Essex Street Entrance to Seward Park Reopened for the First Time in a Decade
This image has been archived or removed.
Behold! The Essex Street entrance to Seward Park is now back open to the public. Those iron gates had been locked during park hours for nearly fifteen years straight.
One local viewpoint blames the perennially padlocked gates on the park’s former function as needle den for junkies. It had kept druggies out of the playground while protecting children from running into the main thoroughfare of Essex Street. But it’s really beyond that…
An area resident recalls that the lockup actually happened in the aftermath of 9/11, when Seward Park was shut for a $1.56 million makeover courtesy of Mayor Giuliani and Councilmembers Kathryn Freed and Margarita López. Prior to that revamp, pedestrians could enter the park via Essex Street. Upon reopening a year later, though, the entrance was chained shut. Green seekers were instead funneled through East Broadway; closing time of dusk was also instated.
Guess it’s now considered safe enough to unlock. As of this month, folks can now pass completely through Seward Park without having to walk around.
“The Parks Department has recently altered its policy allowing a gate along Essex Street to be open during hours when the park is open,” Linda Jones of the Seward Park Conservancy tells us. “People figured it out right away and are enjoying the walk through the park.” Nevertheless, we have no firm confirmation from Parks on whether the change is permanent. Our messages go unheeded.
Founded in 1903, Seward Park is the oldest municipal playground in the United States.
Recent Stories
Demolition Begins at Fire-Stricken Dim Sum Palace Building in Chinatown
Demolition started this week at 6 Chatham Square, which, until this month, housed neighborhood favorite Dim Sum Palace. Early morning May 1, a fire in the kitchen spread throughout the building, triggering a five-alarm response from the fire department. All told, five firefighters were injured battling the inferno over several hours. And according to Red […]
Eldridge Street Development Sells for $19.24M
A major real estate deal to report on Eldridge Street. It took three years, but the eight-story mixed-use building at 165 Eldridge traded last week for $19.25 million. Just under the initial 2019 asking price of $21 million. Buyer of record is Meng Lee and Karim Elsayyad of FREO Management. The transaction is not yet […]
The ‘Barrier Reefs’ Coming to Clinton Street Bike Lane
The Department of Transportation has chosen a winner to decorate the traffic barrier protecting the Clinton Street bike line. The city agency awarded artist Alison Cynamon as part of the ongoing Barrier Beautification mural project. The concrete slab runs from Delancey Street to South Street; an 840-foot stretch with roughly 1,980 square-feet of canvas to […]
Redlining the LES: How Discriminatory Lending Policies Solidified Pre-Existing Inequalities
The following was written by Anna Sargeantson. All photos courtesy of Anna Sargeantson, except where otherwise noted. Home to dimly lit restaurants and bars frequented by NYU students and young professionals, the Lower East Side remains in many ways the epitome of New York City’s youthful heart. Under the surface, though, the neighborhood has historically […]
Ed Higgins Gets ‘Mail Art’ Retrospective at Van Der Plas Gallery on Orchard Street
Fresh off featuring his art in Ludlow Coffee Supply, the Van Der Plas Gallery of Orchard Street is now dedicating a full artist retrospective to the late Ed Higgins. Higgins, known as a pillar of the “Rivington School” movement in the 1980s Lower East Side, and for his unique “Mail Art,” died last December at […]
