Washington Sq. Park Redesign Nemesis Appointed To Head Up Park & Conservancy

The new head of Washington Square Park is controversial Parks Department landscape architect George Vellonakis.  He was responsible for the controversial redesign of the park during the Bloomberg administration.   

  

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The irony.

George Vellonakis,  the much reviled Parks Department landscape architect behind the much vilified $ 30 million dollar renovation of Washington Square Park has been appointed to head up the historic park. 

He will simultaneously serve as both the park administrator, a city job, as well as the executive director of the private Washington Square Park Conservancy.

Mr. Vellonakis has stepped down as a landscape architect for the Parks Department after  more than 35 years. 

Friday was his last day in the capital division.  He starts Monday in his new positions.

His appointments will certainly ruffle a few feathers.

The then unlicensed landscape architect - but licensed real estate salesperson for Brown Harris Stevens  - was responsible for the controversial redesign of Washington Square Park during the Bloomberg administration.  (He has since gotten his landscape license after his lack of licensure became more wildly known)

The contentious renovation plan drew considerable public opposition.  Controversial elements included moving the fountain to align with the arch, (the fountain had been in the center of the park since 1870) reducing the size of the fountain,  eliminating the park's popular mounds, installing a wrought iron fence in order to close historic park at night, and the destruction of numerous trees.

The city was forced to make several concessions after community backlash. 

Unlicensed landscape architect George Vellonakis, and Manhattan Brough Commissioner Bill Castro holding up a rendering of the proposed fence at a public hearing on the Washington Sq. Park renovation plan.  The fence, which was to be used to close the park at night, was eliminated from the plan after public opposition.  (The Villager file photo)  

The park’s contentious nine year renovation was completed in 2014. 

The salary pays between 85,000 - 95,000 a year according to the Internal Job Vacancy Notice. 

His commute will not be a hardship as he lives four blocks from the park.

Vellonakis replaces Sarah Neilson, former chief of staff for Jonna Carmona-Graf,  Chief of Capital program management. Sarah left in 2016.

“I never lose my temper,” Vellonakis  told the NY Times in 2005.   

For months George was in the park’s maintenance building every Wednesday to discuss the design with the public. It was during this time that he was infamously caught by hidden camera speaking to a critic in rather unfriendly manner. (1:46 in)  

"We will pull our money, there won't be any design," he says in a contemptuous tone.

In 2008 the city was forced to pay $ 1 million dollars to fix a poorly designed sidewalk in City Hall Park after the Parks Department’s unlicensed landscape architect Vellonakis choose to use bluestone.  This despite being told by colleagues not to use that material because the surface was not appropriate - too slippery - and people might get hurt, which they did.

The forming of a conservancy for the park and its influence also raised the ire of the public.

The Parks Department worked behind the scenes to help form the private Washington Square Park Conservancy with the help of actor John Leguizamo’s wife, Justine, and socialite Veronica Bulgari. 

A year before the group publicly announced its formation plans in June 2013 Conservancy founder Elizabeth Ely was on the four person interview committee to decide the new Park Administrator and was instrumental in picking the city employee for the job.

Founding Washington Square Park Conservancy board members (from left) Justine Leguizamo, Gwen Evans, Veronica Bulgari and Elizabeth Ely.  The fledgling group had already succeeded in influencing public park policy even on which city employee to hire as Park Administrator a year before the group even presented themselves to the public for the first time on June 5, 2013.  (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates.) 

The Executive Director job is subject to the approval of the Parks Commissioner and the Board of the Washington Square Park Conservancy. 

The duel role of city employees simultaneously holding a Park Administrator job while serving as the head of a non-profit affiliated with the same park has repeatedly raised conflict of interest issues.

Washington Square Park in 2013 after the renovation. 

Parks Dept. Forced To Remove Newly Installed Sand After Child Is Hurt In Riverside Park Playground

Old & New Sand.  3-year-old Ben Lloyd plays in the newly installed sand last night in TOT LOT 116 in Riverside Park.  The normal beige sand can be seen side-by-side with the new  Ivory colored sand on the floor in the foreground.   The new sand is mostly calcium and calcite.  Sand has migrated to numerous areas of the playground causing an addional safety hazard. (Photos: Geoffrey croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.



Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The Parks Department has apparently come up with a brand new way for children to get injured when they allowed rocky, gravel-like sand to be to installed in sandboxes in eight playgrounds on the Upper West Side.

The sight of park workers wearing protective masks removing newly installed sand from sandboxes hardly instills public confidence.  

Last night the Parks Department began removing the dangerous sand after a 1-year-old child was hurt after falling face first into the abrasive material at the tot lot in Riverside Park at W. 105th Street and Riverside Drive. 

The boy suffered abrasions to his face according to his mother.   

The abrasive “sand" was installed five days earlier on May 6th as part of a Riverside Park Conservancy event. The Parks Department is now forced to remove the sand from eight locations.



The dangerous sand was removed last night from TOT LOT 110 Ten, near W. 110th Street and Riverside Drive.

The issue came to light after an Upper West Side parent posted a message on social media warning the public to be careful this week, along with a photo of her injured child.

"The tot lot on rivierside were supposed to be refilled with new sand this past weekend and instead the parks department ordered the wrong sand, "  Danielle Alden posted on an Upper West Side mom facebook page.  

She wrote that the sand currently in the sandboxes, "contains bits of gravel and ground up rocks.

The pic below is my poor kids face after falling on some of the sand. He had bits of rock and sand stuck on this face! I'm fuming," she writes.

Danielle Alden posted a photo of her injured child on an Upper West Side mom facebook page after he fell face first into the sand.

"Geez Louise NYC post a damn sign!"

She advises the public to avoid the sandboxes until the sand is replaced by the Parks Department.

Alex Lloyd, a geologist who teaches at Columbia University, examines the newly installed coarse sand. "This is not what I would be buying for my house, if I had a house." 

The new sand also leaves a chalky residue on users.

Last night three-year-old Ben Lloyd was dutifully playing in the sandbox at  TOT LOT 116 at 116th Street with the new sand.

"It's definitely strange," said Ben's mother Eileen.  

"It's just so coarse. It seems like a weird choice for a sandbox especially for younger children."

Her husband,  Alex Lloyd is a geologist who teaches at Columbia University.  He offered an examination and assessment of the material.

"The difference between our two types of sand here - our newer sand is very coarse, I would say very juvenile if I had to use a geology word which means young and kind of sharp and angular, its not well rounded its almost like they crushed it for the purpose of making sand instead of collecting a nice natural sand which is what you standardly see in playgrounds," Mr. Lloyd  explained.

He said the new sand is, "mostly calcium and calcite," adding, "I wouldn't want to take my shoes off, its really sharp," he said. 

"This is not what I would be buying for my house, if I had a house," he said adding,

"I wouldn't be surprised if its cheaper."

His wife said she has lodged several complaints regarding the missing slides in the playground which have not been replaced. 

The playground is also in dire need of regular sweeping as the sand has migrated to numerous areas of the playground causing an addtional safety hazard.

Another parent called the new sand "uncomfortable" after sitting on the edge of the wall while watching her child play in sand box.

The sand has not only migrated out of the sandboxes but also outside of the play areas  creating a long dangerous trail along the sidewalk. Presumably the Parks Department will clean up this additional safety hazard.

Not SandSational. Fresh sand means another thing for park users in Riverside Park.  Volunteers installed the sand on May 6th - five days ago -  in an event sponsored by the Riverside Park Conservancy and the Parks Department.   

A Mess.  New sand has spilled out along the park sidewalk for blocks creating a safety hazard for all park goers.

(Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Second Body Found In Central Park Waters Within 24 Hours - Criminality Not Expected

Police stand guard at the park entrance near 59th and 5th Avenue. Today's body was found thirty yards behind them in The Pond.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

For the second time in twenty-four hours a dead body was found floating in Central Park in what police say appear to be unrelated incidents.

