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With free kayaking, many public events, a bustling boat basin, and runners, bikers and pedestrians on the move, Riverside Park is a vibrant destination - up to a point. The NY Times has an article about how the Frederick Olmsted-designed park seem much dingier, dirtier, and more dangerous above around 125th Street:
The park’s southern tier, which stretches some 266 acres along the river from 59th Street to 125th Street, has among its highlights immaculate lawns, sand volleyball courts, a preserve for bird watching, and tennis courts and baseball and soccer fields that have been resurfaced in the past 18 months.Critics say that the Parks Departments has neglected the northern part for years, leaving parts unrepaired and overgrown. However, Parks Department's Manhattan borough commissioner William Castro explained that even though he was "unaware of many of the trash and maintenance problems at the northern end of the park," the same amount of resources goes into maintaining the northern and southern sections and some workers may have trouble reaching some of the northern part's steep slopes. A good thing to come out of the article is that the Parks Department is going to have another crew work on the northern section; the sad thing is that it did take the article to get that to happen.The park’s 50-acre northern section, which continues along the river from 125th Street to 158th Street, has none of those amenities. The divots in the two ball fields are so deep that they remain full of water for days after rainstorms, leading children to place sections of cardboard over them in order to play baseball.
In the north, as well, a thriving open-air sex market exists, with mattresses and lean-tos fashioned out of plastic bags and cast-off clothes for privacy. There are discarded hypodermic needles, crack cocaine paraphernalia, mounds of trash and the stench of human waste.
Do you agree that Riverside Park changes at around 125th Street? We do find the southern section better maintained overall, but areas that are thick with trees and not near trails do get scary.
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which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Just because they have two different names, Fort Washington Park above 158th shouldn’t be left out either (it’s basically the same park). While the views of the Hudson from the Little Red Lighthouse underneath the GW Bridge are stunning, most of the entrances to the park are poorly lit and extremely isolated.
The homeless encampments underneath the ramps that lead down to the park at 178th St. are always a fun time. I’m honestly surprised that there aren’t more reports of people being mugged/attacked. Probably because it’s common knowledge that most of the park entrances are no-go areas unless you love crack and/or crack whores.
It seems like the solution has less to do with a simple trash pick-up and more to do with some major redesigns needed to the entrances of the park to make it more welcoming/safe.
125th street is where the darkies live. of course it's shite/
Between 145 and 181, I don't believe there is a single public bathroom that is open. Also, access to the park above 145 is very difficult. A new staircase was to have been built last year at 157 but it doesn't appear that work has begun. There are other existing paths to the part at 165 for instance but they are closed off. The upper reaches of the park where the view is most grand need a lot more care and attention. It could be very nice.
what's the big deal? if it is upkept, it will look run down within a week. yeah it is SO SHOCKING that uptown is treated differently. that's like reporting that park avenue at 150th st is different from it at 50th st. not exactly groundbreaking reporting here.
In the summertime on Monday mornings, Riverside Park from 145-158 is LITTERED with trash: papers, napkins, bags, bottles, everything. There are garbage cans but they are overflowed with garbage trailing everywhere. There are two or three people picking up all the garbage and by Tuesday morning it's all cleaned up. So it's not like the parks people are completely neglecting that section: it just requires more care. Such abuse of the park and the environment is not really evident south of 125.
FYI: there really is no park btwn. 125-145.
From "The Power Broker" by Robert Caro, it's fairly clear that Robert Moses only cared about Riverside Park up to 125th street. He lavishly spent money during the creation of Riverside Drive south of that line.
Maybe if people took some pride in their neighborhood, they would have a nicer park. People further downtown volunteer to maintain the park, plant flowers, clean up, etc. So if people treat it like trash, then that is what they will have. I dont think the rest of us should have our City Taxes taken to pay to clean their crap up.
Well, I always enter on 181st street. Why would anybody go in at 178th? I rarely run past 156th street but I love the park. The views are grand, the bridge is always patrolled (terrorists, you know) and I always see joggers, tennis players, and fishermen. I rarely see trash. In fact on early morning runs what I see are the landscape and cleanup crews working.
Below 156th to 145th it gets more hectic and less bucolic but it still is a very nice run. I have a feeling that The Times just likes gentrification, which is what has happened below 125th.
Glenn - word re: Moses. The Power Broker should be required (if extremely long) reading for those interested in why NYC looks like it does these days. It's pretty clear that racism -- not classism -- figured pretty prominently in his plans. That's why the park has fewer amenities.
The state it's in...that's on the locals who have not banded together to reclaim their park as neighbors in so many other neighborhoods have done in the past 15 years.
The article should have asked every single park user who complained:
1) How much trash have you personally picked up in the past year?
2) How much of your time have you volunteered to keep-up the park above 125th Street?
3) How much of your money have you donated so that others might be employed to pick up trash and landscape?
The reason that Riverside Park is cleaner below 125th street has as much to do with the commitment of its neighborhood residents as it does with politics relating to socio-economic status.
"The reason that Riverside Park is cleaner below 125th street has as much to do with the commitment of its neighborhood residents as it does with politics relating to socio-economic status."
How many residents above 125 are so wealthy that they will never ever have to worry about money...and volunteer out of shear boredom?
By the way, Parks Dept doesn't let people volunteer up there. Ask them. You are sure to be redirected to a part that only needs comsmetic work and where you can be seen so as to attract more volunteers.
there is no riverside park north of 125th until around 135th st. there's a parking lot with some local fishermen in it. then there's fairway's for cheap groceries and trucks that pull up for restocking. this physical separation from the 59th street to 125th st segment certainly makes a big difference in capital investment plans by providing a "natural" segmentation. local tax revenues also make a big difference, which is no surprise.
the area immediately north of 125th on the west side is zoned for manufacturing and is currently occupied by auto repair shops, etc. look for a lot of this to change when columbia builds out its manhattanville campus over the next 30 years to reach as far north as 133rd on 12th avenue.