As we’ve noted before, our neighbor parks have received a lot of attention under Mayor DeBlasio’s “Community Parks Initiative.” The signs of which are already apparent at Sol Lain and Henry M Jackson parks, now fenced of and largely removed of their internal features.
Commissioner Silver speaking at the groundbreaking for Sol Lain and Henry M Jackson Parks
Construction of the new features is imminent (see designs below) and so this past Friday a collective groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the occasion. Several of the local organizers who use the parks were in attendance as well as the sister of Garcia Field’s namesake, which is the ball field inside Sol Lain.
Parks Commissioner Silver (pictured) mentioned that his department is continuing to work at streamlining the construction process–apparently these two projects are both two months ahead of schedule. Hopefully, this means good things for Gulick Park.
However, because a large portion of our funding came through the NY State Dept of Transportation, they are vetting the designs and construction documents in a manner that is slowing down the project, compared to one entirely city funded.
Still our own park will see work begin on the bathroom late this fall, perhaps November, and full construction should begin between March and June of 2017. Until then, please save the date of October 23rd for our final It’s My Park Day celebration before Gulick temporarily closes. We’ll have pumpkins and face painting and more.
Henry M Jackson Design
Sol Lain Design