A. Philip Randolph Square Capital Project Under Consideration

After decades of cooperative agitation to improve conditions at A. Philip Randolph Square, the Manhattan Borough Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation delivered some promising news to the residents in Community District 10. A. Philip Randolph Square, the beloved green space located in Central Harlem South at the intersections of West 117th Street, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd., and St. Nicholas Avenue is being seriously considered by the Manhattan borough office for much needed capital improvements, so said Commissioner William Castro at last month's Parks Committee meeting. During his 30-minute presentation, the Commissioner told attendees that his office would be requesting $1.7 million in support from Councilman Bill Perkins and Borough President Gale Brewer to fund a capital project at the site that could take upwards of three years to complete.

At this time, the project has only been placed on the borough office's wish list, but the Parks Department, through its People Make Parks program, is working closely with the A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance, a progressive community-based planning organization, to develop a visioning plan with community stakeholders to gather ideas, desires, and concerns about this public space from a broad, diverse representation of the district through community engagement programming and exercises planned to begin this summer.

The A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance invites members of the community to join its Community Visioning Cohort for a series of five meetings, every Monday beginning April 1 at 100 Gold Street from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and dinner is provided. CB10 residents interested in participating in this working group must send a RSVP to aprsquare@gmail.com or call (917) 406-9187 to reserve a seat, Participants in the workshops must bring proper identification to enter the facility.

The A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance, Inc. is the parent company of the Friends of A. Philip Randolph Square, the Friends of the Harriet Tubman Memorial, and the Friends of Hancock Square (presently in formation), and it holds regular meetings on the fourth Friday of each month (except November and December) at the LeCretia Lamb Senior Center located at 146 St. Nicholas Avenue at West 117th Street (map).