City Completes $4.7M Renovation At Jackie Robinson Park

HARLEM, NY — A $4.7 million renovation to make one of Central Harlem's largest parks more accessible to parkgoers debuted Thursday a year-and-a-half after city officials broke ground on the project, parks officials said.

The city Parks Department recently finished work on its project at Jackie Robinson Park. Improvements made to the park include reconstructed entrances, pathways and staircases as well as newly-constructed ramps, parks officials said. The improvements were made at the park's southern and northern edges on West 145th and 155th streets.

The renovation was part of the city's Parks Without Borders initiative launched in 2016 to make eight city parks more welcoming, accessible and beautiful. Parks officials broke ground at Jackie Robinson Park in November 2018, making it the first Parks Without Borders project to begin construction. The Jackie Robinson project is the second Parks Without Borders project to be completed.

"Parks Without Borders focuses on enhancing our open spaces by improving the connections between parks and neighborhoods. This is especially important for parks like Jackie Robinson, which play such a vital role in the surrounding community," Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver said in a statement. "Thanks to Mayor de Blasio's OneNYC funding for this placemaking initiative, we have transformed the experience for parkgoers enjoying this public space for many years to come."

In addition to accessibility upgrades, the $4.7 million renovation also included beautification work. New plantings, fencing and benches were installed along the park's western edge at Edgecombe Avenue.

When the Central Harlem park opened in 1911 it was originally called Colonial Park. The park was renamed after baseball player Jackie Robinson, best known for breaking the sport's color barrier, in 1978. Robinson's granddaughter Ayo Robsinson praised the city's plans for the park during a 2018 groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

"All of this is wonderful to the legacy of my grandfather, which was really about impact on communities," Robinson said. "So this project does truly honor his spirit, and I am very grateful."

Other Parks Without Borders projects include: Fort Greene Park and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Van Cortlandt Park and Hugh Grant Circle / Virginia Park and Playground in the Bronx, Seward Park in Manhattan, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens and Faber Park in Staten Island.

See more photos of the completed park renovation below: