 14-15) were seen nearby before the fire started. [It’s unclear whether there were two fires, one on Essex Street and one in the park, or whether the initial information just got garbled.]
On Tuesday night, several teens set a small fire in a corner of the park during a showing of Singin’ in the Rain. It was quickly put out. The same evening, the front doors of the Seward Park Library were damaged. While they were quickly repaired, the public library’s security team is reviewing security camera tape to find out who might have been responsible.
This morning, we walked through the park with Amy Robinson and Carol Anastasio of the Seward Park Conservancy. The homeless woman had been camped out with all her belongings in the garden on Wednesday, and according to park staff, had been there on Tuesday, as well, and had refused to move. Robinson called 311 and alerted Community Board 3. A staff member from the Department of Homeless Services tried to visit the woman this morning, but she wasn’t in the park today.
Community Board 3 is working on setting up an inter-agency meeting (involving Parks, police, Homeless Services, etc.) to address this week’s incidents. One major concern amongst members of the Seward Park Conservancy is that there’s no park staffing after 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The bathroom door should not have been open when the fire occurred last night, since the park closes at dusk.
We have contacted the Department of Parks, Homeless Services and the Public Library for more details. We’ll update this story if and when we hear back.
 Seward Park, 2016. The organizers of tonight’s showing of The Wizard of Oz in Seward Park have had to cancel the event. As you’ve probably heard, we’re expecting thunderstorms and strong winds this evening. There’s still an outdoor film to look forward to later in the summer. The Metrograph, Seward Park Conservancy and Henry Street Settlement bring you Singin’ in the Rain Tuesday, Aug. 21.
 Photo: James & Karla Murray. You’ve seen their exhibition in Seward Park. Now it’s time to celebrate “Mom & Pops of the L.E.S” with photographers James and Karla Murray. The official opening festivities take place tomorrow (Saturday) from 1-3 p.m.
James & Karla Murray have spent years documenting New York’s vanishing storefronts. The exhibition features nearly life-size photos of four businesses (all but Katz’s Deli are gone). The project is part of the Art in the Parks UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant Program.
On Saturday, James and Karla will be talking about the exhibition — their motivations for it, and what they hope park visitors will gain from seeing the iconic storefronts. “Mom & Pops of the L.E.S” is set up in the southeast corner of the park. There will be free pickles from the Pickle Guys and candy from Economy Candy.
Beginning today, there’s a new community-focused art exhibition in Seward Park. Here’s the Facebook invite:
We invite local residents and immigrants to the launch of the trilingual newspaper project, Round Robin, in Seward Park with resident artists Art Parley, an art collective formed by Sue Jeong Ka and Mélissa Emily Liu! Come by during Art Parley’s Open Studio hours to learn about the next six weeks of activities and workshops around Round Robin, an ongoing socially-engaged project to build spaces for cross-cultural solidarity and understanding through storytelling, conversation, and empathy resonant to participants from diasporic communities in #Chinatown, #LES, and #TwoBridges. The Round Robin Neighborhood Archive and Library will be available during all Open Studio hours, activities, and workshops. Come read the first ever trilingual issues of Round Robin along with other collected materials related to issues of immigration and gentrification.
You can visit the mobile studio, set up in front of the Seward Park Library, today from 3-9 p.m. It will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well as weekends (noon-6 p.m.) through Aug. 15.
The program is a collaboration among ArtBuilt, the Queens Museum and the NYC Parks Department. Local partners include the Seward Park Conservancy and Immigrant Social Services.
 Renderings courtesy of James & karla Murray. Back in February, we told you about a new installation in Seward Park from the local photographers James & Karla Murray. It’s part of the Art in the Parks UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant Program.
“Mom & Pops of the L.E.S.” is a “rectangular wood-frame sculpture consisting of near life-size photographs” of four independent neighborhood businesses, most of which no longer exist. James & Karla will begin installing the sculpture next month on a parcel in the southwest corner of the park. It will be up for a full year.
Because the project, including fabrication of prints that will hold up during the harsh winter months, is so expensive, the Murrays have launched a Kickstarter. Here’s more from their pitch:
Each of these four shops… a bodega, a coffee shop/luncheonette, a delicatessen, and a newsstand represent small businesses that were common in the Lower East Side and helped bring the community together through people’s daily interactions.When viewing the near life-size photographs one can get a visceral sense of the impact of these losses on the community and on those who once depended on the shops that are now gone. The installation is an artistic intervention and a plea for recognition of the unique and irreplaceable contribution made to New York by small, often family-owned businesses. These neighborhood stores help set the pulse, life, and texture of their communities.
The fundraising goal is relatively modest: $3,250. The deadline is June 19. Here’s the link to the Kickstarter campaign. There’s also a special Instagram for the project.
 1/10th scale miniature of “Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.”
If you’re an artist with a passion for community engagement, here’s an opportunity you’ll want to consider.
Applications are now being accepted for Studio in the Park, a six-week residency program located in a 150 square foot mobile studio. This year, one of the studios will be located in Seward Park on the Lower East Side.
The program is a collaboration among ArtBuilt, the Queens Museum and the NYC Parks Department. Local partners this year include the Seward Park Conservancy and Immigrant Social Services.
According to the project page, projects should:
“…serve the diverse immigrant communities that surround the park, which have become threatened by a climate of increasing xenophobia and shifting immigration enforcement.”
“…address ways in which neighborhoods adjacent to park are changing in response to rising rents and property values.”
“…connect with the (often varied) cultural traditions of communities surrounding the park.”
The application deadline is Monday, April 23. More info here.
