Strolling past Washington Square Park after work last night, I was reminded of the renovation project that’s underway. And I was reminded of my skepticism and anger over the plans. Why are they removing the chess tables, which are not only legendary but are still used every day (and have even become part of a “chess district” when combined with those chess stores on Thompson Street)? Why are they cutting down such nice, tall trees to supposedly make the space more “green”? Why are they spending millions of dollars just to make the fountain line up with the arch? And who are “they” anyway?
This morning I found some answers to my questions in the form of this Washington Square Park Blog. For starters, I read this brief overview of the redesign plan; but the rest of the blog provides a wealth of information.
To learn more about what’s going on with the park and what you can do about it, you can also go on a tour this Sunday. The tour will go through the history of the park, the changes being made, and community resistance to these changes.
What do you think about the redesign?
One Comment
I find the redesign to be completely unnecessary. Sure, Washington Square Park wasn’t as well kept as others around Manhattan, but that is part of its charm. It’s not as if it was anywhere near unusable or unenjoyable. How about using not nearly as much money to make repairs rather than cutting down trees and removing the park’s culture? It makes no sense to me why they would spend money to move a fountain 8 yards. Seriously?!? This unnecessary use of funds sounds quite similar to the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, which is going to be almost a replica of the current one, minus the cheaper seats. I don’t get it…