Results tagged “nycparks”

After January hype - which resulted in rain - and a brief moment of snow last week, a winter snow storm finally made an appearance this year. Two weather disturbances resulted in many inches of snow falling in the region: By 2PM, more than 6 inches fell in the city, which is the biggest snowfall in two years and the biggest daily snowfall on the books (old record: 5.7 inches in 1948).

For the 1964-1965 World's Fair, architect Philip Johnson designed the New York State Pavillion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Besides the well-known observation towers (think Men in Black) and the Theaterama, he commissioned a "130-foot-by-166-foot terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map."

Norman Siegel, former NYCLU director, is taking the city to court today on behalf of Harlem residents opposed to the city’s plan for sports fields on Randall's Island. The city is building 63 new fields on the island in addition to the 36 fields already there; the construction is being partially financed by a consortium of private schools who will be given exclusive access to most of the fields between 3pm and 6pm on weekdays.

There are many fun events today, like Ecofest at Lincoln Center and Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn, but for those interested in our fine feathered friends, we recommend you head to Central Park to check out the Parks Department's Falconry Extravaganza with the Urban Park Rangers.

Two years ago, we wondered if there was a big list of all the fountains in New York City. We haven't made that much progress with the list, but at least now we have a list of the "display fountains" the Parks Department maintains. And it's interesting - Brooklyn only has three while Staten Island has eight. Of course, there are many fountains outside of the Parks Department's jurisdiction (for instance, the fountain outside the Brooklyn Museum), so if you can help remind us of others in the comments, that would be great.

NewYorkology has its eye on the high seas Buttermilk Channel today, reporting on Puccini's Il Tabarro which will be staged there next month. The Brooklyn waterfront will host four evenings of the opera in September, "aboard a retired fuel tanker tied up to the dock at the container port."

The OSA (Open Space Alliance) has been working with the Parks Dept and between two community planning sessions, surveying at a concert and at McCarren's track & field they have surveyed 500 people. They also have their own outlet for your opines available online here. Those looking for more concerts will be disappointed to learn that this summer will likely be the last of the pool parties - the NY Press reports:

The mayor’s money has pool advocates confident that these large, loud concerts will soon be a thing of the past. “It’s not going to be the concert venue that it is now,” notes Joseph Vance of the Open Space Alliance, an organization expected to partner with the Parks Department for the renovation and subsequent administration of McCarren Pool. “There will be a pool with water in it,” he adds.

Continue reading "McCarren Park? Pool? Public Art Space?"

The city of New York is mourning the death of Brooke Astor. The philanthropist, who died yesterday at age 105, had channeled millions from her husband's fortune into a numbers of institutions and organizations - from Carnegie Hall to small community groups across all boroughs. The NY Times obituary makes a very good point about why the $195 million she donated through the Astor Foundation was so important: "Although the foundation was not large compared with powerhouses like Ford, Rockefeller and Carnegie, its contributions often served as seed money: others followed, knowing that if Mrs. Astor had given her seal of approval to a cause, it was worthy of support."

Kate Gilliam heads up Trees Not Trash, a group whose name pretty much explains it all. Gilliam builds planters, plants trees and makes her industrial neighborhood a little more green each day. Oh, and she's a seed bomber, too. We're betting East Williamsburg could use a lot more patches of nature, so help out by volunteering or going to their benefit show this Saturday.

DANCE: Since the Copacabana is closed for now, get your dance on under the night sky. WhatsUpNYC tells us that every Monday through July 23rd (though the NYC Parks site says through August 13th), the Parks and Rec department will conduct Dancing Under the Stars. Get dance lessons from the experts at American Ballroom Theater, then grab a partner and tear up the dancefloor.

With much fanfare, the city announced a new public space recycling pilot program last month at the Staten Island Ferry Terminals. Six locations across the city are getting blue and green recycling bins to encourage people to separate their glass bottles and newspapers from regular trash. Not a groundbreaking idea, an important step for the city to expand its recycling efforts.

The NYC Parks Department is in in the process of replacing natural grass on many of its playing fields with artificial turf. The fake grass is plastic and laid over a rubber layer that softens the field. According to the NY Post, the Parks Department installed 74 artificial turf fields since 2002. 55 replaced natural grass and 19 were put over existing hard-top lots. Another 100 fields are planned for conversion to artificial turf over the next five years, at a cost of $150 million and an annual maintenance savings of $15,000 per field. We hope those fields are durable, because that envisions a 100-year investment timeline before the artificial-turf fields pay for themselves, even if the city is getting its money for free.

One of the best things about Easter always occurring on a Sunday is that you can spend your Saturday doing cool stuff like submerging hardboiled eggs in colored dyes smelling of vinegar, going from K-Mart to Target to K-Mart again trying to find that perfect Easter basket to fill with cellophane grass, putting the finishing touches on one's bonnet, or perhaps just enjoying one of the first weekends of spring knowing that a good portion of the city is in holiday-mode, so we can all just relax.

The Parks Department is opening up the arcade at Bethesda Fountain Terrace tomorrow. The Terrace Arcade had a Minton tile ceiling and the the tiles were removed for cleaning in 1984. Now, after a $7 million effort funded by the Central Park Conservancy, the 16,000 tiles are ready to be seen by New Yorkers again.

The confetti is swept away. Champagne bottles are emptied. It’s 2007, do you know where your New Year’s resolutions are? Probably not. Resolutions are often unattainable or just plain boring. But for those still looking for some noble acts of self-sacrifice, it’s not too late— city programs offer some unique and helpful activities for your first weeks in the New Year.

NYC Parks Advocates released a report yesterday saying that many parks are actually very terrible, especially those in poor neighborhoods. Saying that it had surveyed all 1,700 city park areas, NYCPA said that Central Park and Bryant Park had the benefit of other funding resources, while parks in lower income neighborhoods aren't maintained as well. And to compound the problem, the Parks Department's funds have been slashed over time. From the NY Times:

The Parks Department said its expense and capital budgets have increased to $283 million in the current fiscal year from $185 million in 1991. But the percentage of the city budget allocated to parks dropped to 0.38 percent in 2004 from about 1.4 percent in 1960, according to the report. The city's budget proposal for parks and recreation for the 2007 fiscal year would cut financing by about $800,000.

Jane Jacobs, the urban activist whose influential book The Death and Life of Great American Cities reshaped thinking about urban communities, died overnight in Toronto. Jacobs, who lived in Canada since 1968, faced down NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, arguably the most powerful man in the city at the time, in the 1960s, most famously stopping an expressway from being constructed downtown.

Because Mayor Bloomberg is mingling with flowers, bees and other woodland sprites that made their way to Union Square! New York City is celebrating National Gardening Month with a number of events, including an Earth Day shebang in Central Park (featuring planting projects, walking tours, and entertainment at the Naumberg Bandshell) on Saturday, art exhibits at the Arsenal in Central Park, and an all-day garden festival in Union Square on Saturday, April 29 with cooking demonstrations, gardening tips and plants for sale. Too bad it's supposed to be rainy this weekend - enjoy today while you can.

Tomorrow, it's the NYC Parks Department's Eggstravganza 2005 in Central Park! While the activities are ostensibly for children, it seems like everyone can join in the fun, like the egg hunt, Easter egg dying, an Eggstacle, and a petting zoo (just don't put your fingers in your mouth after petting the animals). It doesn't seem like the Peeps Fun Bus is in town the way it was last year, but there will be Central Park's Biggest Cha Cha and Electric Egg Slide - woo!

Gothamist occasionally searches through the Municipal Archives for work, but did you know you can visit the Archives pleasure? Without leaving the comfort of your couch?