Proposal That Could Add Gates for Washington Square Park Advances

The proposal to implement an alternative closure design at Washington Square Park passed a new full Community Board 2 vote on May 21.

In early May, CB2’s Parks and Waterfront Committee expressed its desire to consider options to replace the police barricades that are currently used to enforce the park’s curfew. The meeting drew citywide attention and controversy over the possibility of permanent gates.

Now, the discussion is advancing. The full community board 2 voted to send a recommendation to the Parks Department to draw up possible alternative designs.

As CB2’s Parks and Waterfront Committee Chair Rich Caccappolo emphasized, this doesn’t automatically mean gates for Washington Square Park. A range of closures, whether it be a chain or rope, is being considered.

“There’s no ulterior motive,” Caccappolo said. “We’re just trying to get some options on the table.”

However, several members of the board and public were upset that gates were still one of those options.

“I particularly a lot dislike the fact that in our resolution it mentions the possibility of gates because I think that is so contrary to what this board has agreed over the many years,” said Keen Berger, a CB2 member.

Upon Berger’s suggestion that the resolution be revised, Caccappolo said the language would stay as is.

“We spent a lot of time discussing it—hours of time discussing it and tried to capture all those thoughts in both the notes and the resolution,” Caccappolo said.

The preliminary discussion to consider a new closure for the park at the CB2’s Parks and Waterfront Committee meeting in early May lasted over two hours. Though many in attendance opposed the idea of gates, there were some supporters.

The park is closed from midnight to 6 a.m. In 2021, the park began enforcing this curfew through the use of police barricades following mounting complaints of loud late-night gatherings and debris in the park.

Many say the barricades are unappealing and are ineffective. George Vellonakis, who was the Washington Square Park Administrator from 2017 to 2021, said ornate gates would be a better solution.

However, several disagreed with this and said that permanent gates would be a hostile architecture, which discourages groups of people, such as the youth and the homeless individuals. This discourse continued into the Full Board meeting.

“None of this addresses why people are in the park overnight,” said Georgia Silvera Seamans, the director of the Washington Square Park Eco Projects. “Using a different type of gate infrastructure does not help solve the situation that people seem to be trying to solve. It just moves the problem somewhere else.”

Regardless, the resolution passed, with only six of the 50 members opposing it. The vote brings into clarity that, though the members may have contrasting opinions of what the new closure should be, many would like to see the police barricades replaced.

A new design would also have to be approved by the Landmarks Committee, as the park is in a historic district. Whatever type of gate the Parks Dept eventually draws up, that proposal would also have to go back before the full CB2 board as well.

At the meeting, Erika Sumner, president of the Washington Square Association, revealed some of the preliminary results of a poll the group conducted on the issue.

“Respondents overwhelmingly told us they want to be a part of this process,” Sumner said. “Across all viewpoints, the message was consistent. Neighbors want transparency, they want to be heard before decisions are made, and they want adequate time to engage.”