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Department of Parks CLAREMONTPARK.-LARGEST TREE OF ITS SPECIESIN THE WORLD. DEPARTMENT OF PARKS ANNUAL REPORT J. J. LITTLE & IVES CO. 425-43s East 24th Street. New York DEPARTMENT OF PARKS City of New York PARK BOARD, 1911 CHARLES B. STOVER, President Commissioner for the Boroughs of Manhattan and Richmond THOMAS J. HIGGINS Commissioner for the Borough of the Bronx MICHAEL J. KENNEDY Commissioner for the Borodghs of Brooklyn and Queens CLINTON H. SMITH, Secretary SAMUEL PARSONS Landscape Architects CHARLES DOWNING LAY PARK BOARD During the year the membership of the Board was increased by the addition of a Commissioner for the Borough of Queens. The parks of that borough had pre- viously been administered by the Commissioner for the Borough of Brooklyn, who had jurisdiction over the parks of both boroughs. The rapid growth and develop- ment of the Borough of Queens, however, led to the demand for a separate depart- ment by the citizens of the borough, and accordingly an appeal was made to the Leg- islature for an amendment to the Charter, making such provision. In response to that appeal Chapter 644, Laws of 1911, was passed, July 11, 1911, amending the Char- ter so as to provide a Commissioner for the Borough of Queens. On July 24, His Honer, the Mayor, appointed Mr. Walter G. Eliot to the new office, and, at the meet- ing of the Park Board, hdd July 27, the newly appointed Commissioner appeared and presented his certificate of appointment. Contracts awarded by the Board for supplies or work of the various boroughs amounted to $1,221,565.06. For all contracts competitive bids were received after advertisement in the official papers, according to law. The following ordinance was added to the rules and regulations of the Depart- ment, at the meeting April 27, at the request of the Commissioner for the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens,. ......................................................... .................................................................................... pursuant to the provisions of Section 612B of the Greater New York Charter, added thereto by Laws of 1910, Chapter 681: "The use and occupation of the mr?in drive of Ocean boulevard, in the Borough of Brooklyn, from Twenty-second avenue to Kings Highway, is hereby restricted to horses and light carriages. Vehicles of all other kinds, including bicycles and motor vehicles, are hereby excluded therefrom." The expenditures for the account of the Board during the year were $25,310.74, all for salaries of the Commissioners, Secretary, and other employees. Report of the Department of Parks Boroughs of Manhattan and Richmond FOR THE YEAR 1911 CHARLESB. STO,VER,Commissioner, EDWARDA. MILLER,Chief Engineer, THEODOREE. VIDETO, Architect, JOHNH. BEATTY,Superintendent, WILLIAM J. LEE, Supervisor of Recreation, JOHNW. SMITH,Director of Menagerie, MRS. HENRYPARSONS, Director of School Farms. BOROUGHS OF MANHATTAN AND RICHMOND During the year 1911 the policy inaugurated the previous year, of securing to the public a more liberal use of the parks, was continued. Additional playgrounds were established throughout the City, and the improvement of the older grounds was pushed to completion. The improvements planned and undertaken during the year, in con- nection with the extension of the playground system of the department, involve the expenditure of a quarter of a million dollars. Some of these playgrounds were pur- chased years ago in tenement regions outside the parks; others consisted of lawns and spaces within the parks, which, through excessive use, and, by reason of their location in crowded districts, could not be maintained as lawns, as in the case of the Mulberry Bend playground, the playground at Battery Park, and that at 96th street in Riverside Park; still others consisted of City property originally pur- chased for other purposes but now available for playground uses, such as the plot at Amsterdam avenue, between 151st and 152nd streets, over the old Croton aqueduct, and the large open spaces under the approaches of the Williamsburgh, Manhattan and Queensboro bridges. The playgrounds at West 59th street and East lOlst street were drained and graded and work started on the field houses, which will provide facilities for indoor recreation in stormy weather, and in winter; also shower baths, lockers, etc. At Mulberry Bend Park the large central lawn, which had become absolutely bare of grass, was taken for a playground. It was drained and graded, a fine running track was constructed on the outer edge of the grounds, and the whole enclosed by an iron picket fence. At St. Gabriel's Park a large, unused plot, at the east end of the park, surrounded by an iron picket fence, was put to use as a ball field. The fence was removed and the ground drained and graded. At Cherry street