Columbia Daily Spectator - November 15, 2001
Columbia Spectator Online - Budget Cuts Worry Park's Supporters
Budget Cuts Worry Park's Supporters
Morningside Park may not be able to afford necessary maintenence, say its Friends.
By Zoe Galland
Andre Blacknall stood at the top of Morningside Park looking at a view that extended from the park's colorful trees all the way to Queens. "This is my park," he said, "my backyard."
The "backyard," however, is currently burdened with financial troubles. Recent city budget cuts have led the Friends of Morningside Park to worry about the park's future.
The park, wrote Friends President Doug Robinson in an e-mail, is understaffed and lacks the endowments and "resource cushions" of other New York parks, such as Central and Riverside. In addition, Morningside Park needs maintenance, and funding will soon run out for Blacknall, the park's community coordinator.
"Morningside Park is certainly one of the gems of upper Manhattan," Robinson wrote. "The Friends are committed to preserving this wonderful green space."
But Robinson said that the Friends need donations to help maintain the park.
Blacknall explained that New York's Parks Department allots money to Morningside Park for capital improvement, park maintenance, and programs.
"Money is important," he said, "but it takes a lot of volunteer effort to maintain the park."
Morningside Park's financial problems are part of a greater issue in public space funding, according to Robinson. "There has been a 15 percent budget cut across all city departments, and the Parks and Recreation department receives about .5 percent of city funds," Robinson said.
As the Friends fights for the park, they insist that it has come a long way. For many years, the park was notorious for what Blacknall termed "unwanted behavior." Numerous muggings and murders took place in the park, and Columbia students were often warned to steer clear of it.
The Friends of Morningside Park has worked to improve the area's image since Columbia student Thomas Kiel founded the organization in 1981. The Friends' mission is to "mobilize neighborhood residents, institutions, and resources for the improvement" of the park, as well as to "promote community events and activities that bring the surrounding neighborhoods together."
When Kiel died in a trail bike accident in 1996, membership in the Friends decreased and volunteers stopped coming. During this time Morningside Park's appearance worsened and its sense of community dwindled.
In 1998 and 1999, the Kaplan Foundation gave two grants to the Morningside Area Alliance to revive the park. Soon afterward, several members of the community expressed interest in reviving the Friends. By January 2000, a group of residents was gathering regularly, and an updated administrative system for the group had been put into place.
Blacknall said that this year, the Friends of Morningside Park has sponsored 18 activities. They included a Halloween Festival, a Double Dutch Jump Rope tournament, and puppet shows. On Oct. 20, the park hosted an event called "It's My Park Day." Over a hundred volunteers showed up to plant trees and clean up litter.
Morningside Park over the last few years has been frequented more by residents and students than it had been in the past. But it is not as popular as it could be. On a brisk, sunny November day, two Morningside Heights residents sat on a bench overlooking Morningside Park and spoke candidly about it.
"I ride by here on my bike," said Silvie Jensen, a Columbia graduate. "But I don't use the park a lot."
Tiferet Zimmern-Kahan, BC '05, said she found Morningside Park to be somewhat unwelcoming. "I go to Central Park a lot," Zimmern-Kahan said. "I don't usually come here."
Others feel differently. In Riverside Park, local residents were asked whether they preferred other parks to Morningside.
"I jog in Riverside Park because it's longer," said Megan Murphy, CC '02. But "Morningside Park is beautiful."
Federico Marulanda Rey, GSAS, said he believes Morningside Park's reputation is growing more and more innacurate. "I'm not denying [the park] has improved," Rey said.
But even before the Friends' revival efforts began two years ago, Rey said he thought the park to be "a lot better than people claimed it was."
Blacknall, the Friends' community director, is confident that both Morningside Park and the group will endure the economic crunch.
"Funding is a major issue," he said, "but our local citizens are rallying around our parks."
