Right when you thought we were done bitching about the Washington Square Park renovations, leave it to the Villager to bring us right back in. The issue at hand now? The cleanliness of the water in the soon to be moved Park fountain.
It seems that at the Art Commission hearing where the renovations were approved earlier this month a few new bits of information were brought to light. Namely, that the new fountain would use chlorinated recycled water, instead of the fresh water it has historically used. This switch means that the fountain will not be safe to go in.
But people aren't taking this one sitting down (not that any of the minute changes being proposed for the Park have been taken sitting down, well except for one). City Councilmember Alan Gerson is threatening to pull Council funding for the renovation unless the Parks Department stuck to the "spirit and letter of the agreement" that the two had come to and make sure that adults and children can safely "continue to sit on the steps, to run into the fountain water and not to have to worry about the health effects of the water." We agree. If they have to move the fountain 22-feet the least they could do was keep the water fresh.
What we want to know though, are they still going to rename the fountain the Tisch Fountain?
Sketch of planned new water display looking north.
