Central Park Conservancy Annual Report 2008 (front cover) The newly restored urns on Bow Bridge (see pages 14 and 15). (back cover) The staff of the Central Park Conservancy and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and trustees of the Central Park Conservancy. (opposite page) To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s Greensward plan — the winning entry in the 1858 design competition for Central Park — the Conservancy and New York City Department of Parks & Recreation launched AeroBalloon,™ a helium-filled balloon that gave Park visitors the chance to float thirty stories above Central Park! The balloon, anchored at Cherry Hill plaza (inside the Park at West 72nd Street), operated from July 25th to August 22nd and provided the public with a unique view of the Conservancy’s recent Lake restorations and the magnificent New York City skyline. Produced entirely by the staff of the Central Park Conservancy. Design by Sara Cedar Miller and Jonathan Taub. All photos by Sara Cedar Miller except the following: Page 3, Melinda Bush; page 5, Greensward Plan courtesy NYC Department of Parks & Recreation Photo Archive, Image ID #61962; page 22 (top), Ed Bobrow; page 25 #11, Curtis Dann-Messier; inside back cover (tour photo), Scott Johnson; back cover, Malcolm Pinckney. Printed on recycled paper. 4 5 Partnership - Central Park Conservancy Partnership - City of New York The historic partnership of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux resulted in one of the This year, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Greensward plan for the design of Central first and finest works of public art in America — Central Park. This year we commemorated Park. Created by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux at a time when Manhattan was the 150th anniversary of Greensward, Olmsted and Vaux’s winning entry in the 1858 design still undeveloped, it is one of history’s greatest examples of foresight and planning — because competition for Central Park, by renaming the 72nd Street Cross Drive “Olmsted & Vaux Way” in today the Park serves as a vibrant, natural oasis at the very heart of our towering City. As we honor of their aesthetic and democratic vision for New York’s future public park. mark this milestone, it’s fitting that we recommit ourselves to the principles that led to the creation of our modern Central Park: a forward-thinking respect for the importance of green Today, the Park is again graced with another historic partnership, that of the Central space; and the courage to pursue bold, new ideas. In fact, that’s what PlaNYC is all about, and Park Conservancy and the City of New York. Under this groundbreaking public-private the Central Park Conservancy is one of our most important partners in making it a reality. partnership, Olmsted and Vaux’s masterpiece is not only beautifully restored by the Conservancy but also receives new life and new energy through the Conservancy’s innovative Since its founding, the Conservancy has established itself as the true heir to the vision of management practices and creative public programs. Olmsted and Vaux, the pioneers of landscape architecture and park management. The Conservancy is making vital contributions far beyond its namesake park, providing landscape The Conservancy has flourished and grown under the leadership of Board Chairman Ian Smith maintenance to the four Historic Harlem Parks. This year the Conservancy launched the (1999-2007), who stepped down after serving for eight years. In 2005, Ian spearheaded the Urban Horticulture and Ecology Certificate Training Program with Cornell University. Its first Campaign for Central Park, which has met its goal of raising $120 million, to complete the graduating class consisted of 35 Conservancy staff and volunteers as well as Parks gardeners restoration of Central Park, protect the investment, and sustain the results. The Park has from all five boroughs, equipping them with the latest horticultural knowledge and techniques. historically been susceptible to shifts in political environments and fluctuations in the City’s economy. Securing the Park’s future has also been Ian’s focus because the ultimate measure This report further highlights the Central Park Conservancy’s leadership in our mission to of the Conservancy’s success will be our ability to sustain what we have accomplished, never build a greener, greater New York. We look forward to continuing our work with them as we letting the Park fall back to the deplorable condition it was in before the Conservancy was take on the even bigger challenges of expanding our parks system and realizing our goal of founded in 1980. putting every New Yorker within a ten-minute walk of a public park — a place to play, exercise, relax, and get some fresh air. With the Conservancy’s dedicated hard work and your support, I Through the generosity of our donors and trustees, this has been an enormously successful know that we can do it. year for the support of the Conservancy’s mission. Both general membership and Chairman’s Circle revenue, from new contributors and increased renewals, have prospered greatly, as have corporate, planned, and foundation giving. Our evening fundraising events — Taste of Summer and Halloween Ball — were great fun and were also highly effective in generating revenue. The Women’s Committee had an extraordinary year. The 26th annual Frederick Law Michael R. Bloomberg Adrian Benepe Olmsted Luncheon alone raised $2.4 million, and the Committee’s other popular projects — Mayor of the City of New York Commissioner, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation bench, tree, playground, and perimeter programs — also flourished. We are grateful to all of those who supported the Conservancy this year, as well as in the past. This report highlights the completion of the Conservancy’s many new capital projects in the Park and the innovative operational and educational programs that we have initiated in the past year. As we move forward from the first century and a half of Central Park’s history, the Conservancy is committed to continue our standards of excellence for the restoration, management, and preservation of Olmsted and Vaux’s masterpiece, and to see to it that it endures as a vital resource that elevates the quality of life, so that New Yorkers today and the tomorrows to come will have Central Park as a central joy in their lives. Thomas L. Kempner, Jr. Douglas Blonsky Chairman of the Central Park Conservancy President of the Central Park Conservancy In 1858 Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the design competition for Central Park. They named their plan (above) and Central Park Administrator “Greensward,” from the English term for “unbroken stretches of turf or lawn,” the main feature in the designers’ vision for the Park. 7 Craftsmanship The Campaign for Central Park We are proud to report that in only three short years the Campaign for Central Park has reached its financial goal of $120 million, divided between two objectives: to complete the restoration of the Park, and to secure the future of those restored landscapes and structures with the necessary funding for their continuous maintenance by a trained and dedicated Conservancy staff. We are also pleased to report that, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Olmsted and Vaux’s 1858 winning design for the Park, many of the Campaign projects along the Lake were accomplished this year (described in the following pages). Lake shoreline projects remaining in 2008 are either in design or in construction. Donald Pels and Wendy Keys have provided support for the area from Bow Bridge to Willow Cove; and Mr. and Mrs. Wynant Vanderpoel III have provided support for The Point. In addition to these gifts, the Bobolink Foundation has funded a woodlands crew to care for this ecologically sensitive area. Another major project of the Campaign is the restoration of the east side landscapes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Harlem Meer. The first phase, the area south of the Mount and Conservatory Garden, nears completion this year. This phase was made possible thanks to the generosity of Susan and Jack Rudin, Fiona and Eric Rudin, and the Rudin Foundation. Restoration of the East Meadow and the creation of the Arboretum Walk is being made possible with funding from the Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation; LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust; Thomas L. Kempner, Jr. and Katheryn C. Patterson; Nina Rosenwald, Elizabeth and Michael Varet, and Alice Rosenwald; and many area residents. The restoration of Ancient Playground, at Fifth Avenue and 85th Street, is supported by Carol and David Feinberg and New York City Council funds allocated by former Council Member Eva Moskowitz. The first phase of the restoration, the comfort station and the entrance plaza, was completed this year. The playground’s sculptural masterpiece, the William Church Osborn Gates, by American artist Paul Manship, have been conserved and will be reinstalled with a gift from the Daniel P. and Nancy C. Paduano Foundation. On the west side of the Park, restoration and endowment of the West 100th Street Playground and its surrounding landscapes is being made possible by support from former New York City Council Member Philip Reed through Council funds from his West Side district and with a gift from Patsy and Jeff Tarr. The West 69th Street entrance landscape will soon be restored, thanks to the support of Anita and Robert Jacobson. The Conservancy has created a temporary plant compound in the south end of the Park to accommodate the many varieties of plant material installed in conjunction with capital projects (left). This year 137 trees, 8,348 shrubs, 46,902 perennials, and 35,665 pieces of groundcover were planted in the Park. 8 9 Central Park Capital Work – 1980-2008 W 65 St W 72 St W 81 St W 86 St W 97 St Central Park West W.