Greenacre Park Named Endangered Public Space

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Greenacre Park, a semi-secret oasis for Midtown Manhattan office workers, was declared an "endangered public space" Thursday by a nonprofit conservation organization.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation, based in Washington D.C., included Greenacre Park on "Landslide" — the group's annual list of threatened and at-risk landscapes, the organization announced. The small but serene park, which occupies a tiny sliver of a lot on East 51st street between Second and Third avenues, was called "a Modernist gem that could be engulfed in shadows," by the nonprofit.

Watch: Greenacre Park Named Endangered Public Space

Other spaces that were declared endangered in this year's list include Battery Park City, Chicago's Jackson Park, Boston Common and the entire New Orleans park system. The spaces face a variety of dangers such as real estate development, privatization and mining.

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Greenacre Park is threatened by a newly-passed rezoning of the surrounding East Midtown neighborhood to accommodate larger office developments. Conservation groups such as TCLF and the Greenacre Foundation, an organization responsible for park upkeep, have stated that the new office space could plunge the sidewalk oasis into darkness, which could doom the park's foliage and ruin its welcoming atmosphere.

The rezoning plan is expected to generate 6.8 million square feet in new commercial office space over the next 20 years, city officials said. An additional 6.6 million square feet of existing office space will be upgraded into Class A office space. Much of that new space will rise vertically, casting new shadows over Midtown Manhattan.

Read more about how Greenacre Park is fighting for light here.

Since TCLF started "Landslide" in 2013, more than 300 parks and public spaces have been highlighted. This year's selections were chosen from more than 200 applicants, the nonprofit group announced.

Photo by Patch