the plot of ground adjacent to Manhattan bridge set aside for playground purposes was improved and opened for the use of the children. WOI-k on the improvement of the Queensboro bridge playground was begun, and such progress made that the opening of the grounds early in 1912 was assured. The small triangular plot at Worth and Baxter streets, formerly used as a munici- pal storage yard, was converted into a playground. The grounds were graded, drained and fenced, and work begun upon the field house. In every case effort was made to make use of grounds, whether in or out of the parks, which could not well be used for other purposes-waste spaces, in fact-and the splendid use made of the grounds during the year shows the wisdom of the Commis- sioner's choice. The report of the Supervisor of Recreation shows the activities of that department during the year in detail. Old dwelling houses in the parks, such as those at Fort Washington Park, and Gracie mansion, at Carl Schurz Park, were made to serve a useful purpose by allow- ing various working girls' associations to make use of them as headquarters for meet- ings, dances and festivals. The New York Working Girls' Association was given the use of one of the old dwelling houses at Fort Washington. During the summer hun- dreds of working girls enjoyed the comforts of its broad verandas overlooking the Hudson River. The old Gracie mansion was in such a dilapidated condition that extensive alterations were necessary to put it in condition for use. The first floor was 'entirely renovated, the largest room being fitted up as a ball room, the smaller rooms as a refreshment room and a meeting room. The Home Thrift Association and the Working Girls' Association were given the privilege of these rooms, and 11 \( weekly dances were held during the summer. Both associations had a large mem- bership, and the meetings and dances were well attended. At no time was there any disorder. The use of the parks as meeting-places for the public discussion of matters affect- ing the public welfare was encouraged by the quantity of numerous permits to civic organizations to hold meetings for that purpose in the parks. The meetings were conducted without any disturbance, not a single case of disorder being reported at any one of them. Many permits were issued also for nature study classes, from both public and x private schools, to go upon the lawns and restricted portions of the park for the pur- pose of studying the trees, shrubs and birds. Classes in surveying also made use of the parks for practical field work. At first the disposition of the Commissioner to permit a more liberal use of the parks was misinterpreted to mean that all the lawns were to be thrown open to the public for their unrestricted use, and the damage resulting from such misuse was very considerable. Persistent efforts by the police and the department workmen, however, gradually righted the situation. It was necessary to distribute "keep off" signs liberally throughout the parks, but the old-style "Keep off the Grass" signs were abandoned. The number of lawns set apart for public use, however, was in- creased, and children were given permits to hold their May Parties, June Walks, X and July Rambles on many lawns and in many parks where they had never previ- ously been allowed, as in some of the downtown parks, such as Tompkins Square, Corlears Hook, Jeanette Park, and Battery Park, also St. Nicholas and Colonial Parks and Fort Washington Park, in the extreme northern part of the City, All of these parks had excellent spaces for the purpose, and the children of the respec- tive neighborhoods greatly enjoyed the privilege of holding their festivals near home, instead of being compelled, as in previous years, to travel the long route to Central Park. In Central Park the number of children's parties was even greater than usual. One of the most notably interesting of these was the "Folk Dancing Fete," of the Girls' Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League, held on the sh9meadow onb May 16, in which some ten thousand school girls took part. The large field was stud- ded with gayly decorated maypoles, about which the children of each school danced to the music furnished by a band of some sixty pieces, located on an elevated plat- form, or band-stand, in the center of the fidd. fie outer edge of theifield was roped off, to keep the thousands of spectators from crowding in on the dancers, and a spe- cial enclosure was roped off, in which seats were provided for about three hundred distinguished guests, including His Honor, the Mayor. The mounted section of the Traffic Squad of the Police Department was also permitted to hold an exhibition review and drill on the sheep meadow, and this ex- hibition ptoved a most interesting spectacle to thousands of pezge.
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