Beaten-Up Riverside Park Path Repaved In Harlem

HARLEM, NY — Efforts by the Riverside Park Conservancy to revamp neglected park areas in Upper Manhattan have already borne fruit: this week, a beaten-up path leading to a popular neighborhood garden was repaved, the Conservancy announced.

The path at 138th Street leads down to Jenny's Garden, a beloved community garden that has served Harlem for decades. Work began last Wednesday on the path, which was "in dire need of repair," and wrapped up less than a week later thanks to a neighbor's donation, the Conservancy said on Twitter.

The improvement is among the newest projects undertaken as part of the North Park Initiative, a major campaign to spruce up stretches of Riverside Park in Harlem and Washington Heights.

First announced in 2009, the initiative got renewed attention this year during the coronavirus pandemic, when the Conservancy announced it had canceled its traditional fundraising gala and would instead seek to raise money for the North Park initiative.

Organizers plan to improve decaying infrastructure stretches of the park between 120th to 155th Streets as well as Fort Washington Park through 181st Street in Washington Heights, which serve neighborhoods that are predominantly Black and Latino and have higher poverty rates than the majority-white Upper West Side.

Later this week, the Conservancy plans to unveil another component of the North Park Initiative: a new Bike Education Center at 158th Street, built in partnership with Bike New York.

Related coverage: Riverside Park To Revamp Neglected Areas In Harlem, Wash Heights