This morning at 7:20 a.m., a Central Park Conservancy worker found a body in the Pond near E. 59th Street between 5 & 6th Avenue. 

The body was identified as 36-year-old Anthony Mcafee, a male black from the Bronx who was believed to be homeless. 

“It does not appear that this body has been in the water for any more than a week or two at the most,”  NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said at a press conference Wednesday morning in the park near The Pond. 

He said that there were no obvious signs of trauma on the body. 

The NYPD Crime Scene Unit near 59th and 5th Avenue. 

“There are some wildlife issues here,”  he said citing eye damage to the body caused by turtles that live in the pond. 

Yesterday the body of a badly decomposed unidentified naked man was found floating face down further uptown in the Reservoir around 12:oo p.m.  

   

A maintenance worker spotted the body in the water near East 87th Street and East Drive

a few feet away from the park’s popular jogging track.

The worker called police for help.

“In the last 24 hour period the bodies of two males were recovered in separate bodies of water inside Central Park, "  Chief of Detectives Boyce said.  

The body found yesterday appears to have been there at least a month, he said.

The second body found today had, “very little decomposition” compared to the first body. 

 “We don’t believe there is criminality in either one of these cases right now because there is no trauma to the bodies,” Boyce said.

The City Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy to determine the causes of death. 

Police Investigating Multiple Incidents At Trump's Bronx Golf Course

Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates.    

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

The NYPD are investigating multiple incidents at the Ferry Point Bronx Golf Course operated by the Trump Organization.

Yesterday morning two men used a chainsaw to cut down four, 30-foot trees.

Surveillance footage captured the two climbing over the fence  at the corner of Robinson Avenue and Miles Avenue, police said.

Police recovered the chain saw left behind by the suspects.

Trees were also cut down in February.

On April 15th at 10 a.m. a groundskeeper found graffiti written on a flag marking the 16th hole. Written in marker were the words “f*ck Trump” along with two U-Tube accounts “LAZ nation” and “AaronJacobTV."

The 45 Pct. is investigating as a case of criminal mischief.

A Bronx man with 38 prior arrests is wanted for trespass on the Trump golf course stemming from an incident in December. 

On December 19, at  5:18 p.m. police responded to a call of an abandoned U-Haul truck parked at lot inside the golf course. A nearby Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) employee said he saw a man climb under the fence and enter the golf course. 

Around the same time, an employee of the course encountered a man inside the pro shop claiming his father was a Trump fan and he was looking for a gift for his dad.

The man left without making a purchase.

Police identified the man who rented the truck as Mario Dissaro, 29 of 3215 Fairmount Avenue, in the Bronx.

Police showed his picture to both the TBTA worker and the pro shop employee and both identified him.

Dissaro has 38 prior arrests including arrests for grand larceny, burglary, assault, robbery and aggravated harassment.

He is being sought for the latest incident for criminal trespass.

East River Seawall Collapses Near Gracie Mansion After Deferred Maintenance

On Friday a fifty-foot section of the esplanade in Carl Schurz Park crumbled into the East River. The section is yards away from the Mayor's residence.   The adjacent section of the seawall collapsed during Hurricane Irene in November 2012.  The wall was built in 1934.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge


Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

Residents and advocates have long complained about the deplorable condition of the East and Harlem River Esplanade up to 125th Street.

The City's decades long neglect of its waterfront infrastructure came sharply into public view over the weekend when a fifty-foot long section of sea wall collapsed near Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence since 1942,  eight years after the wall was built.

On Friday between 1 and 2 pm the section of the esplanade crumbled into the East River in Carl Schurz Park leaving park users shocked and unnerved.

City officials cordoned off the area with metal barriers and caution tape and have stationed NYPD and PEP officers round the clock.

Now that the wall collapsed and created a serious safety hazard near Gracie Mansion and generated intense media attention the city said it would be "expediting" the repairs.

It will spend $ 15 million dollars to repair the seawall within a several block radius according to the Parks Department,  phase one of a $ 40 million dollar allocation for repairs.



