Fall Cleanup Day in Seward Park | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side thelodownny.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thelodownny.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
You have, no doubt, noticed the imposing chain link fence that went up around the east end of Seward Park in the past several days.
It’s your signal that the city is beginning a large-scale restoration of one of the Lower East Side’s main public gathering spaces. Seward Park was one of the winners of the 2016 competition, Parks Without Borders, which is meant to better integrate city parks into surrounding communities.
The other day, work crews were starting to take down parts of the fencing near the Seward Park Library (you’ll have to use a passageway to reach the library’s main entrance while this work is going on). The main focus of the project is the barren space in front of the library. In the months ahead, it will be transformed with new pavement, a meadow, a small amphitheater, benches, tables and chairs and game tables. The perimeter fences will be dropped to 4 feet. You can see the full plan here.
Local residents will start to see changes in Straus Square during the next several weeks, as the neglected area at East Broadway, Rutgers Street and Canal Street begins to look more like a full-fledged pedestrian plaza. The changes were outlined last night at a meeting of Community Board 3’s Parks Committee.
As previously reported, the community board has already approved the closure of a one block section of Canal Street alongside Seward Park. Last night’s presentation before the parks panel dealt with design and programming aspects of the plan. Seward Park is about to undergo a $6.4 million renovation as part of the Parks Without Borders Program. The idea behind the Straus Square changes is to make the plaza feel like it’s an extension of the park.
Renderings by: Studio Castellano for Seward Park Conservancy.
You’ll want to save the date Nov. 14 for a Seward Park public visioning session. This past spring, the Lower East Side park was one of eight winners in the city’s Parks Without Borders competition. The award recipients will be splitting $40 million for renovations to widely used public spaces. The local campaign, spearheaded by the Seward Park Conservancy, was focused on improvements to the area in front of the Seward Park Library, the dilapidated fountain on Essex Street and Straus Square, on the park”s southern boundary. A location is not yet set for the public input event. We’ll let you know when we have more information.
The Fascinating History of Schiff Fountain in Seward Park | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side thelodownny.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thelodownny.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.