Greenacre Park

Greenacre Park
(2018)
Greenacre Park is located in Manhattan
Greenacre Park
Greenacre Park is located in New York City
Greenacre Park
Greenacre Park is located in New York
Greenacre Park
Greenacre Park is located in the United States
Greenacre Park
Location217 E. 51st St., New York, New York
Coordinates40°45′22″N 73°58′09″W / 40.756206°N 73.969248°W / 40.756206; -73.969248
Built1971[1]
NRHP reference No.100002076
Added to NRHPFebruary 2, 2018[2]

Greenacre Park is a privately owned, publicly accessible vest-pocket park located on East 51st Street between Second and Third Avenues in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

Background

The park, which is owned by the Greenacre Foundation, was a 1971 gift from philanthropist Abby Rockefeller Mauzé, daughter of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and granddaughter of John D Rockefeller.[3]

The park was designed by Hideo Sasaki, former chairman of Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard, in consultation with architect Harmon Goldstone. The 6,360-square-foot (591 m2) park was assembled from three lots, which had previously been occupied by a store, a garage, and part of a synagogue. It features a 25-foot (7.6 m) waterfall, a trellis with heat lamps for chilly days, chairs and tables, as well as honey locust trees, azaleas, and pansies, which together attract an average of 700 visitors a day.[3]

In 1980, when a planned building would have blocked the park's sunlight, a campaign was launched to block the construction of the building. The park was analysed in the influential 1980 film and book by William H. Whyte about public places in Manhattan called The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.

In May 2017, a city rezoning plan, which would allow the building of taller buildings nearby the park, caused a controversy when the Greenacre Foundation claimed that the taller buildings would put the park in shadow a great deal of time. A city shadow study indicated that the park would not be adversely affected by the rezoning, but a study commissioned by the Foundation claimed that buildings on six particular sites could put the park completely in the dark; because of this the Foundation called for height limitations on those sites. Their "Fight for Light" campaign was supported by the Municipal Art Society, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, New Yorkers for Parks, and Daniel R. Garodnick, the city councilman in whose district the park is located.[3] The rezoning plan was approved by the City Council in August 2017.[4]

In 2018, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "5 Rockefeller Brothers Gather as Sister Opens a Vest‐Pocket Park". The New York Times. October 15, 1971. p. 24.
  2. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Weekly List: February 2, 2018" (PDF). U.S. National Park Service. February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Hu, Winnie (May 22, 2017) "A Tiny Park Fights for Sunlight Among New York City Skyscrapers" The New York Times
  4. ^ "Mayor de Blasio and Council Member Garodnick Announce Adoption of Greater East Midtown Rezoning" (Press release). Office of the Mayor of New York City. August 9, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
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