The park was designed byHideo Sasaki, former chairman of Department of Landscape Architecture atHarvard, 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 byWilliam H. Whyte about public places in Manhattan calledThe 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 theMunicipal Art Society,Manhattan Borough PresidentGale 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 theCity Council in August 2017.[4]
Media related toGreenacre Park at Wikimedia Commons
