Harlem Meer, Lasker Rink Renovations Break Ground In Central Park

HARLEM, NY — An ambitious renovation that will transform the north end of Central Park broke ground on Thursday, promising to reimagine the iconic lake and nearby Lasker Rink.

The $150 million project will fully replace the rink and swimming pool — an aging, 55-year-old facility that blocks access and views within the park due to its bulky shape — with a new facility called the Harlem Meer Center.

Officials gathered Thursday to watch construction get underway as jackhammers tore into Lasker's concrete foundation, kicking off work that is expected to wrap up by 2024.

The new facility will include a larger-than-Olympic-size pool, which will become a flexible recreation space in the spring and an ice-skating rink in winter. The pool deck will house an airy pavilion with gathering space and amenities.

Meanwhile, the surrounding parkland will be renovated in an effort to restore its ecology, including work to recreate the stream that formerly flowed through the Ravine and into the Meer. It will also create a new boardwalk and wetland along the lake's shoreline, adjacent to the Meer Center.

About 220,000 people use the Lasker Rink and pool each summer and winter. The pool and rink will be out of commission while construction is being done.

The hulking, gray Lasker Rink is a "last remaining piece to make this more of a naturalistic retreat for the community, which is what the park is supposed to be," said Lane Addonizio, vice president for planning at the Central Park Conservancy, during a presentation to Harlem's Community Board 10 earlier this year.

Leaders have also described the renovations in equity terms, saying the new spaces — open year-round, rather than seasonally — will welcome a broader swath of park users and better serve residents of Harlem, Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

"Achieving equity is systems-changing work. With today’s groundbreaking, the Central Park Conservancy and the City make a statement: everyone deserves beautiful, accessible, quality spaces—especially the black and brown communities who have too often seen the parks that serve them neglected,” said Vicki Been, the city's deputy mayor for housing and economic development, in a news release Thursday.

"As a father of two, short visits to the Park and walks by the Meer to search for turtles were the only connection to normalcy during the pandemic," said Xavier Santiago, vice-chair of East Harlem's Community Board 11, in a news release.

"We are thrilled to see investment in the northern section of the Park at the new Harlem Meer Center, which will be environmentally sustainable, fully accessible, and open year-round to all of us who use this iconic New York City resource."

Previous coverage: Harlem Meer, Lasker Rink Revamp Set To Start In Central Park