BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | It is time for summertime splishing and splashing — and the newly resurfaced kiddie pool at Clement Clarke Moore Park at W. 22nd Street and 10th Avenue is ready for the task.
The pool, which the Parks Department had been working on for several months, has been completely resurfaced, said Allen Oster, chair of the parks committee for the West 400 Block Association.
“They were going to do a quick fix, but they thought better to rip the whole thing off and then just start fresh,” said Oster in a phone interview.
The pool was broken up and sinking a bit, he explained, but has now been leveled out, and a new floor has been installed. The water was turned on last weekend.
At the pool’s corners, there are two fountains shaped like seals that spray kids, who can jump around and run underneath. In the past few years, parents have nicknamed it “Seal Park,” Oster said.
Named for the Chelsea founding father who penned “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” Clement Clarke Moore Park wasn’t always so kid friendly.
“When they first reconfigured the park in the early to mid-’80s, it had a different complexion to it — there was no fencing around it,” Oster said. “It was a pretty rough park and it sort of represented the nature of the neighborhood.”
The block association joined the Parks Department to push for a renovation — reflective of how more families were moving into Chelsea. Oster credits Dorothea McElduff — a lifelong Chelsea resident who passed away two years ago — as instrumental in transforming the park.
“She spearheaded the effort really to get the park shaped up — [got] it looking the way it looks now,” said Oster.
In the mid-’80s, the West 400 Block Association worked out an arrangement with the Parks Department in which it would help support and maintain two aspects of the park, he explained.
The block association’s dues pay for someone to lock up the park at night, which keeps it open a bit later for resident use during the summertime, he said. It also pays to maintain an irrigation system for the plantings, shrubs and trees.
The West 400 Block Association encompasses the north side of 21st, 22nd and the north side of 23rd St. between Ninth and 10th Aves. and is one of the oldest of its kind in the city, Oster explained, as it was founded in the ’50s.
It also has an affiliated group called Friends of the Park. Oster said the association encourages people, who might live outside of its boundaries, to join. Dues from that group also go to park maintenance, he said.
City Councilmember Corey Johnson has allocated approximately $1 million for capital improvements, which also includes parks in Hell’s Kitchen, and about $400,000 goes towards Clement Clarke Moore Park, said Oster. That money may be used to repair the drainage system or reconfigure some of the seating areas, said Oster.
The association will meet with the Parks Department to give them community feedback that could be incorporated into the scope of their work.
“We always need volunteers,” said Oster, who has lived on 22nd St. for over 15 years and has been a part of the association for several.
Over a year and a half ago, he recalled, people got together to scrape and then paint the fence around the park. Oster said they are always looking for ideas and input about the park and events to be held there.
Starting on June 27 and continuing every Saturday, free 11 a.m. “High Low Fitness” classes will be offered at the park as part of the citywide Shape Up NYC program. The classes, which include yoga, Pilates and Zumba, are for all levels of ability. A waiver must be signed before a participant can begin (access it at nyc.gov/parks).
Oster said he hopes for a big turnout.
“The park is really a centerpiece for the neighborhood,” said Oster. “It’s a well-used park. The neighborhood’s changed — more families moved in, more kids are here. It’s getting a lot of use and that’s a good thing.”
For more information, to submit ideas or to volunteer, contact Allen Oster at aoster@earthlink.net.
