Obituary
Henry Stern, 83, Parks chief under two mayors
BY GABE HERMAN
Former Parks Commissioner
Henry Stern, who was
passionate about
green spaces and grew
the city’s parklands by
1,600 acres, died on
March 28. He was
83 and reportedly
died of complications
from Parkinson’s
disease.
Stern lived on
the Upper East
Side but had a
long connection
to Greenwich
Village, according
to Jonathan
Kuhn, director of
art and antiquities
for the Parks Department.
As assistant
to Borough President
Constance Motley
in the early 1960s, Stern
was a liaison to Community
Board 2.
Stern was also a councilmember at
large in the 1970s. During his early political
years he worked often with Tony
Dapolito, a longtime leader of C.B. 2
and its Parks Committee.
Stern was also close to former Mayor
Ed Koch, and would sometimes go to
the Film Forum with him to watch movies,
according to Kuhn.
“He had a great affection for the Village,”
Kuhn said.
When asked about Stern’s personality,
Kuhn said he could be very demanding,
and was interested in history and
streetscapes.
“He was a passionate advocate for
open space,” Kuhn said.
Stern served as the city’s Parks commissioner
from 1983 to 1990 under
Koch and from 1994 to 2002 under former
Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Kuhn said that in the mid-’90s, Stern
set up the Partnerships for Parks, which
cultivated friends groups for parks.
The effects in the Village alone can be
seen in friends groups for such parks as
Abingdon Square, Jackson Square and
Christopher Park.
Kuhn said that Stern, along with former
Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis,
both inherited the parks under hard
times. He said both Stern and Davis improved
the city’s green spaces through
a philosophy that included, “have the
public feel some ownership over their
parks and some deeper connection,
rather than it being something remote
and government will just take care of. A
partnership between citizens and government.
A pretty brilliant idea,” Kuhn
COURTESY STERN FAMILY
Parks Commissioner Henry Stern,
right, with Mayor Ed Koch.
said.
Stern issued the historical-signs project,
so every park would have signs for
people to identify them. The signs would
give background about who a particular
park was named after and that person’s
accomplishments.
Stern created more than 1,000 of the
signs and often wrote them himself. Village
parks were given names like Father
Demo Square and Golden Swan Garden,
the latter for a former cafe at the
W. Fourth St. and Sixth Ave. site.
Stern wanted to honor Dapolito by
naming the Thompson St. Playground
after him, but there was a rule that
parks could not be named for living
people. So it was called Vesuvio Playground
for the bakery the C.B. icon ran.
After Dapolito’s death, the Carmine St.
Recreation Center — a Parks Department
facility — was named for him.
“He was serious when he was working,
and eccentric in other ways,” recalled
Carol Greitzer, a former longtime
councilmember who worked with Stern
when he was a councilmember at large.
Greitzer said that once when Stern
was Parks commissioner, someone went
to see him at his offi ce at The Arsenal in
Central Park for an interview, and Stern
was sitting there with a live duck. No
one knew where the duck came from or
how it got in.
Greitzer recalled another time when
Stern was at her Village apartment
for a gathering and he just lied
down on the fl oor and took
a nap, while people were
talking.
Stern had a dog,
Boomer, and in another
quirk, he
would tally the
number of times
people pet him.
Stern’s humor
could sometimes
be seen as politically
incorrect.
In later years
in his post, he
was accused of
discr iminat ion
against black and
Hispanic employees
in a federal class-action
lawsuit. He denied
the accusations. The city
settled the case in 2008 for
$20 million.
Greitzer said that Stern often
hung out at the Village Independent
Democrats club, which endorsed him
and Bobby Wagner for the two councilmember
at large seats. Stern was a
Liberal while Wagner was a Democrat.
“There were many sides to Henry. He
was very smart and had a good memory,”
Greitzer said. She recalled him
talking to her about becoming a father,
about its obligations and if he could do
a good job.
Stern married Dr. Margaret Ewing
in 1976. He is survived by her and two
sons, Jared and Kenan, along with a sister
Susanne, brother Kenneth and fi ve
grandchildren.
Stern was born on May 1, 1935. He
grew up in Inwood, in northern Manhattan.
His father sold tents and his
mother was a bookkeeper. He graduated
from Bronx High School of Science
at age 15 and earned a Harvard Law degree
at 22.
At a memorial service at Park East
Synagogue on the Upper East Side on
March 31, family and longtime colleagues
spoke of Stern’s decades in
public service and shared quirky stories
about his personality.
“His greatest legacy is the people he
brought together,” said son Jared, “and
who shared his passion for public service,
including for public parks.”
Jared noted his father’s famous penchant
for giving out “park names” to
people, handing out more than 6,000
nicknames over all. His own park name
was Starquest, “Star” from Stern and
“Quest” for his love of questioning
things.
“My dad was not a conventional father,”
said Kenneth, to laughs in the
packed sanctuary. He said his father
had a dry humor and wit, and wouldn’t
take anything at face value.
“Henry made the parks a place of
joy,” said former Mayor Giuliani at the
service. “You can’t think of Henry without
smiling and laughing.”
Giuliani noted that Stern was able
to institutionalize his legacy over two
terms as Parks commissioner.
“I was proud to be his friend,” Giuliani
said, “but I was prouder he did
something very special for the city I
love.”
Ian R. Shapiro, a former assistant
to Stern, noted that Stern introduced
using animal art in every playground,
such as sprinklers shaped like different
creatures. And he wanted every traffi c
triangle to be turned into a green space,
known as “greenstreets.”
Stern famously held tree funerals
when ones were cut down or destroyed.
Shapiro recalled that after one such
event, Stern was walking away when a
reporter asked what the message of the
tree funeral was.
“Don’t f— with our trees,” Stern replied.
Other offi cials at the memorial service
included Manhattan Borough
President Gale Brewer, former Borough
President Ruth Messinger, Gordon Davis
and current Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver.
In a statement to this paper, Silver
said of Henry, “he was unique, memorable,
and most of all, a dedicated public
servant. We are grateful for his passion
for all things parks; his work brought
our city’s green spaces back into the
forefront of public consciousness. His
legacy will live on eternally.”
Adrian Benepe, Parks commissioner
from 2002-12, said at the service that
Stern was “an unabashed tree hugger,”
who fought for “arborcide” laws and
had a guide published about the city’s
trees.
He noted that Stern initiated the creation
of the City Parks Foundation and
other nonprofi ts that spend $180 million
annually for parks.
Benepe said that Stern was trying to
create a community of park devotees in
handing out so many nicknames. And he
said that Stern could be quirky, demanding,
worked long hours, and always had
time to listen to people, especially those
without any type of lofty status.
Rabbi Arthur Schneier said at the
memorial that Stern remained humble
even with all his accomplishments, and
he didn’t have ego or pride. And the rabbi
said he had never been to a memorial
service that shared so much laughter,
and history of New York City.
6 April 4 - April 17, 2019 MEX Schneps Media