in and around the park, public space, NYC & more
Vellonakis Set to Officially Retire in the Fall George Vellonakis, the landscape designer placed in charge of the Bloomberg Administration’s controversial redesign of Washington Square Park, later hired in 2017 to be the park’s publicly … Read more…
Washington Square Park private conservancy continues to assert itself to take over more and more turf from the city’s Parks Department – the public entity which actually runs and manages the park and has done … Read more…
In July, fencing went up at Washington Square Park barricading the Northwest lawn, adorned with signs with Washington Square Park Conservancy logos on them stating “Lawn Restoration Work Ongoing” and pointing to a page on … Read more…
Installed to “Discourage Skateboarding” – Paid for by private entity New seating – in the form of “bistro tables” – was installed last week next to Garibaldi Statue at Washington Square Park. The purpose of … Read more…
Updated – March 6, 2019 This “Murky” Private Organization Does not run this Greenwich Village park – Dubious Beginning Above: Justine Leguizamo, Veronica Bulgari, Gwen Evans, Elizabeth “Betsey” Ely, 2013 In early 2014, after Washington … Read more…
Fitness, dance and self-improvement classes at Washington Square Park began in early June/July this year and you can still join in through mid-September! All classes are free. Schedule follows. Read on for some privatization-related controversy … Read more…
[Updated] Is Private Group Taking Over More Turf at Park Despite Public Claims ? A location has been announced by Community Board 2 for the upcoming June meeting with discussion and an update on Washington … Read more…
” Unlike NYC’s privatized parks, Washington Square Park continues to be run by the city Parks Department, and has been for years, but park is at risk of undue private influence Updated 7:30 p.m. – … Read more…
In June of 2017, Washington Square Park was on the Community Board 2 Parks Committee meeting agenda after a long absence. Also on the agenda was the (controversial) private Washington Square Park Conservancy. At that … Read more…
“When cities rely on private donors, we end up with sterile, controlled environments,” states the preface to a recent New York Times Op Ed, How Parks Lose Their Playfulness. The piece delves into the redesign … Read more…
Updated Vanishing New York, the book, released late last month, is a more thought-out, expanded version of the Vanishing New York blog, run by Jeremiah Moss since 2007. The blog has been popular from its … Read more…
Updated – I’ve noted at this blog how the community around Washington Square fought back against a typical private conservancy model at the iconic park for years, choosing for the historic public space to remain … Read more…
Updated – It’s been over a year since any information has been relayed to the public about Washington Square Park Conservancy: updates on the private organization’s “activities” were supposed to come before Community Board 2 … Read more…
Washington Square Park Blog began over nine years ago with the intention of chronicling the redesign of Washington Square Park. Although the contentious redesign of the park and its construction is mostly complete (the sidewalk … Read more…
Updated 5/16 10:50 a.m. – Six months, 22 applicants, four interviewees, one outcome: After an (arguably) extensive “search,” George Vellonakis, the landscape designer responsible for the 2007-2014+ redesign of Washington Square Park, has been chosen … Read more…