Seward Park Basketball Courts Hamstrung by ‘Absentee’ Contractor
Area youth will need to wait another couple months to play ball inside Seward Park. The current resurfacing job underway the last couple months is behind schedule.
Until yesterday, there had been almost no activity in the rear corner of the park for at least two weeks. The big boys came to play yesterday, though, with the arrival of Bobcats and backhoes.
Meanwhile, the city is not happy with the pace of progress. The Parks Department admitted as much to Community Board 3 earlier this month, noting that the absentee contractor of choice is somewhat of a disappointment (“not a great contractor”). Their attention is reportedly divided amongst several parks around the city, and has noticeably forsaken Seward Park of late.
The Seward Park basketball court was identified as one of four Manhattan sites eligible for reconstruction and resurfacing via $2.2 million in city funding. (In fact, three are located on the Lower East Side.) Chain-link fencing has sealed the perimeter for the duration of the project.
The revised reopening date is now set for sometime in July.
Recent Stories
The Ten-Story Development Now Atop the East Village’s Last Gas Station
It was the neighborhood’s last gas station to shutter. Now, it’s a ten-story luxury development. Foundation was first poured for 11 Avenue C way back in December 2016. The timeline upon its conception two years earlier was a fourteen-month construction period. As of this week, the superstructure is pretty much topped out. Rotwein + Blake […]
Eldridge Street’s Formosa Cafe Folds
Casual Taiwanese establishment, Formosa Cafe, is finished. The Eldridge Street hangout hung it up earlier this month. Token tombstone signage now hangs from the cartoony marquee. The Lower East Side location is survived by an outpost in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Formosa debuted at 34 Eldridge back in May 2015. It was a large, accommodating space […]
Bones Discovered at MTA Construction Site on Forsyth Street are Not Human
Yesterday morning, construction workers on Forsyth Street unearthed bones. A subsequent investigation determined that the remains were not human. As we’ve been reporting, the MTA is currently replacing the subway ventilation plant fifteen beneath the roadbed. Already in the works for three years, installation of this new Emergency Ventilation Plant isn’t slated to conclude until […]
Century-Old LaGuardia Bathhouse is Almost Gone [PHOTOS]
It sat vacant for four decades. Now, the long-abandoned LaGuardia Bathhouse is finished. A nub of its former self. Since our last checkup one month ago, the 1909 structure has lost most of its body. Removed brick by brick by men in cherry pickers. The mural on its western exposure – a depiction of Puerto […]
Dormant Red Mango on Allen Street Finally Gets a New Tenant
Red Mango closed its Lower East Side location on Allen Street four years ago. The space remained a dusty dormancy for the duration. Until this month; and henceforth, something completely unexpected. An interior decorator called APex New York that specializes in kitchen and bathroom fixtures. To be honest, this type of commercial occupant is not […]
