Robert Moses Playground is a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

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 located in the Murray Hill neighborhood on First Avenue between 41st and

42nd 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

streets, immediately south of the

headquarters of the United Nations zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

. The park is named for New York's "master builder"

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...

, then the head of the

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, is an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates seven toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. In terms of traf ...

, which constructed the playground as part of the construction of the

Queens–Midtown Tunnel The Queens–Midtown Tunnel (also sometimes called the Midtown Tunnel) is a vehicular tunnel under the East River in New York City, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens. The tunnel consists of a pair of tubes, each carrying two ...

History

The land for the park was obtained in 1937 as part of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel construction in exchange for the taking of a portion of St. Gabriel's Park (now named

St. Vartan Park St. Vartan Park is a public park in the Murray Hill, Manhattan, Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Located on the block bounded by First Avenue (Manhattan), First Avenue, Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue, and 35th and ...

) for an approach roadway. The Park itself was completed in 1941 and shares the block with the large

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a ma ...

building for the tunnel. It was named for Moses in 1982. The park's asphalt playground was often used for roller hockey, and the East End Hockey Association had been organizing games at the site since 1972. The asphalt playground was replaced by a

synthetic turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commerc ...

field in July 2021 to improve existing parks due to the temporary loss of park space during construction of the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency project.

Land reclamation

Since 1982, there have been at least three attempts to take the park's land for building projects. The most recent proposal was raised by the United Nations in June 2010. Under this deal, the city would then expand the nearby

East River Greenway The East River Greenway (also called the East River Esplanade) is an approximately foreshoreway for walking or cycling on the east side of the island of Manhattan on the East River. It is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The largest por ...

to compensate for the loss of this park. On December 8, 2010,

Manhattan Community Board 6 Manhattan Community Board 6 is a New York City community board, part of the local government apparatus of the city, with responsibility for the East Side of Manhattan from 14th Street to 59th Street. This includes the neighborhoods of Gramerc ...

gave their support to this plan, providing that the esplanade was expanded. In March 2011, the city gave approval to move ahead with a feasibility study for this project as part of Mayor Bloomberg's ''Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan''. If agreed by the city and the heads of both houses of the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

, the

United Nations Development Corporation The United Nations Development Corporation (UNDC) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that helps the United Nations with its real estate, office space, and development needs. It was created in 1968. The UNDC is permitted ...

could begin preliminary planning for a new office tower, which could be no taller than the tall Secretariat Building. The UN would pay the city at least $65 million for the park. The plan is opposed by some residents of

Tudor City Tudor City is an apartment complex located on the southern edge of Turtle Bay on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, near Turtle Bay's border with Murray Hill. It lies on a low cliff, which is east of Second Avenue between 40th and ...

, which is across the street from the park. On October 5, 2011, the city and state reached an agreement to use the western portion of Robert Moses Playground for an expansion of the United Nations campus. In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation would pay $73 million to fund the development of the East River esplanade between 38th and 60th streets. To make up for the loss of parkland, the City will convert

Asser Levy Place Avenue A is a north–south avenue located in Manhattan, New York City, east of First Avenue and west of Avenue B. It runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting to Avenue B. Bel ...

into parkland.

References

{{Protected areas of New York City Parks in Manhattan Murray Hill, Manhattan Headquarters of the United Nations 1941 establishments in New York City