NEW YORK—A year from now there will be water at Isham Park, thanks to $750,000 in city funding secured by Councilman Robert Jackson. The historic 20-acre park in the Inwood neighborhood of northern Manhattan has had no access to water for drinking and irrigation for years.
Jackson joined representatives from the Department of Parks and Recreation, members of the Isham Park Restoration Program, Volunteers for Isham Park, and community members outside Bruce Reynolds Memorial Garden at the park to make the announcement on Wednesday.
“This here is like a jewel in our city,” Jackson said. “If you listen, you can hear the birds chirping. It’s natural. The one thing that’s missing is water. There’s no water in this park whatsoever. So all of the volunteers at Isham Park have carried buckets of water for years in order to feed the trees, in order to feed the plants.”
A budget team from Jackson’s office, aided by two interns, worked on securing the funds from the City Council for months, prompted by a request placed on a “capital priorities” list by Manhattan Parks Commissioner William Castro. The funds will be used to construct three drinking fountains and at least three water hookups for irrigation. Construction has not yet begun, but is scheduled for completion in one year.
“There’s been no water here for 35 years,” said A.J. Reynolds, director of the Isham Park Restoration Program.
According to Reynolds, volunteers from Bruce Reynolds Memorial Garden have been carrying buckets of water from a nearby building and running hoses from a fire hydrant in order to water the plants there. The garden is dedicated to Reynold’s son, Bruce Reynolds, a police officer who lost his life responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“For me, the water is not just good for what it’s going to be. ... It will help to really keep this area beautiful,” said Maria Lall, 59.
Lall has been taking care of Isham Alley in Isham Park for eight years. The area was occupied by homeless people and drug addicts and inaccessible to residents before Lall began to work on it. Now, the space appears thriving and clean.
Isham Park is composed of an area donated to the city by the Isham family in the 1910s, as well as acquisitions made by the city in 1925 and 1927. Similar to other parks in Inwood and Washington Heights, Isham Park was the site of the historic Fort Washington battle during the Revolutionary War.
Jackson joined representatives from the Department of Parks and Recreation, members of the Isham Park Restoration Program, Volunteers for Isham Park, and community members outside Bruce Reynolds Memorial Garden at the park to make the announcement on Wednesday.
“This here is like a jewel in our city,” Jackson said. “If you listen, you can hear the birds chirping. It’s natural. The one thing that’s missing is water. There’s no water in this park whatsoever. So all of the volunteers at Isham Park have carried buckets of water for years in order to feed the trees, in order to feed the plants.”
A budget team from Jackson’s office, aided by two interns, worked on securing the funds from the City Council for months, prompted by a request placed on a “capital priorities” list by Manhattan Parks Commissioner William Castro. The funds will be used to construct three drinking fountains and at least three water hookups for irrigation. Construction has not yet begun, but is scheduled for completion in one year.
“There’s been no water here for 35 years,” said A.J. Reynolds, director of the Isham Park Restoration Program.
According to Reynolds, volunteers from Bruce Reynolds Memorial Garden have been carrying buckets of water from a nearby building and running hoses from a fire hydrant in order to water the plants there. The garden is dedicated to Reynold’s son, Bruce Reynolds, a police officer who lost his life responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“For me, the water is not just good for what it’s going to be. ... It will help to really keep this area beautiful,” said Maria Lall, 59.
Lall has been taking care of Isham Alley in Isham Park for eight years. The area was occupied by homeless people and drug addicts and inaccessible to residents before Lall began to work on it. Now, the space appears thriving and clean.
Isham Park is composed of an area donated to the city by the Isham family in the 1910s, as well as acquisitions made by the city in 1925 and 1927. Similar to other parks in Inwood and Washington Heights, Isham Park was the site of the historic Fort Washington battle during the Revolutionary War.
