Tompkins Square Park

"Salt Meadows" in a British map of 1776

Tompkins Square Park is located on land near the East River, that originally consisted of salt marsh and open tidal meadows, "Stuyvesant meadows", the largest such ecosystem on Manhattan island,[1] but has since been filled in.[2] The unimproved site, lightly taxed by the city as most agricultural properties were, seemed scarcely worth the expense of improving to its owners, the Stuyvesants, who inherited it from the 17th-century grant awarded to Peter Stuyvesant, and their Pell and Fish relatives. The City aldermen, to raise the tax base of the city, accepted a gift of land in 1829 from Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847) with the understanding that it would remain a public space,[3] and compensated other owners with $62,000 in city funds to set aside a residential square; transforming the muddy site took another $22,000 before Tompkins Square was opened in 1834.[4] Surrounded by a cast-iron fence the following year[5] and planted with trees, the square was expected to have a prosperous and genteel future,[6] which was undercut, however, by the Panic of 1837 that brought the city's expansion to a halt.[7]

Tompkins Square Park is named for Daniel D. Tompkins (1774–1825), Vice President of the United States under President James Monroe and the Governor of New York from 1807 until 1817. He had overseen some early drainage in the locality in connection with minor fortifications in the War of 1812. The park was opened in 1850.[8]

In 1857, immigrants protesting unemployment and food shortages were attacked by police. In 1863 the deadly Draft Riots occurred in the park.[8]

On January 13, 1874, the Tompkins Square Riot occurred in the park when police crushed a demonstration involving thousands of workers.[9] The riot marked an unprecedented era of labor conflict and violence. The riot occurred in the midst of the Panic of 1873, a depression that began in 1873 and lasted for several years.[10] Workers movements throughout the United States had been making demands of the government to help ease the strain of the depression.[11] Organizations rejected offers of charity and instead had asked for public works programs that would provide jobs for the masses of unemployed.[12]

In 1877 five thousand people fought with the National Guard when a crowd amassed to hear Communist revolutionary speeches.[8]

On April 7, 1897, a rabbi was arrested for not obtaining a permit for the performance of Birkat Hachama, a Jewish ritual done once every 28 years.[13]

Snow in February 2008

In the middle 19th century the "Square" included a large parade ground for drilling the New York National Guard. The modern layout of the park by Robert Moses in 1936 is said to be intended to divide and manage crowds that have gathered there in protest since the 1870s. That tradition was rekindled as the park became the nursery of demonstrations against the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

By the 1980s Tompkins Square Park had become for many New Yorkers synonymous with the city's increased social problems. The park at that time was a high-crime area that contained encampments of homeless people, and it was a center for illegal drug dealing and heroin use.

In August 1988, a riot erupted in the park when police attempted to clear the park of homeless people; 38 people were injured.[14] Bystanders as well as homeless people and political activists got caught up in the police action[15] that took place on the night of August 6 and the early morning of August 7, after a large number of police surrounded the park and charged at the hemmed-in crowd while other police ordered all pedestrians not to walk on streets neighboring the park.[16] Much of the violence was videotaped and clips were shown on local TV news reports (notably including one by a man who sat on his stoop across the street from the park and continued to film while a police officer beat him up),[17] but ultimately, although at least one case went to trial, no police officers were found culpable. A punk rock festival has been held in the park in the years since, in commemoration of the event.

