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Washington Square Park, R.I.P.
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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After years of protesting renovations to it -- this evening community members will be grieving Washington Square Park, and protesting those with its blood on their hands: the Parks Commissioner, Mayor Bloomberg, and City Council Members. Yesterday we received this letter, sent out by the Open Washington Square Park Coalition.
It is with frustration and remorse that I write to inform you of a memorial service for the spirit of Washington Square Park.
I join with other members of our community who have expressed great concern that our beloved Park's unique central plaza, at the heart of the Greenwich Village Community, is about to be demolished and transformed.
Thanks to these elected officials, we will have two to four years of construction fences for redesign, instead of repairs. The fountain will be moved and reborn as an inaccessible, ornamental fountain, the central plaza will be brought to street level grade, and the gathering space at the park's center will be shrunken by more than 20%.
This all comes on the heels of a Manhattan judge approving the Park's renovations. If you want to join in the memorial, meet tonight at 6pm at the fountain (backup plan is the arch)...and bring a candle!
Photo via shaolinfuzzy's flickr.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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