Mercer Playground redesign kicks off
BY GABE HERMAN
A public meeting was held in
Greenwich Village on March
27 to get design ideas from the
community for an upcoming renovation
of Mercer Playground.
New York University has pledged
$380,000 for upgrades to the playground
as part of its Core Plan commitment
to the neighborhood, which
will invest in local community projects.
It was agreed upon as part of N.Y.U.’s
development projects in the immediate
area, which were opposed by much of
the community.
Mercer Playground is a thin strip that
runs the length of the block between
Bleecker and W. Third Sts. Under former
Planning Czar Robert Moses, the
parcel was put under the city Department
of Transportation’s jurisdiction as
part of a plan to widen the street for the
Lower Manhattan Expressway project.
The cross-borough highway was defeated
by Jane Jacobs and community advocates
in the late 1960s, but the strip
remained under D.O.T. control.
In 1991, the community group
L.M.N.O.P. raised funds for the playground’s
design and development for
preteens.
The playground, which is mostly
paved, currently has little in it. There’s
a curving oval path intended for biking,
scooters and running
games. There’s a plot of
daffodils at each end,
each fully enclosed
by metal bars.
There are several
benches and a
water sprinkler.
Mercer Playground
was offi
cially mapped
as city parkland
in 2016 as part
of N.Y.U.’s Core
Plan, and is now
managed by the
Parks Department.
The meeting
this past Wednesday
A long view of Mercer Playground,
which is mostly paved.
was hosted by the Parks Department’s
Steve Simon, chief of staff to
the Manhattan borough commissioner.
Other offi cials there included a representative
from N.Y.U. Community Engagement,
and reps from Councilmember
Margaret Chin and Manhattan
Borough President Gale Brewer’s offi
ces.
The meeting kicked off the formal
process for the park’s renovation. A
schematic design will be developed
based on community input, Simon said,
and then go to Community Board 2 for
public review no later than September.
The public will then be invited back for
a presentation of the plan
and will be able to offer
further comments and
input.
Simon said he
especially wanted
to hear from kids
about what they
want for the park.
Several youngsters
attended and
mostly said they
wanted a skate
park, with some
adding it should
also be for bikes
and scooters.
Other ideas
raised by locals
included an area
for parkour — a recreational sort of
obstacle-course training — and enhancing
the playground’s water feature,
partly since it could offset noise.
A space for seniors was mentioned
by numerous people, and a basketball
court was also mentioned. One woman,
however, said she was against a hoops
court because it would be noisy. She
also said a basketball court had been
installed there years ago, but teens
came in and drove away the younger
kids and took it over, and the court had
to be removed.
Several people noted that the park often
attracts homeless people, who sleep
on benches and wash clothes in the
sprinkler. Some also said the side paths
on either side of the park are partially
hidden and invite drug use and other
sketchy behavior. The more accessible
the park is to the general public, people
said, the less inviting it would be for
vagrants.
Larry Maslon, chairperson of the
Superblock Stewardship Advisory
Committee, which represents the superblock’s
2,000 residents, said he
hoped the park would be for tweens,
to complement nearby spaces like a
park in Washington Square Village for
younger kids.
Maslon said he disliked the “prison
for daffodils” at either end of the park.
“It is useless. It is locked,” he said.
There are two fi re lanes that split the
park into thirds, and people said they
made good barriers for dividing the
park’s use into three sections.
Local resident Steve Rodriguez,
known as the “Mayor of New York
City Skateboarding,” is a professional
“skater” who has helped the city design
more than 20 skate parks and spaces
for mixed uses.
“I think you could have a great, complete
park that checks many boxes for
residents of the area. And I’d be willing
to offer my services for free,” Rodriguez
said to applause.
“I think we’re going to take you up
on that offer,” Simon responded.
Celebrating Village Historic District at 50
BY GABE HERMAN
The Greenwich Village Society
for Historic Preservation will
host events throughout this year
to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
landmarking of the Village as a historic
district.
G.V.S.H.P. was founded in 1980 and
works to protect the historic district,
which includes about 100 blocks and
2,300 buildings. The actual anniversary
of the district’s landmarking is April 29,
1969.
G.V.S.H.P. will host a big event on
Sat., April 13, in Washington Square
Park. There will also be a wide range of
open-house events that weekend involving
70 local partners, including businesses,
theaters, schools and churches.
Andrew Berman, executive director of
G.V.S.H.P., said that community organizations
will open their doors to the public
to give a look at what these groups do
and how they play a part in preserving
the area’s history.
“We’re hoping it’s another way people
will be able to engage with and appreciate
the really rich diversity of the Greenwich
Village Historic District,” Berman
said.
The April 13 event in the park will run
from noon to 3 p.m. Speakers
will include City
Council Speaker Corey
Johnson; G.V.S.H.P
Director Berman;
Sarah Carroll, the
chairperson of the
city’s Landmarks
P r e s e r v a t i o n
Commission, and
other local politicians.
Several musical
acts will perform
at the park event,
including Ryo Sasaki
& The Jazz
A map of the Greenwich Village
Historic District.
Park Rangers, and
Richard Barone &
Friends. Barone
hosts Village Nights, a monthly salon
series that features local musicians and
a celebration of the Village’s musical history.
That weekend will also include several
walking tours, including a literary pub
crawl, an L.G.B.T.Q. history tour, a tour
of Abingdon Square Park, and another
one that explores the historic district’s
countercultural bohemia. A full list of
events and participating organizations
for the weekend can be on the gvshp.org
web site, under “events.”
Berman said that in April,
the society will begin
releasing interactive
tools to view images
of buildings from
today and back in
1969, or sometimes
even earlier.
People will also
be able to look up
information about
important sites
and events in the
district’s history.
Site users will be
able to search by
various categories,
such as great writers,
19th-century
row houses or
COURTESY G.V.S.H.P.
churches.
“It’s a way for people to engage with
and appreciate the really rich history of
the district from whatever angle interests
you most,” Berman said.
When asked about the general state
of the Village and preservation efforts,
Berman said that, on the one hand, it’s
remarkable that the area has been able to
maintain its character and human scale,
especially when sandwiched between big
business districts in Midtown and Lower
Manhattan.
“On the other hand, it’s under tremendous
pressure,” Berman said of the Village.
He called the 1969 historic district
designation just the start of the battle.
“You have to be vigilant every day
to make sure that the provisions are
enforced,” he noted, “and that bad decisions
aren’t made by the Landmarks
Preservation Commission to allow
things that they shouldn’t allow. So it’s a
constant effort.”
One current battle is a push to landmark
the interior of the White Horse
Tavern. The historic bar recently
changed ownership and many locals are
concerned that it will change or lose its
character.
Berman said the Village unfortunately
has been a victim of its own success, being
so popular that today it’s hard for
anybody other than the wealthy to move
in.
“One of the challenges we struggle
with is how can we hold onto small businesses,”
he said. “How can we make sure
that the Village remains a place that’s
open to people of all socioeconomic levels.
How can we keep it culturally vital.”
The preservationist added there are
no easy answers.
“I think we’re making some progress
on some fronts,” he said, “but we defi -
nitely have a lot further to go on others.”
8 April 4, 2019 TVG Schneps Media
/gvshp.org