Sara Delano Roosevelt Park facts for kids
Sara Delano Roosevelt Park is a 7.8-acre (32,000 m2) park in the Lower East Side area of Manhattan, one of New York City's five main parts called boroughs. This park is named after Sara Roosevelt (1854–1941), who was the mother of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The park stretches for seven blocks from north to south. It starts at East Houston Street in the Lower East Side and goes all the way to Canal Street in Chinatown. On its sides, you'll find Chrystie Street to the west and Forsyth Street to the east. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation takes care of the park.
The park is so long that it actually cuts off some streets, like Stanton, Rivington, Broome, and Hester Streets, between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets. Other streets, like Delancey and Grand Streets, cross through the park.
Park History
Before it became a park, this land had apartment buildings. Even before that, it was a burial ground for African-American people. Part of it was also once a cemetery for the Dutch Reformed Church.
How the Park Started
The City of New York bought this land in 1929. The original plan was to make Chrystie and Forsyth Streets wider and build affordable homes. However, the city decided to use the land for a park instead. In 1934, the new park was named after Sara Roosevelt, even though she wrote that she didn't want it to be.
The park was designed under the guidance of Robert Moses, who was the new Parks Commissioner. He worked with landscape architect Gilmore D. Clarke and architect Aymar Embury II. The first design for the park focused a lot on sports fields and places for kids to play actively. This included wading pools, with separate areas for boys and girls.
Community Gardens and Changes
Over the years, local groups helped change and improve the park. The Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition, which started in 1982, created the M’finda Kalunga community garden in 1983. They have also started many other projects. Another group, the Forsyth Garden Conservancy, has built several smaller gardens inside the park since the mid-1990s. One of these is the Hua Mei Bird Garden, where people bring their songbirds to gather.
Park Features
Sara Delano Roosevelt Park offers many places for sports and fun activities.
- It has a basketball court.
- There is a roller skating rink.
- You can find a soccer field.
- The park is also the home base for the New York City Bike Polo Club.
The park used to have a building with a public restroom, but it closed in 1994.
Important Memorials
Inside the park, just south of Stanton Street, you will find the M’Finda Kalunga Garden. This garden honors the memory of an African-American burial ground that was once located nearby on Chrystie Street. A special plaque was put up in 1983 to remember this history.
Across Forsyth Street from the park, between Stanton and Rivington Streets, there was once a community garden called the "Garden of Eden." A local activist named Adam Purple created this garden, and it existed from 1975 to 1985.
