Albert Capsouto Park (formerly CaVaLa Park) is a triangular-shaped pocket park in the

Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stre ...

neighborhood of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is bounded by Canal Street to the northeast,

Varick Street __NOTOC__ Varick Street runs north–south primarily in the Hudson Square district of Lower Manhattan in New York City, United States. Varick Street's northern terminus is in the West Village, where it is a continuation of Seventh Avenue South ...

to the west, and Laight Street to the south. It is located just east of the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

exit plaza, formerly known as St. John's Park. Ground was broken on the park in September 2008. Opened in November 2009, the park cost approximately $3.4 million to build. Formerly, the site was a parking lot. Following

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, the lot was used as a staging area for

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations. In the following weeks members of the public placed flowers, cards and letters at the site, as it was one of the closest points to the former

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

which was accessible. The park features a 114-foot fountain designed by local artist

Elyn Zimmerman Elyn Zimmerman (born 1945) is an American sculptor known for her emphasis on large scale, site specific projects and environmental art. Along with these works, Zimmerman has exhibited drawings and photographs since graduating with an MFA in painti ...

which refers to the canal which formerly ran along the path of Canal Street. In 2007 the design concept was recognized for Excellence in Design by the New York City Public Design Commission. The original name, CaVaLa, referred to the streets surrounding the park ("Canal-Varick-Laight"), and was described by one nearby resident as "kitschy". A few months after it opened, a movement was started to rename the park after Tribeca

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

and

community activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

Albert CapsoutoShapiro, Julie
"Albert Capsouto, pioneering Tribeca restaurateur, 53"
'' AMNY.com'', February 2, 2010. Retrieved 2021-11-30. who had recently died. Capsouto had been a member of CB1 for twenty years before his death, and was frequently seen riding his bicycle around Tribeca. The name was officially adopted in 2010.

References

External links

* {{Tribeca, Manhattan Parks in Manhattan Tribeca Pocket parks Protected areas established in 2009 2009 establishments in New York City