The park had become a symbol of the problems in the city, including homelessness—which had prompted the 1988 riot.[17] Against that backdrop, Daniel Rakowitz shocked the neighborhood in 1989 when he murdered Monika Beerle, dismembered her, made a soup out of her body and served it to the homeless in the park.[18] Rakowitz, called the Butcher of Tompkins Square, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains incarcerated at the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Wards Island.[19]

Further clashes occurred during May Day festivities of 1990, the culmination of a "Resist 2 Exist" Festival, which featured notable local acts and artists.[20] 29 protesters were arrested and 25 charged with felony charges. [21]

From June 3, 1991 to July 25, 1992, the park was closed to the public for restoration, but also to keep out the homeless and in attempt to calm tensions.[22] The Tompkins Square Park Bandshell, a key feature of the park, was one of the first targets of these renovations.[23]

People relaxing and sunbathing on the park's central knoll

Increasing gentrification in the East Village during the 1990s and 2000s, and enforcement of a park curfew and the eviction of homeless people have changed the character of Tompkins Square Park.[24] As noted above, the park was closed and refurbished in 1991 and reopened in 1992.[24] Today, with its playgrounds and basketball courts, dog run, ping pong table, handball courts, and built-in outdoor chess tables, the park attracts young families, students and seniors and tourists from all over the globe.[25] Since the 1980s, the asphalt that covers the multi-purpose courts at Tompkins Square Park has served as a skatepark and training grounds for multiple generations of skateboarders.[26]

The COVID pandemic and Fentanyl epidemic in the 2020s saw clashes reminiscent of the park’s darkest days. Numerous stand offs with the police, homeless activists and area Councilwoman Carlina Rivera occurred in the summer of 2022 when Mayor Eric Adams ordered the removal of homeless encampments that set up in and around the park. Later that year area residents demanded the precinct enforce the park’s midnight curfew to reduce the surge of hard drug use and dirty syringes throughout the park

The main playground, closest to Avenue A, features jungle gyms, rock climbing features, and a water fountain flush with the ground. There is a large sandbox, swing sets, and benches. There are two smaller playgrounds in the section of the park near 7th Street and Avenue B. The main playground reopened in August 2009 after a year-long renovation.[34]

Since the 1980s, the asphalt that covers the multi-purpose courts at Tompkins Square Park has served as a skatepark and training grounds for generations of skateboarders.[26] In 1989, Shut Skateboards hosted a contest at the park featuring ramps and other skate obstacles.[35] The multi-purpose courts' asphalt is known as T.F., as well as; Thompson’s, a misnomer.[36] T.F. stands for “training facility”.[37][38] Many acclaimed skateboarders, including Tyshawn Jones, Alex Olson, Yaje Popson, Jarrod Brandreth, Harold Hunter, Ted Barrow, Andy Kessler, Zered Bassett, Jake Johnson, and others, have skated Tompkins Square Park, using it as a training facility.[39][40]

Skateboarders skate at Tompkins Square Park during the September 7th, 2019 - Save Tompkins Rally

In 2019, the Parks Department announced plans to cover over the asphalt lot in the park's northwest corner with synthetic turf by 2020.[38] Skateboarders have protested this plan, with TF local Adam Zhu starting an online petition that garnered over 30,000 signatures.[38] Zhu and others in the TF community planned a rally to support saving the historic skating grounds.[41] Zhu worked with Steve Rodriguez, Carlina Rivera, Mitchell Silver, Supreme, and others to bring awareness to the turfing controversy.[42] On Friday September 6th 2019, one day before the rally was set to take place, the Parks Department announced that they intend to keep the asphalt, scrapping plans to put down synthetic turf.[43] As a result of the skateboarding community organizing, the asphalt in the multi-purpose courts will not be disturbed.[43][44]

The newly renovated Big Dog Run

The Tompkins Square Dog Run[45] was the first[46] dog run in New York City. It opened in 1990 as part of a large-scale renovation of the dilapidated park.[47] It recently underwent a $450,000 renovation, much of which was funded by the New York City government and fund-raising by dog run patrons. It now includes a surface of crushed stone [sand], three swimming pools, a tree deck, and bath areas and hoses to spray off one's pet.[47]

For 32 years, the run hosted the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade to raise money for its own maintenance. The event claimed to be the biggest dog Halloween party in the United States, boasting an annual attendance of more than 400 dogs in costume and 2,000 spectators.[48] The parade was canceled indefinitely in 2023 because of logistical issues and permitting costs.[49]