Author’s note #1: Tal and I serve on the Parks Committee of Manhattan Community Board 3 (CB3) together. I write the newsletter Friends of New York City Abundance. The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Manhattan CB3.
Author’s note #2: Feel free to check out the Youtube recording of the meeting:
Public comment
Roberta advocated for a dedicated dog run in Sarah Delano Roosevelt Park, noting, “Neighborhood dog owners have been requesting and waiting for a safe designated space... since the 1990s.” She mentioned that Chris Marte’s office asked that she testify to the Parks Committee.
Two comments were about the Tompkins Square Park renovation on the agenda:
Sal thanked the Parks Department for listening to community feedback regarding the renovation of the fitness area at Tompkins Square Park, stating, “We asked the fitness areas to be removed from the scope and that’s what they did.”
Gino expressed concern over the disruption of the basketball courts, saying, “Many of us, however, believe that all of these proposals... are unnecessarily disruptive and honestly out of touch with the needs of those who use this park every single day.”
Parks Manager Report
The playground at Al Smith park is closed after a fire. The damages are serious and to fix it will require capital project funding.
Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP): PEP just had graduating class. Parks need more foot patrol, especially for East River Park.
Bulb planting: Planting events will happen on the 24th and 25th.
Seasonal updates: With the sun now setting earlier, playgrounds will be closing at 6pm.
Questions for the Parks Manager
Q: Any updates on the illegal dumping at Captain John Jacob Park? There is still daily dumping there.
A: There is a decrease in dumping. The Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) detail is there until 4am.
Q: Can you address the issue of the gates at Columbus Park not being shut regularly?
A: “I’ll talk to the... staff that oversees Columbus and I’ll make sure that the gates are being locked properly and are locked at a decent time.”
Gotham Park: Presentation on Fall Programs
The park is located right under the Brooklyn Bridge and seeks to be an economic corridor for the community.
The park now has 6 full-time employees and is now 4 acres in size.
The park hosted a Mid-Autumn Festival event and will be hosting movie and community potluck events.
The park hosts wellness programs like Zumba and yoga classes, in addition to park stewardship classes.
Questions for Gotham Park
Q: What about the extra 5 acres that is currently Department of Transportation parking?
A: Yes, an additional 5 acres of growth would extend the park to Seaport District. Right now it stops at Pearl Street.
Parks: Presentation of 3 options for the reconstruction of the Tompkins Square Park Mini-Pool, Basketball Courts, and Fitness Area
Parks presented three options for pool, fitness area, and basketball court renovations at Tompkins Square Park.
Budget: The project has a $9.9M budget ($6M from governor for the pool, $3M from city)
Project goals: Build a modern inground mini-pool for children, improve drainage, and enhance accessibility while reconstructing the fitness and basketball areas.
Option timelines and coverage: the options differ on their timelines and what renovations occur:
Option #1: Full renovation, takes 18 months to complete
Option #2: Takes 24 months to complete using a staggered two-stage approach. First renovate the courts and pool and then the fitness center.
Option #3: No renovation for the fitness area or new “flex” areas nearby. Still takes 18 months to complete.
Committee Questions for Parks
Q: What’s the timeline for approval and implementation?
A: 5-6 months for construction docs, Department of Environmental Protection approvals (another 6+ months), Procurement (another year), and then construction (18-24 months)
Q: Are you going into the park to speak to visitors for feedback?
A: The point of this meeting is to obtain community feedback
Q: When will the pool be open during the year?
A: The pool will only be open 2 months a year. We received the grant so that children can learn how to swim.
Q: For the basketball court, are the 4 foot fences going to lead to balls being tossed over them? Lower fences have gotten complaints from community members, especially around playgrounds.
A: Those fences are for the sidelines. We chose them to visually open up the space and for better security.
Q: This district has a lot of income diversity. Pool only accommodates 60 kids. Would love for this neighborhood’s children to be prioritized.
A: Yes, Amy is a beloved pool manager and meals will be served there too.
Q: What will be done with the pool during the winter?
A: Central Park activates their pool during off-season, but we don’t have resources for that (the Central Park pool was a $150M capital project, in addition to annual expenses).
Q: There is a long tradition of trying to sneak into the pool at night. What are we doing to prevent that?
A: We maintain an 8-foot-tall fence around the pool. CB7 could give testimony on their in-ground pool at Frederick Douglass and how security has played out.
Q: Are we required to make the park accessible?
A: Yes. There will be a chair lift for the pool.
Public Questions for Parks
Q: We started a petition for Option #3 to remove the fitness area from the project scope. We believe the idea that this is just an adult fitness area is totally misguided. It does not need to be rebuilt. It is a community cornerstone.
Q: I am a mom. There is no reason to close the mini-pool. It is perfect as is. It is great for children specifically. Closing it for two summers will be bad for children.
A: This pool is an old tub design. It is already fairly damaged and the decking has trip hazards, etc. To be clear, this pool will remain for children only. It only has a 3 foot depth.
Q: All these options are disruptive. The basketball courts are one of the most heavily used spaces in the park. It is a part of the community here. Hamilton Fish pool already serves our community. We want maintenance, not a total redesign.
A: During large rain events, raw sewage goes into East River. To prevent that, we will add plastic containers to hold storm water when these events happen. We can’t put these beneath the trees due to the roots.
Q: Will the existing trees be maintained? There is something magical about being under trees when working out.
A: Yes, and we are improving their conditions. We constantly monitor contractors to ensure trees aren’t hurt.
Q: The Parks Department over the past 20 years has not been buying quality equipment. At other parks, bars have had to been removed. In the past ten years, the Parks Department would weld together spinning bars that would have posed a safety concern.
A: We have looked at three different manufacturers. We’ve looked at two different manufacturers about welding spinning bars. We are taking what you are saying seriously. We didn’t just scan the units. We are listening.
Q: When do we get to see exact piece of equipment that will be used?
A: We cannot give the exact price of equipment due to anti-corruption bid practices.
Q: Could we keep the small hoops? Kids like to use it.
Q: The choose-your-adventure nature of the fitness equipment is important to artists like me.
Q: Can we open the Slocum area bathrooms to be year round for children to use?
Q: Is there is a way that bench can be added behind the pool for parents to use?
A: We are tight on space, but we can take a look at this.
Q: Could we make the new fitness area layout more condensed to add more bars?
A: We are adding more bars, but we have to have 6 ft of clearance around each piece of equipment.
Q: Removing the half court basketball courts is a loss. Could we preserve them somehow?
A: We can take a look at the handball / pickleball area. Note that would increase cost.
ESCR / BMCR Presentation
Ethan Kraft presented about the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) and Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience (BMCR) projects.
East 10th Street Bridge: Construction is ongoing
Pier 42: Some bollards and boulders added.
Fireboat House: Removal will begin in Q1 2027. Restoration by end of 2027.
Compost Facility: Bid scheduled to go out late November; then construction will take 18-24 months to complete after bid accepted. The old price estimates were inaccurate so they will need to be updated but funding remains in place.
The public restrooms nearby the fields are on-track to open this winter
Questions about ESCR / BMCR presentation
Q: The community would like input on what will replace the fireboat house.
Q: We don’t know if the existing funding will cover the Compost Facility, right?
A: Correct, we will have to go to City Hall to see what we can do if we need more budget.
Q: Last meeting, it was mentioned a union worker was seriously hurt onsite. Any updates?
A: No updates, but please note OSHA is leading the investigation, not the NYPD.
Q: So, why was there an archaeologist involved at Corlears Hook Park?
A: Remains of a sugar factory have been discovered there.