For a year and three months, we have been living near the 110th Street/Cathedral Parkway (B/C) subway stop in Manhattan. On our way to and from the train we pass the traffic circle, the center of which has been in construction for SIX YEARS. The project commemorates abolitionist and all-around civil rights activist Frederick Douglass. Don't think the irony that the completion of this project took longer than the Civil War slipped past the NY Times.
The project, which began in 2004, was severely delayed, thanks to some underground infrastructure needs (old trolley tracks that needed removal; re-routing of pipes and electric, etc) and, no doubt, a bundle of bureaucratic red-tape, New York City-style. My favorite neighborhood blog, Harlem Bespoke, has been tracking progress, and posted the original plans, as presented six years ago. Residents and businesses had grown a bit perturbed as they waited for the eyesore to bloom into a mini park at the northwest entrance of THE park.
Here's what we've been looking at all this time:
Photo courtesy Harlem Condo Life
Mr. Douglass, cloaked in secrecy:
Image courtesy NY Times
Nice aerial taken from the Towers on the Park apartment complex
Image courtesy NY Times
So, you can imagine our excitement when we stepped off the train this evening to find a bustling new neighborhood hub:
Note the statue of Freddie D, uncovered and ready to represent (click on the image to make it larger):
I love that the residents of the neighborhood wasted no time making the little park their own. People coming from work, bikers, skateboarders and families stopped over to take a look. I can't wait to see it at night, when the fountain is on and lit up. Come visit us!
Quote in the title was stated by Frederick Douglass.
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