Photo by Stacie Joy
Per the posted signs, the work will begin starting on Oct. 16 and last until Dec. 1.
As we first reported, the Parks Department will reconstruct the multipurpose courts, adding various amenities, including a two-lane seal-coated walking loop and new asphalt.
According to a landscape architect with the Parks Department (from a presentation in February), there's a lot of "asphalt structural damage," and it "needs to be replaced and repaired. And the only way to do that is to take all the asphalt down to the sub base and put new asphalt down."
Other additions: new benches, a kickball court, a high-low fountain that kids and adults can use simultaneously, and three new basketball backstops at the eastern end.
Skaters are worried the new asphalt will be either too soft or hard for skating, turning this decades-long hotspot into a useless spot.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Are they going to re-surface the whole park? The asphalt damage in there is terrible right now. Any word on that?
ReplyDelete— NYC Parks will begin repaving the multi-use court (skate park) this month
ReplyDelete— They have plans (& budget) to resurface the 9th transverse after the field house project is completed late next year
— Friends of Tompkins Square and the dog run group have been advocating to repave the asphalt throughout the entire park. Officials agree but they can’t find the money
— Both groups tried to get the lawn rototilled & replanted last winter. But NYC Horticulture’s plan to replant the lawn fell through when Carlina only allocated $5,000 so parks just threw down a bag of grass seed
— And therein lies the problem. Tompkins is the poor bastard child of the East Village. Called upon to do all the heavy lifting in our district, from accept the homeless & migrants, provide recreation to school children, used to distribute food, give access to lawns & green space, host events, solve all our ills & social problems, etc. But no one wants to fund it
The work will last until Dec 1st. I'm skeptical. Did they put a year after that? The linked proposal has completion June 2024.
ReplyDeleteThe walking loop makes no sense. Specifically skater deterrent?
I saw these sign at the 8th st entrances too. Are they truly closing the entire park? I thought this was only for the rec court.
ReplyDeleteSaw them along Avenue B as well... they are just closing the multipurpose courts along A and 10th for this...
ReplyDeleteAre plans afoot to bus in blue-haired ladies in track suits to use the walking loop? East Village, where have you gone?
ReplyDelete@3:44pm: Why are you dissing "blue-haired ladies"? Are older people who live here no longer part of the East Village?
ReplyDeletePS: Do you imagine that you will never get old yourself?
Why are they doing this NOW, when the bathrooms (aka "Comfort Station") is still being renovated?? Why can't they do this work in stages?? And why do we need the damn walking track. Can we at least get rid of that?? No one walks in circles in this area like a hamster--or very few. People run the perimeter of the park. Who came up with this 2 lane walking track? It will ruin the surface for basketball and skateboarding. Did this architect consult the actual users of the park? There are local schools that use that area for recreation daily, and the kids play basketball. You can't have this many multiple uses. This isn't a Lego mat. Why would they do this now and close even more of the park for eons??
ReplyDeleteWalking track - oh brother. There is the whole park with "walking paths". But the makeover should suit the people that use it.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 10:19 pm - I don't have to imagine getting old - I'm 74, and have been in the heart of the East Village for about 50 years. I still love it. The "blue-haired ladies" was a perhaps not-so-funny reference to stereotypical suburbanites who don track suits for their mall-walks. Lighten up, my friend.
ReplyDeleteWalking loop? GTFO. So absurd.
ReplyDeleteNo one here needs a “walking loop”. It’s called walk AROUND THE BLOCK. SIMPLE.
ReplyDelete