Historical Photos Of LES Park On Display At Neighborhood Event

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Neighborhood groups are hosting a community event to celebrate the history of Sara D. Roosevelt Park and its future — particularly as Lower East Siders anticipate a derelict city storage space could be made public once again.

The Pratt Center for Community Development, Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition and other groups are hosting the Stanton Building Neighborhood Action Exhibition & Gathering at Downtown Art, 70 East Fourth St., Wednesday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Archival photos from the Department of Parks & Recreation collected by the Pratt Center for Community Development will be on display — uncovering the vibrant history of the park.

"This is a celebration of not only what the past has been and the history of the park, but what our future is," said Keena Suh, the professor at the Pratt Institute who has been collecting historical photos for the event.

Suh is also calling on neighbors to submit their own photos from the park and its buildings, such as the Stanton St. building — a derelict building used as city storage space that was once a community center.

"There are very few images of the community in the interior of the building," Suh said. One image from the 1940s shows boys playing ping-pong, she said. Another shows what used to be a wading pool in the summer and an ice rink in the winter at the park.

"There was a year-round vibrancy to the park," she said. "These historic images show how the community was actively using the park."

One night only! @NYCParks archival photos, Keena Suh @prattcenter reimagined #StantonBldg, @roni_sue chocolate, @cecicelanyc pastry! Thx to: @CM_MargaretChin @UnivSettlement @GreenMap @_FABnyc!@NY4P @LESReadyNYC @eastriverallies @CorlearsHookLES @THECITYNY @sydneyp1234 @LoDownNY pic.twitter.com/AgxZCZw9GD
— K Webster (@Bowerygals) April 1, 2019

Though the event will feature photos from the entire park, the exhibition comes after years of advocacy to return the Stanton St. building in particular back to community use from its current use as city storage space. The park's neighborhood coalition, led by longtime Lower East Sider K Webster, has been advocating for the building to be returned for community use since the 1990s.

In recent months, public bathroom renovations at the building began, and the local councilmember Margaret Chin's deputy chief-of-staff announced at a community board meeting the Parks Department was officially looking at spaces to relocate its supplies currently stored there.

Courtesy of Keena Suh

Suh's students at a Pratt interior design class are also working on proposals to envision what the building could be, emphasizing social and climate resiliency principles in their designs. The students will be taking feedback from neighbors at Wednesday's event.

If you have images or stories from Sara D. Roosevelt Park, send them to connect@stantonpublic.nyc. Suh is seeking images from the interior of any of the buildings of the park, as so few are in public records, she said. But images don't need to be historic to qualify — she's collecting various Sara D. Roosevelt Park images to be archived with the People's LES.