The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-29
LABOR VAR HOLDS UPA PARK.
AND or, 1RE DEsAPPOINTMENT
on THE EAST SIDE.
Bach an Out.of.Doors Gymnasium In IL -
there Il Nowhere Eise--And THIS ana
the Park Are Ready. but 1here Can ne
No Opening TIL the Building 10 A'so'

There II Nowhere Eise-A"o s"'s $50
the Pax Are Ready. but there Can DC
No Opening TIL the Building 10 Also.
Tho building war is responsible for keen
and hitter disappointment on the East
o,d. Ths rea.on IL the refusal Of the
Park Department to open Seward park 70
~. ,ensmsnt dwellers until the park has
he.n oficiaIIy dedicated. This, the De-
partment has decided, cannot take place
until there Ia a proper place In ~hicn 70
hold the dedication ceremonies Inc
place selected Is the building which, when
oompleted, will stand on the east sioe Oh
the Park near Essex street.
Just At present this building, wnich u
TO cost $751; 900, is held up by the building
strike. No work to speak OF has been
done on It BY the contractor since May l.
when the several shutdowns OF building
operations began. None at all has been
done recently. The result Is that only
about half Of the first story Of the structure
has been built, and the mandate OF the
Park Department Is that not until TINS
Arst story 10 up. and q suitable place thus
provided for the ceremonies, can the PARK
be thrown open.
The dedication ceremonies were sched-
uled for June 9. At that time the building
vasin the state It is now, although the park
,t.elf WINS entirely finished and for two
months had been presenting it's trim green
.wnrd and ali the other delights provided
there by the city to the eyes OF the people
living around it. The opening date was
then put OF indefinitely and, as not BRICK
has been laid on the building since. the East
Siders are wondering il they will have to con-
tent themselves all summer with looking at
the park and its comforts through the iron
pAHngs. As the park contains things cal
culated to delight young and old hitherto
unprov ided in public parks, the situation is
naturally distressing to those outside the
fence.
The Park Department did have some
idea OF letting the people in the park for
three hours last Friday evening. when
hand concert was scheduled. Fully 10000
neople gathered around it and they wete
disappointed when it was decided to again
postpone the opening and the band gave
its concert outside the park in the square
At the dedication ceremonies, when they
do occur, Mayor Low and Gov Odell are
expected to be present, hence the desire
of the Park Department to provide shelter
for the exercises and keep the park as fresh
as possible. But until the building ue-up is
declared at an end there does not seem 10
be much prospect Of getting the building
finished, and Il was said Yesterday that it
would fake two weeks work at least to COM
plete the first story.
Although occupying only two and quar-
ter acres, Seward Park will be In many
vavs q unique park and one in which prob
ably more delight to the square yard will
be found than in any other park in the city,
large of small In the first place it has an
opefl-air gymnasium which is probably
without an equal. This gymnasium has
stoed complete for several months in full
view the 1Ss park skeetos
building Of steel rods has been constructed
and II, This are all the up-to-date appoint
ments Of perfect gymnasium. There are
parallel and horizontal bars. horizontal and
Vertical ladders. travelling rings two punch
panders and host OF other apparatus.
There are four sets OF nearly all these
things.
with ten laps to the mile. This and the
gymnasium are fenced Oh from the rest OF
the park. There are to be Two athletic
instructors and two glasses, one OF men
and one Of boys. The place is free to all.
but every one must take turns in exercising
With any particular apparatus.
On the other side OF the park is a similar
place FOR women and girls. only instead
Of endurance tests there are swings, tether
bails. May poles and sand piles. The park
will seat 2 600 persons and hold at the limit
10000. No more than that number will
be allowed in at any one time. although
the police pect that this number will want
to get into tile gymnasium alone as soon as
the park Is opened.
For weeks small boys and young men
have had their faces against the fence
looking at the gymnasium, and they show
their disappointment at the failure 10
complete the one obstacle TO the opening
OF it the first story OF the building The
same has been true up at the other end,
where scores OF swings Of the most modern
pattern stand waiting for s"ingers. For
n month several watchmen have been
1T their Wits end keeping out small boys
TO whom the temptation 10 try the appara-
tus has been almost too great to resist.
II is now more than four years since the
buildings were razed to make the park
and more than Two since the Park Depart
ment started TO lay out the park and tore
down the small gymnasium erected by the
Out Door Recreation League. That's why
the East Side finds it so hard TO wait anc
content itself on tenement roofs, while II
the park the swings are without swingers
the gymnasium without eymnasts and thu
seata without sittcrs, all because OF thu
labor war