
Landmarks Preservation Commission to meet Tuesday, April 20th Re: Washington Square Park, Phase III (last phase!)
Item to be discussed: 10-7129 – Block 549, lot 1- Washington Square Park – Greenwich Village Historic District — A public park built in 1826 with subsequent alterations. Application is to construct a new building and install signage.
Time & Location: 4:30 p.m. (note: they suggest being there approx. 3:45 p.m.), 1 Centre Street, 9th floor, Manhattan.
Designs and changes proposed by NYC Parks Department include:
Signage: Pylon signs – outlining WSP history – will be 3 sided, 6 feet 7 inches, with 5 feet of text (a little large, no?).
They will be placed at the Washington Square Arch, the Holley Plaza, the new Garibaldi Plaza, and by Thompson street entrance.
New Building: Bathrooms and Park Administrative building to be combined into one (glass-stone-steel-wood) structure with a trellis on top. I will try to get a photo. (I missed my chance at the meeting on April 7th!)
Community Board 2’s Parks Committee and the Landmarks Committee held the meeting with the Washington Square Park Task Force which featured the Parks Department design presentation of the above earlier this month (April 7th) but I don’t know how they are going to weigh in. Likely they will support it, as designed.
The Landmark Preservation Commission then votes on whether they will approve and if this can move forward since the Park falls within the Greenwich Village Historic District. Some of the LPC’s decisions re: Washington Square Park (notably Phase I – moving of the Fountain and redesign of the Park) have been controversial and politically motivated. (See categories – right side bar – for archived posts related to Landmarks Preservation Commission.)