Washington Square Park Makeover Under Fire

Jul 25, 2005 2:45 pm US/Eastern

(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) Greenwich Village residents opposed to the city's plans for a $16 million makeover of Washington Square Park have filed a lawsuit to block the renovation.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Manhattan State Supreme Court, charges that the planned redesign, which includes moving the fountain about 20 feet to the east to align with the Washington Arch, is arbitrary and capricious.

"The park's designers made plazas purposely asymmetrical according to what is known as Olmstead's naturalistic design theory espoused by Frederick Law Olmstead,'' the lawsuit says, citing the designer of Central Park.

Shira Strassman, a spokeswoman for the City Law Department, said the city has received the legal papers for the case and is evaluating them.

The path toward renovation of the historic park has been bumpy. Responding to public outcry, the City Parks Department backed down from a plan to place a fence and gate around the park. The redesign now calls for a short fence but no gate.

But the Emergency Coalition to Save Washington Square Park, the group that filed the lawsuit, says the redesign is unnecessary and would interfere with use of the park during the two years it would take to complete.

In addition to neighborhood organizations, the plaintiffs include Robert Nichols, the landscape designer of the previous Washington Square Park renovation 35 years ago, and Karen Kramer, the filmmaker whose documentary "The Ballad of Greenwich Village'' was recently released.

Washington Square Park was built in the 1820s on the site of a former potter's field.
New York University graduates march under the arch each year to participate in commencement.

That's So New York