Yukie Ohta, who runs and writes the fantastic website, Soho Memory Project, also writes at the equally wonderful New York Bound Books – “all things New York for readers and writers.” She wrote a very nice profile about me there: You Gotta Have Park! (Clever!) The piece includes this great picture of her with her mom and sister at Washington Square Park in 1977 (the “old” previous version of the park before the redesign). Look at people bicycling through the park! And I love this memory:
As a native New Yorker who grew up downtown, Washington Square Park was, and still is, an enormous part of my life. When I was a little kid, I ran up and down the (old) hills and “swam” in the fountain every summer. That’s how I built up my immunity! When I was a big kid, I hung out there at night with my friends, farther into the night than my parents will ever know (at least until now). Now I bring my own daughter there to swim in the NEW fountain and she spends hours rolling down the NEW hills (others call them “mounds”).
Washington Square Park was, and is still, the only wide-open space near my house where children and adults can play. It is such a vital part of downtown, dare I say, the heart? That’s why I am so happy there is The Washington Square Park blog.
Check out the rest of the profile here. Thanks, Yukie!
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Photo courtesy of Yukie Ohta