* COLUMBUS PARK PAVILION RESTORA

* COLUMBUS PARK PAVILION RESTORATION PROJECT *

Pigeons or People?

HISTORY

The Columbus Park Pavilion, originally built in 1897 during the administration of Mayor William L. Strong was allowed by the City of New York to deteriorate and become home for hundreds of pigeons. The Pavilion having been closed for the past 30 years, is finally being restored largely due to the efforts of NYC Parks & Recreation, City elected officials , Lower Manhattan Development Council (LMDC) and Friends of Columbus Park. In the past the building primarily was used for Chinese cultural performances and activities. Since then, it has long been neglected and an ugly sore in the Chinatown community.

Plaque in Front of the Pavilion The Pavilion -Closed for 30 Years & left to decay

Upper Loggia of Pavilion - OPEN to the Outdoor Elements Roof of the Pavilion

Entrance to Lower Level Inside the Pavilion - Lower Level

Outside of the Pavilion - Seniors and Community Residents Play Cards and Games

Why is the Pavilion SO IMPORTANT?

The Pavilion is so important because of WHAT IT CAN BECOME? Many of us can only imagine the Pavilion being used by the community. It’s been closed for so long. Our vision is to have the Pavilion available for community use. Allowing us to all share in the benefit of having a building in the park, a place for public town meetings, year round structured activity, a centralized place for dispersement of Community & Public information and having a cornerstone that tourist and visitors can visit. The Pavilion will force NY Chinatown to work together. Encourage community to become partners with the NY Parks Dept. & the City of NY. Providing great benefit to NY Chinatown.

How it all Began?

September 5^th, 2001: led by City Councilman elect Alan J. Gerson and concerned community groups. This conference was held in front of the Columbus Park Pavilion, NY Chinatown on September 5th, 2001. The conference was held to bring public awareness of the horrible conditions of the pavilion. The pavilion, neglected by the City of New York and community leaders of NY Chinatown has been closed to the general public & has become the nesting ground for many of the hundreds of pigeons in Columbus Park, NY Chinatown.

Feb. - May of 2002: FoCP encourage NY Chinatown groups to support NYC Parks efforts in applying for the UPARR grant ($1,000,000) for the restoration of the Columbus Park Pavilion. The grant was awarded in May of 2002.

Oct. 30, 2002: We organize members of the community to visit the Columbus Park Pavilion to see the overall conditions of the lower level and upper levels of the Pavilion.

May 15. 2003: Organize community to meet with Manhattan Parks Commissioner, Bill Castro & Staff to discuss changes & restoration plans for the Columbus Park Pavilion & landscaping ideas for Columbus Park in NY Chinatown.

Facts

Our kids & seniors have no place to go: There are just not enough youth/recreational facilities for our neighborhood kids & seniors. Because NY Chinatown does not have a “Youth/Community Center”, neighborhood parks and schools have long been used as places where kids and seniors congregate to meet, play, and organize. Our After School programs are constantly being cut, renting of school gyms for recreational sports are costly and our parks cannot be used during the Winter season and bad weather.

Current plans for the Pavilion: Cost of this restoration project has risen to 3.5 million dollars with completion estimated by Fall of 2006, and yet a big question still remains, “THE PAVILION is BEING RESTORED to DO WHAT?”. General Pavilion plans are to include re-modeling the lower level with rooms for community access, air conditioning and heating for the lower level only, the facility is being fitted for handicap accessibility, restoring the external marble brick, roof and upper loggia area, installing public bathrooms and making it pigeon proof. The upper loggia will still be open to the outside elements and no agreements, discussions or provisions have been made to involve the community on how the Pavilion will be used. No plans on future maintenance, park security, closing of the park or any community involvement as far as input or decision making have been discussed.

Our Vision for the Pavilion

Columbus Park Pavilion: Can be transformed into a community center, which can serve youth, seniors and the general public. Can be used by social service agencies, neighborhood schools, youth & senior organizations, city agencies, cultural groups, etc.. Such a center will make a big difference in the quality of life in our community and our parks. It can become the headquarters for the public use of Columbus Park.

Activities such as:

Movies, Shows and Performances
Educational Workshops on such topics as:

1. Chinese in America

2. History of NY Chinatown, Columbus Park, Little Italy, our neighborhood

3. Chinese Medicine, Herbs

4. Cultural Dance, Art, Martial arts

5. Asian Myths & Stories, Holidays

6. Languages & Dialects

7. Religion

8. Business Development

9. Immigration, Housing, Vocational

10. Employment

11. Neighborhood Social issues

12. City & neighborhood Politics

Information Center

1. Employment Opportunities

2. School Admissions (HS & College)

3. Small Business Tips

4. Neighborhood Activities

Youth & Senior Activities

1. Chess/Ping Pong Recreation &Tournaments

2. Recreational Card Playing

3. Food/Social/Health/Business Fairs

4. Indoor Carnival activities

5. Educational Classes & Workshops

6. Indoor Exercise activities

7. Organized Neighborhood Team Sport Clinics & Tourneys

8. Organized Dance Classes and Shows

Regular Town Hall Meetings on issues that effect our community

We need your help to Accomplish Our Vision for the Pavilion!

Our Success Depends on the following:

Enclose the upper loggia of the Pavilion
Provide Heating and Air-Conditioning to the upper loggia
Have the pavilion accessible for community use day, evening and weekend hours
Allow for co-management (Community & NYC Parks) of the Pavilion
Have a Pavilion that is ACTIVE, CLEAN, MAINTAINED, & OPEN by making it available for community use.
Get Funding to market Columbus Park as a valued community resource, run park activities and keeping the park maintained, healthy, active for all.

Columbus Park: Columbus Park is the number one park serving the NY Chinatown community. Activities range from seniors exercising, to kids playing basketball and soccer. Workers from around the neighborhood use the park to play football and baseball. Our churches use the park daily for outdoor activity. Social Service agencies use the park to hold events to distribute important information to our community. Groups use the park to have carnivals for kids, sporting tournaments and to promote better business. No one will dispute that Columbus Park is one of the most active parks in NYC.

Your support & involvement in Friends of Columbus Park is IMPORTANT: Current NYC Parks personnel are not bi-lingual they cannot communicate properly with our neighborhood residents that use the park. Often there is mis-communication and sometimes confrontations, signs are only in English and our residents often do not understand the rules of the park. FoCP provides the NYC Parks Department & the City of NY an organization that can bridge that communication gap and also provide the needed understanding necessary for a healthy park environment.

We can no longer afford a Pavilion that is closed because of disrepair. We all need to get involved in our open spaces. There is no guarantee that they will be available to serve us in the future.

We can no longer depend on the City of NY. The city is always in a financial crisis. How can we expect the City to maintain an open park Pavilion.