Robert Moses Playground

Robert Moses Playground is a 1.3-acre (0.53 ha) playground and park in Manhattan, New York City. It is located in the Murray Hill neighborhood on First Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, immediately south of the headquarters of the United Nations. The park is named for New York's "master builder" Robert Moses, the former head of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (which constructed the playground as part of the construction of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel), who later advocated to save the park when a skyscraper was proposed on the site in the early 1980s.

The main entrance to the playground is located on 41st Street

History
The park is adjacent to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel Ventilation Building and United Nations Secretariat Building

The block the park is located on was originally obtained from Consolidated Edison in 1937 as part of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel construction.[1] Land for public park purposes was subsequently donated to the city in exchange for the taking of a portion of St. Gabriel's Park (now named St. Vartan Park) for an approach roadway providing access to the tunnel.[2][3] The Park itself was completed in 1941 and shares the block with the large ventilation building for the tunnel. It was named for Moses in 1982.[4][5]

The asphalt playground on the west side of the park was often used for roller hockey, and the East End Hockey Association had been organizing games at the site since 1972.[6] This asphalt playground was replaced by a synthetic turf field in July 2021 to improve existing parks due to the temporary loss of park space during construction of the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency project.[7] A renovation of the playground on the eastern side of the park was completed in 1998 and included the addition of Art Deco silhouettes of a dozen of Moses' projects along the fence.[8]

Land reclamation

There have been at least three attempts to take the park's land for building projects.[9]

In 1979, a proposal was made by the city to swap the western portion of the park's land with private parks in Tudor City, enabling Harry Helmsley to construct a skyscraper on the site in exchange for converting the private parks in Tudor City into public parks (which Helmsley had planned to develop with buildings).[10][11] The land swap was approved by the City Planning Commission but was opposed by a number of groups, including the East End Hockey Association, which had gained the support of Robert Moses in their fight to save the park.[11][12][13] Although the proposal was initially supported by Mayor Ed Koch, he changed his mind when appraisals showed that the public parkland was more valuable than the private parks in Tudor City.[14] The land swap proposal was vetoed by the Board of Estimate in 1981 and the City Council voted to name the park after Moses in 1982.[5]

A waterfront esplanade alongside the United Nations campus has been proposed to offset the loss of parkland

In 2002, a proposal was made by the city to allow for the United Nations to construct a skyscraper on the western portion of the park's land that would be connected to its existing campus via a tunnel under 42nd Street. The new building would have been used as swing space during renovation of the Secretariat Building and would have subsequently been used by the United Nations as additional office space. The loss of parkland was proposed to be offset by the construction of a new park in the form of an expansion of the East River Greenway alongside the United Nations campus. This proposal was rejected by the New York State Legislature in 2005.[9][15][16]

The most recent proposal to take the park's land for a building was raised by the United Nations in June 2010. Under this deal, the city would then expand the nearby East River Greenway to compensate for the loss of this park.[17] On December 8, 2010, Manhattan Community Board 6 gave their support to this plan, providing that the esplanade was expanded.[18] In March 2011, the city gave approval to move ahead with a feasibility study for this project as part of Mayor Bloomberg's Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan.[19][20]

If agreed by the city and the heads of both houses of the New York State Legislature, the United Nations Development Corporation could begin preliminary planning for a new office tower, which could be no taller than the 505-foot (154 m) tall Secretariat Building. The UN would pay the city at least $65 million for the park. The plan is opposed by some residents of Tudor City, which is across the street from the park.[21]

On October 5, 2011, the city and state reached an agreement to use the western portion of Robert Moses Playground for an expansion of the United Nations campus. In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation would pay $73 million to fund the development of the East River esplanade between 38th and 60th streets.[22] To make up for the loss of parkland, the City will convert Asser Levy Place into parkland.[23]

References
  1. "Gets Land For Tunnel". The New York Times. April 13, 1937. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  2. "Sees Home Revival In Area Of Tunnel". The New York Times. November 17, 1940. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  3. "St. Vartan Park Highlights". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  4. "Robert Moses Playground Highlights". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  5. Chadwick, Bruce (March 29, 1982). "At East Side Park, the kids are ready to roll". Daily News. New York. Retrieved April 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Greenberg, Jonathan (November 1, 1993). "Smooth Skating". New York. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  7. Garber, Nick (July 2, 2021). "Midtown's Gray Robert Moses Playground Gets Green Revamp". Patch. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  8. Martin, Douglas (October 8, 1998). "Celebrating a Sculptor of the City". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  9. Mindlin, Alex (April 1, 2007). "At a Longstanding Playground, Yet Another Plan to End the Games". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  10. Fowler, Glenn (April 21, 1979). "A Public Park Is Offered In Dispute at Tudor City". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  11. Toscano, John; Cosgrove, Vincent (February 10, 1981). "Plan unit OKs Helmsley park swap". Daily News. New York. Retrieved April 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Gottlieb, Martin (March 2, 1981). "Moses wants to save playground from Helmsley". Daily News. New York. Retrieved April 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Rosenthal, Sharon (September 1, 1981). "The day Robert Moses saved a park". Daily News. New York. Retrieved April 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Ivins, Molly (March 6, 1981). "Koch, In Reversal, Opposes Tudor City Land Exchange". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  15. Bagli, Charles V. (December 26, 2002). "U.N. Expansion Proceeds, Even as Neighbors Object". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  16. Dolman, Joseph (June 29, 2005). "Albany's shot at the UN costs the city". Newsday. ProQuest 279855478.
  17. Agovino, Theresa (June 13, 2010). "City plots huge land deal with U.N." Crain's New York Business. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  18. Zimmer, Amy (December 10, 2010). "East Side Park May Get Razed to Build New United Nations Tower". Digital Network Associates. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2011. CB6 passed a resolution on Wednesday supporting the UN takeover of Robert Moses Park as long as they get what they want in return. They know getting a replacement park won't be easy, and they don't want small pocket parks.
  19. "Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan" (PDF). New York City Department of City Planning. March 2011. p. 118. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  20. Zimmer, Amy (April 14, 2011). "City Could Open Swath of East River Waterfront to the Public". Digital Network Associates. Archived from the original on April 18, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011. Rep. Carolyn Maloney secured $475,000 in federal funding from the Surface Transportation Program and state funding from the Department of Environmental Conservation for a feasibility study of the engineering, design, landscaping and other planning related to the new esplanade for her East Side district.
  21. Foderaro, Lisa W. (September 30, 2011). "Land Deal With U.N. Would Fill a Big Gap in the Waterfront Greenway". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  22. Orden, Erica (October 6, 2011). "Greenway Plan Gets 'Missing Link'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  23. Holland, Heather (October 23, 2013). "Asser Levy Place to Close Permanently to Make Way for Park". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
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