Design Plan For St. Catherine's Park Presented To UES Community

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — New playground equipment and other enhancements could soon grace St. Catherine's Park, a much-loved recreational spot in Lenox Hill, modeled after a Roman church.

The changes were unveiled last week to Community Board 8, as the Parks Department presented details of the park's planned renovation.

Spanning First Avenue between 67th and 68th streets, St. Catherine's Park dates to the 1930s and was reconstructed in 1941 as part of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration relief program, according to livingnewdeal.org.

According to the NYC Parks website, the layout of the park mimics that of the Santa Maria sopra Minerva church, located in Rome, which houses the remains of St. Catherine. A flagpole represents the altar, play areas are the pews, and even the elephant sprinklers are an adaptation of a sculpture that resides in front of the Roman church.

After soliciting public feedback last summer, the city is now rolling out its proposed $9 million redesign, which will center around making enhancements to the current structures while adding additional safety measures.

Christopher Crowley, a landscape architect with the Parks Department, outlined the extensive renovation plans, which include reconstructing both interior and exterior walls and making adjustments to perimeter fencing.

Additionally, the project entails installing more swings, resurfacing the multi-use court surfaces (including the addition of pickleball lines), adding an ADA-compliant bottle filler and drinking fountains, and reconstructing water play areas, among other improvements.

Crowley explains that they will install a new four-foot fence around the park's perimeter, replacing the existing one, which, as he notes, currently lacks parallel alignment along the park's boundaries.

For adult park-goers, a new set of gym equipment will be added to the park. This includes a sit-up bench, an arm bike, a set of parallel bars and two pull-up bar machines.

Most residents and committee members reacted positively to the design after Thursday's presentation, only noting a few concerns about the introduction of pickleball courts.

Some community members expressed worry about the park's "multi-use court," saying that it could pit the interests of pickleball fans and other park-goers against each other, forcing them to fight over the small amount of space available.

The comments highlight the community's concern about the lack of open space. Citywide, the district ranks nearly last in park and playground space per-capita, Patch previously reported.

The $9 million construction figure includes $4.8 million allocated from the mayor’s office, $590,000 from City Council District 8 and the remaining $3,600,000 coming from private donors, including the New York Blood Center.

Once construction starts, it will last about a year, according to Crowley, though he did not say exactly when work would begin, noting that the bidding process would take up the bulk of next summer.