While I have almost universal praise for the Central Park Conservancy and the way that they have revivified the Park to what is likely the best it has ever looked in all its 153 years, I remain puzzled at how the park's grandest promenade was ruined by their "restoration" of the Central Park Mall (Poet's Walk) last year. Frederick Law Olmstead stated that this was the only "formal" section of the park, and as it leads to the real heart of the park, The Bethesda Fountain, it should, indeed be the grandest of walkways. But last year, after being closed for 9 months, the "new" walkway was revealed. And am I the only one who thinks it looks awful? The new benches, which they claim are based on the park's original benches, have a cheap, temporary look to them. But worst of all, they took out the perfectly good octagonal paving stones and replaced them with a gritty, dusty gravel that is both unpleasant to walk upon, and requires a shoeshine after doing so (one small benefit: One can hear muggers sneaking up from behind at 50 paces). The elms remain magnificent, but what lies beneath them now looks pedestrian and half-finished. I can only hope that the design team responsible for this disastrous misfire is not the same one now taking on the restoration of the Bethesda Terrace.