Washington Market Park Needs $5.3 Million in Upgrades
The Friends of Washington Market Park, the non-profit organization that advocates for the beloved Tribeca greensward and play space at the corner of Greenwich and Washington Streets, is lobbying to build support for a multimillion dollar revamp.
Washington Market Park contains three adjoining playgrounds – for toddlers, intermediate-aged children, and big kids – plus an empty space for a fourth: a “wooden train” imagination structure that was removed last November due to safety concerns (after being repeatedly repaired in recent years). The park is also home to a pair of spray fountains and a pump that are meant to create a play river and enable children to get wet during warm weather. This has stopped working entirely, and the drains that service it have become clogged.
In the big kids playground, the red bridge structure is significantly rusted, and the decorative water tower ornament above it is leaning.
The park was last rebuilt in 2003, according to Pamela Frederick, a member of the board of directors of the Friends group. Speaking to the members of the Waterfront, Parks, and Recreation Committee of Community Board One on April 15, she said that in recent years it has been beset with a host of maintenance issues: “half of our lights don’t work because the electrical lines are obsolete, the infrastructure for the water feature doesn’t work, and we need all new playgrounds and play surfaces.”
Officials from the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation estimate that basic maintenance work could be done for $500,000, but the Friends group is concerned that this would not permanently solve the systemic issues they have identified. Instead, they are hoping to undertake a comprehensive upgrade for the park, which City officials estimate would cost $5.3 million. They have begun to work with the staffs of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Council member Christopher Marte to allocate these funds in annual budget cycles over the next few years.
In the meantime, Mr. Marte has allocated $180,000 to repair the uneven paths in Washington Market Park.