There’s more summertime family fun coming up in Seward Park. Next Tuesday, the Metrograph movie theater presents March of the Penguins.
The film starts at sunset, at around 8 p.m. You should definitely bring a chair and a blanket. Free popcorn will be provided by the Metrograph.
Co-sponsors are the Seward Park Conservancy and Henry Street Settlement. Here’s the Facebook invite.
You may have noticed artist Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong’s In Retrospect, a piece recently installed in front of the Seward Park Library. Coming up tomorrow (Saturday) at 5 p.m., there will a public conversation in celebration of the sculpture, which is part of the city’s Art in the Parks Program.
The artist will be on-hand to co-moderate the discussion. Other participants include: librarian Andrew Fairweather, Lower East Side historian Joyce Mendelsohn, architect Ron Castellano, local tenant leader Daisy Paez and architect/educator Alexis Kraft. The conversation will focus on the history of the Lower East Side and of Seward Park, and look at the transformations in the neighborhood and in the library building across the decades.
More information here.
Local residents will start to see changes in Straus Square during the next several weeks, as the neglected area at East Broadway, Rutgers Street and Canal Street begins to look more like a full-fledged pedestrian plaza. The changes were outlined last night at a meeting of Community Board 3’s Parks Committee.
As previously reported, the community board has already approved the closure of a one block section of Canal Street alongside Seward Park. Last night’s presentation before the parks panel dealt with design and programming aspects of the plan. Seward Park is about to undergo a $6.4 million renovation as part of the Parks Without Borders Program. The idea behind the Straus Square changes is to make the plaza feel like it’s an extension of the park.
Tim Laughlin, president of the Lower East Side Partnership, walked community board members through the plan. His organization is teaming up with the Parks Department to operate the plaza. Temporary seating will be installed in the next few weeks. Benches will be created using jersey barricades (see the rendering below). A more permanent and elaborate plaza setup will be in-the-works in the spring of 2018 (funding needs to be locked down for that).
Laughlin said the Citi Bike station currently located alongside Straus Square will be temporarily removed (probably at the end of this month). It hasn’t been decided for certain where it will be relocated. One possibility is the wide sidewalk on Rutgers Street adjacent to Wu’s Wonton King, a Chinese restaurant. In response to concern from committee members, Laughlin offered assurances that the heavily used station would not be eliminated. It will likely be out of commission for 2-4 weeks.
Another feature of the plaza, to be implemented next year, will be a bike repair operation from Recycle-a-Bicycle and Bike New York. It will be established in a shipping container set up in the plaza. Recycle-a-Bicycle gave of a storefront on Avenue C this past spring after 17 years on the LES, so the operation will mean a return to the neighborhood for the not-for-profit organization.
The repair station will be a regular presence in Straus Square during warm weather months. In addition to bike repair, classes for children and adults and other free programs will be offered. Recycle-a-Bicycle and Bike New York already provide similar services in seven city parks. Staff members, said Laughlin, will be “eyes on the street,” and be able to assist in breaking down plaza elements like bistro chairs and tables at the end of each day.
In a previous meeting, members of the Seward Park Conservancy raised questions about traffic congestion in the area. City officials conducted a survey that indicated the stretch of Canal slated for closure is used by a lot more pedestrians than cars. In the new configuration, vehicles will continue on East Broadway, rather than having the option of veering off onto Canal. They’ll turn onto Rutgers/Essex Street. In response to the concerns, the Department of Transportation is conducting a traffic study to evaluate the impact of the proposed changes.
Last night, Carol Anastasio, one of the leaders of Seward Park Conservancy, reiterated the concerns about traffic. But she was generally optimistic about the plan. “We believe something good has come from this design even though there’s not much money (to work with right now).” The conservancy does not want to see granite blocks used in the plaza (they’re a prominent feature of some other plazas in the neighborhood).
The parks committee approved a resolution in support of the changes. The area will be resurfaced at the end of this month with installation of the interim seating taking place in July.
You can see the full presentation below.
Straus Square Redesign by The Lo-Down on Scribd
 Proposed design: Seward Park Library Plaza. This afternoon we’re posting the presentation delivered to Community Board 3 last week for the redesign of Seward Park. The $6.4 million initiative is part of the city’s Parks Without Borders Program, which is meant to better integrate parks within their neighborhoods.
The main focus of this project is a space dubbed, Library Plaza, currently a desolate area in a de-mapped portion of Jefferson Street. Before CB3’s parks committee, designer Chris Crowley said the plaza would become an inviting public space with new pavement, a meadow, a small amphitheater, benches, tables and chairs and game tables.
The Parks Department will also be repairing the pavilion along Essex Street, removing excess fencing and improving accessibility to the park. Overall, the project will eliminate many of Seward Park’s fences and drop the height of the perimeter fence to four feet. An exercise/fitness area will be added next to the basketball courts, which are currently (ever so slowly) being renovated. The crumbling sidewalks around the park will be replaced.
Amy Robinson, head of the Seward Park Conservancy, spoke in favor of the plan. She called the design “gorgeous,” and said it will, “offer this historic park new life.” Robinson noted that the Seward Park Conservancy is ramping up fundraising for the Schiff Fountain on Essex Street (it will be restored in a later phase of construction). Emma Culbert of the SPaCE Block Association raised safety concerns about the lower fences, saying the “neighborhood can get pretty sketchy as soon as it gets dark.” Crowley said he recently met with cops from the 7th Precinct, who stated that fence height would likely not impact crime in the park. Culbert responded, “I respectfully disagree.”
Crowley said the plan will go to the Public Design Commission in June. Construction is expected to begin after Labor day 2018.
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