Looking North.  Metal barriers,  caution tape and round the clock police now stand guard.


Monday morning employees from The Department of Design and Construction were seen inspecting the area.

The Parks Department trotted out architect Kevin Quinn to speak to the media. He was accompanied by three employees from the press office.  Therese Braddick, Deputy Commissioner for Capital Projects for NYC Parks took off just before Quinn spoke to the media.

Quinn said the decades-long neglect and resulting safety hazards of its waterfront infrastructure wasn't due to city neglect.

Multiple media outlets said the Parks Department press office tried to blame the collapse on Friday's rain.

The city was forced to repair a large section of the seawall adjacent to Friday's that had collapsed during Hurricane Irene in November 2012.




November 2012 - The city was forced to repair a large section of the seawall adjacent to Friday's which had collapsed during Hurricane Irene. 


November 2012 - A section of railing and its foundation in the East River.


The very next section also crumbled into the East River several years ago and instead of fixing it the city erected construction fencing which has also fallen into the East River.

May 8, 2017.  An adjacent section of the esplanade collapsed years ago. Instead of fixing it the city erected construction fencing which has also now fallen into the river. Now that a large section of wall collapsed closer to Gracie Mansion and generated intense media attention the city said it would be "expediting"  the repairs.


















East 90th Street, Carl Schurz Park   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge


In November we reported on a large section of the esplanade near 113th Street that had further collapsed, more than five years after the city delayed repairing it.

November 2016 -  Harlem River Esplanade collapse,  E. 113th Street.

Read /View More:

Crumbling Wall at Popular NYC Waterfront Park Sparks New Concern
WNBC -  May 8, 2017 - By Andrew Siff

Part Of Seawall Near Gracie Mansion Collapses Into River
WCBS - May 8, 2017

East River wall collapse part of bigger problem

Fox5 NY - May 8, 2017 -  By Kaylam Mamelak 

De Blasio can’t even keep Gracie Mansion from falling apart

New York Post - May 7, 2017- By Jazmin Rosa, Julia Marsh and Max Jaeger 

Harlem River Esplanade Collapsing

A Walk In The Park - November 7, 2016  - By Geoffrey Croft

Police Seek Man In Shooting of Boy, 12 In Bronx Playground

Nicholas Joseph is wanted for questioning in connection to the shooting of a 12-year old boy shot inside Story Playground on April 28th.

Bronx

By Geoffrey Croft

Police are looking to question a Bronx resident in connection to the shooting of a 12-year old boy inside Story Playground on April 28th.

Nicholas Joseph,  18, 180lbs., 5'11", medium complexion, brown eyes, brown hair, lives directly across the street from the playground where the boy was shot.

On Friday, April 28, 2017 a little after 5pm,  an individual discharged a firearm inside the park, striking the victim in the left hip. 

The victim was removed to Jacobi hospital by EMS in stable condition.  

The individual fled the location in an unknown direction.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COMor texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Mayhem - Girl, 15 Beaten & Robbed, Two Other Teens Robbed By Gun Point In Separate Incidents

Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

It was Mayhem inside Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday as police were forced to clear sections of the park for a large disorderly group.

A 15-year-old girl (Brooklyn resident) was attacked by seven unknown teens who punched and kicked her as she was leaving the park. She was jumped after getting into a fight with a female black inside the park at 3:30 p.m. near Doughty Street and Furhman Streets.

They knocked her to the ground, beat her and took her I-phone and metro card.

The victim was taken to Downstate Medical Center for treatment for facial injuries and released.

A few hours later two teens were robbed at gun point inside the park near Columbia Street and Jorelemon Streets. 

The 16 and 18 year-old victims were inside the park at 6:00pm when they were approached by a group of 12 males that demanded their property. 

One assailant kicked the 18-year-old in the back and another punched the other victim in the face. One member of the gang pulled out a silver pistol and repeatedly demanded property.

They took a belt and an I phone from the victims and fled.

Police have since stepped up patrols in and around the park.