| Robert Moses Playground | |
|---|---|
 Synthetic turf field at the park in 2023 | |
 Interactive map of Robert Moses Playground | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York, US |
| Coordinates | 40°44′54″N73°58′11″W / 40.748232°N 73.96966°W /40.748232; -73.96966 |
| Area | 1.3 acres (0.53 ha) |
| Opened | 1941 |
| Operated by | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
Robert Moses Playground is a 1.3-acre (0.53 ha)playground andpark inManhattan,New York City. It is located in theMurray Hill neighborhood onFirst Avenue between 41st and42nd streets, immediately south of theheadquarters of the United Nations. The park is named for New York's "master builder"Robert Moses, the former head of theTriborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (which constructed the playground as part of the construction of theQueens–Midtown Tunnel), who later advocated to save the park when a skyscraper was proposed on the site in the early 1980s.
The block the park is located on was originally obtained fromConsolidated Edison in 1937 as part of theQueens–Midtown Tunnel construction.[1] Land for public park purposes was subsequently donated to the city in exchange for the taking of a portion of St. Gabriel's Park (now namedSt. Vartan Park) for an approach roadway providing access to the tunnel.[2][3] The park itself was completed in 1941 and shares the block with the largeventilation building for the tunnel.
To accommodate the construction of the south portal for the tunnel that runs on First Avenue adjacent to the United Nations headquarters, a 28-foot-wide (8.5 m) strip of land was removed from the western edge of the park to widen First Avenue in the late 1940s (the street widening also resulted in the establishment of two new parks on the west side of First Avenue between 41st and 43rd streets, which are now namedTrygve Lie Plaza andRalph Bunche Park).[4][5]
A bill naming the park after Robert Moses was signed into law by New York City MayorEd Koch on January 27, 1982, after theCity Council had voted to name the park after him earlier that month.[6][7] Moses had advocated to save the asphalt playground on the western portion of the park from the development of a 45-story skyscraper on the site a few months before his death on July 29, 1981.[7][8][9]
The asphalt playground on the west side of the park was often used forroller hockey, and the East End Hockey Association had been organizing games at the site since 1972.[10] This asphalt playground was replaced by asynthetic turf field in July 2021 to improve existing parks due to the temporary loss of park space during construction of the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency project.[11] A renovation of the playground on the eastern side of the park was completed in 1998 and included the addition ofArt Deco silhouettes of a dozen of Moses' projects along the fence.[12]
There have been four attempts to take the park's land for building projects, three of which have been associated with expansion of the United Nations.
By the late 1960s, the United Nations was facing overcrowding at its headquarters complex and was leasing office space in other nearby buildings, but intended to build a new office building to the south of its present site on the block between 41st and 42nd streets.[13] Near the end of 1969, plans were developed for an eight-story office building that would occupy nearly the entire block occupied by the playground, wrapping around the tunnel's ventilation building, and include a bridge across 42nd Street to connect with the remainder of the United Nations complex. To offset the loss of the playground, a new 3-acre (1.2 ha) park was to be constructed on pilings above theEast River from 38th to 43rd streets, with the northern portion reserved for the use of the United Nations staff and the southern portion open to the public.[14][15][16] Additional office space for the United Nations was eventually added across from its complex on the west side of First Avenue atOne United Nations Plaza andTwo United Nations Plaza, which were completed in 1975 and 1983, respectively.[17][18]
In 1979, a proposal was made by the city to swap the western portion of the park's land with private parks inTudor City, enablingHarry Helmsley to construct a skyscraper on the site in exchange for converting the private parks in Tudor City into public parks (which Helmsley had planned to develop with buildings).[19][20] Helmsley had previously proposed a similar type of land swap to build a 50-story apartment building on the city-owned park at the northwest corner of First Avenue and 42nd Street (Ralph Bunche Park), but that plan ran into opposition from community groups and elected officials.[19][21][22] The subsequent proposal was approved by theCity Planning Commission but was opposed by a number of groups, including the East End Hockey Association, which had gained the support of Robert Moses in their fight to save the park.[9][20][23] Although the proposal was initially supported by Mayor Ed Koch, he changed his mind when appraisals showed that the public parkland was more valuable than the private parks in Tudor City.[24] The land swap proposal was vetoed by theBoard of Estimate in 1981.[7]
In 2002, a proposal was made by the city to allow for the United Nations to construct a skyscraper on the western portion of the park's land that would be connected to its existing campus via a tunnel under 42nd Street. The new building would have been used as swing space during renovation of theSecretariat Building and would have subsequently been used by the United Nations as additional office space. The loss of parkland was proposed to be offset by the construction of a new park in the form of an expansion of theEast River Greenway alongside the United Nations campus. This proposal was rejected by theNew York State Legislature in 2005.[25][26][27]
The most recent proposal to take the park's land for a building was raised by the United Nations in June 2010. Under this deal, the city would then expand the nearby East River Greenway to compensate for the loss of this park.[28] On December 8, 2010,Manhattan Community Board 6 gave their support to this plan, providing that the esplanade was expanded.[29] In March 2011, the city gave approval to move ahead with a feasibility study for this project as part ofMayor Bloomberg'sVision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan.[30][31] If agreed by the city and the heads of both houses of the New York State Legislature, theUnited Nations Development Corporation could begin preliminary planning for a new office tower, which could be no taller than the 505-foot (154 m) tall Secretariat Building. The UN would pay the city at least $65 million for the park. The plan was opposed by some residents of Tudor City, which is across the street from the park.[32]
On October 5, 2011, the city and state reached an agreement to use the western portion of Robert Moses Playground for an expansion of the United Nations campus. In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation would pay $73 million to fund the development of the East River esplanade between 38th and 60th streets.[33] To make up for the loss of parkland, the City would convertAsser Levy Place into parkland.[34]
As of 2021, the new tower was no longer being considered as an option by the UN, which also reneged on its previous promise to fund the extension of the greenway.[35]
CB6 passed a resolution on Wednesday supporting the UN takeover of Robert Moses Park as long as they get what they want in return. They know getting a replacement park won't be easy, and they don't want small pocket parks.
Rep.Carolyn Maloney secured $475,000 in federal funding from the Surface Transportation Program and state funding from the Department of Environmental Conservation for a feasibility study of the engineering, design, landscaping and other planning related to the new esplanade for her East Side district.
