The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-26
MISUSE or THE CITY PARKS
CENTRAL PARK SHABBINESS
Due TO PUBLIC INDIFFERENCE.


THE present shabby condition Of Central
Park seems TO be due entirely TO the Lack
Of genuine interest shown by the people
themselves in the preservation OF his
most beautiful breathing spot said a
veteran employee OF the landscape garden
ing department the other day. 1T 10 enough
10 break ones heart 10 see the way In
which this almost perfect pbeoe OF land
scape architecture Is allowed to get sloppy
and down at the heels, TO ave It's roads
ruined by the chains OF automobile wheels.
its ponds and lakes made stagnant and
filled with sewage and its lawns devastated
by taoUghtless crowds.
If the soil was not 80 light IL would not
makeamuch difference how many children
and grown people were allowed to romp
over the lawns, but under the circlm-
anc In order 70 preserve the beauty
Of the park rigid restrictions should be
maintained all through the season for the
preservation of the sod. People do not
seem to appreciate what are the true
purposes Of parks in crowded cities.
y PARKS In my estimation are merely
places for rest and recreation, and the
nearer " nature they conform the better
adapted they are for the purposes for
which they are created. In spite OF the
great beauty OF Central Park and the
evident intention Of it's designers TO make
il as restful as possible our people have
make IL largely a great parade ground for
the rich in their carriages and automobiles
and a loafng place for petty crooks and
men and women out OF work
Automobiles. particularly those with
rhoina nm thH firaa dhnulh nauar ha NOR
mitted in the park and the commissioner
who attempted to prohibit all machines
showed that, although he had to yield in
the end, he appreciated in a measure the
urposes for which breathing places like
Central Park are or ought TO be maintained.
One does not go there to be choked by
foul gases or to watch touring cars tear by
at a speed that is a menace to life and limb.
They get al they want Of that kind OF ex-
citement in other parts of the city.
How homogeneous it is when you stop
to think about it TO see these huge machines
racing through scenes Of great natural
beauty which were designed with an eye
single to quiet restfulness. The bull in
the china shop is quite mild in comparison.
Yet in pleasant weather hose who seek
the park to rest or to study nature find
it difficult to get out OF the range Of these
malodorous flyers. They are ubiquitous, and
often the air is befouled for half an hour
by a single machine.
1T is curiou also what impressions
many people have, some Of them otherwise
intelligent enough, about the use Of parks.
In a crowded city like New York, for in
stance, where real estate is so exceedingly
valuable, many hard headed business men
cannot see why 80 much valuable space Is
left u~nimproved, 80 that when there 10
any talk about a new building there are
always those who advocate putting 1t in q
park, thus saving the price OF a site.
Our little City Hall Park lis a striking
example Of this. 1t was mont too large
when it extended to Ann street on the
south and free and clear TO Chambers street
ON the north to show the graceful and i'm
pressive lines Of the City Hall. But the
vandals descended upon it and, like their
progenitors Of old, grass never grew again
where their horses trod.
Instead in the open space there sprang
such architectural m~onstrosities as the
d~ungeonlike Federal Buildingand theT Tweed
court house. not to say anything about the
hideous brownstone building and the ram
shaokle fire station. The fire station is now
gone, as is the rickety old structure that
used to house all the valuable records OF
the city.
They would be standing yet II the ne
c~essities of the subway construction had
not compelled their demolition. As for the
Federal Building, the Government of course
will never restore the site to park purposes.
and it will likely DO years and years before
a new court house Is built.
1T was a penny wise and pound foolish
idea, gwen from a material standpoint. to
DESTROY tho beauty of the space around
the City Hall. for had the municipal officials
granted sites elsewhere the property taken
for the buildings would by this time have
increased enormously In value. And then
To these were added the twin eyesores
on the Mail street side.
But the spirit Of vandalism, as far as
parks are concerned, seems TO be ever
rampant in the most thickly settled parts
OF Manhattan, where these breathing spots
are most needed. l AVE watched the
growth OF the small park system and /
have rejoiced in its extension, but it axe
me rather sad to see the uses some Of them
are put to.
sThe edge Of one of them was used for a
long time as a fish market for pushcart
peilers, and The odor that arose from their
wares and refuse grew finally 30 sickenfng
mat u threatened 10 poison the atmosphere
of the whole neighborhood. Nice use
for a park, isn't It?
"The politicians, who pose as the friends
Of the pee-pul. fought for the retention
~ this filthy market in the park. but the
pressure brought by the settlement people
and other East Side workers finally COM
PEELED the officials to put the fish market
under the Williamsburg Bridge.
"0ther email parks are taken up With
apparatus for athletic exercises in spite
OF the fact that a large proportion OF the
people for whose benefit these parks were
designed. such as women. girls small
children, can't use the apparatus.
Il can we'll remember the persistence
with which small parks In the oongested
sections were fought when the idea was
first advanced. Whatever credit there 10
for the scheme belongs almost entirely
TO Jacob A. Riis, who was then a Police
Headquarters reporter. II was his courage
and patience that was responsible for the
erection Of the first small park, which 10 at
Mulberry Bend.
Not only did this afford q breathing
place In one Of the most crowded eections
OF the city. but IL made imperative the tear
ing Town Of a row Of tenements that were
the most prolific breeders Of crime in the
metropolis. But the idea Ia making slow
progress comparatively. There ought %
lie more OF these parks devoted purely