Big Changes Coming To Ruppert Park As $8.9M Revamp Begins

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — After years of delays, the $8,894,000 project to redesign Ruppert Park — the much-loved but awkwardly laid-out green space in the heart of Yorkville at East 90th Street and Second Avenue — will begin construction on Monday.

The first phase of the renovation will start on Monday and last until summer 2027, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation officials said at a Community Board 8 meeting on Thursday night.

"After that lengthy delay, the project is expected to take one year, and so we'll be completing the first phase of the work in Summer 2027 — that's next summer," Eric Boorstyn, the Deputy Commissioner for Capital Projects, said during the meeting.

As it stands now, the park’s four-leaf-clover layout splits the space into four distinct sections, one of which is a grass-free stretch that has since been converted into an unofficial dog run.

Elsewhere, the park faces a range of challenges, including overgrown plantings that limit sunlight and draw insects, too few places to sit, persistent rat activity, aging playground equipment, and uneven terrain that makes parts of the park difficult to access.

Phase 1 of the renovation will add several new playground structures, nine swings and several water features for children ages 6 months through 12 years, as well as a revamped seating area and a dog park with top-of-the-line turf.

The park will also have a dedicated passive lawn and new landscaping that includes rat-deterring plants like Catmint, which is a grassy green-grey foliage with spikes of purple flowers.

As part of the renovation, the park’s steep hill will be regraded into a gentler slope to improve accessibility and meet requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Boorstyn said. The playground equipment will have accessible ground-level elements for kids with disabilities as well.

Once the park's renovation is complete, the city will build a $4,500,000 public restroom in the southeast corner of the park, starting in the fall of 2027 and ending in the spring of 2029 as part of phase 2.

Over the summer, a community group formed to advocate for a dedicated exercise space for older adults, which was added to the park's blueprint for phase 2.

“We've gone back and modified that seating area off Second Avenue, and the new design shows what we've come back with," Boorstyn said. "We removed some of the vegetation that was on the left-hand side, and created this form of multi-purpose exercise area."

The exercise area will include a water bottle filler, electrical outlets, and will be outlined with a mix of steel fencing and cement seating, Boorstyn said.

The exercise area will span approximately 2,000 square feet and can also hold up to 200 seats for performances and events.

The park occupies the former site of the Jacob Ruppert & Company brewery, which closed in 1965 and was replaced by the Ruppert Towers apartment complex, as well as the park, which opened in 1979.

Ruppert Park remains one of the few reminders of Yorkville’s roots as a German immigrant enclave.

The design process for the renovation started in October 2021 and was meant to last until October 2022, but the design wasn’t finalized until June 2023, according to the department's Capital Plan Tracker.

Then, the procurement phase — the process of hiring contractors — started in June 2023, and was supposed to be finalized by June 2024, but was finalized in May 2026.

Park officials said that, once the phase 1 reconstruction of the park is complete in September 2027, the park will partially reopen and close off the southeast section of the park for construction.

City officials anticipate that the park will be fully reopened to the public in spring 2029.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.

Previous coverage:

• Ruppert Park's Latest Redesign Adds Dog Run, Pleasing UES Board
• Design Unveiled For Upper East Side's New Ruppert Park: See It
• Upper East Side's Ruppert Park To Get Major Renovation
• Ruppert Park's Big Renovation On UES Gets $8.9M Boost