Renovation Updates
2025 Paving Project
August 27, 2025:
We are thrilled to announce that the major renovation work at Washington Market Park is complete, and the park is officially open!
photos
The drainage issues and pathways that have long impacted the park have been fully addressed, creating a safer, more accessible space for everyone to enjoy.
Still to come: The Parks Department will be adding a new water fountain (with a bottle filler!) near the bathrooms, repairing the fountain near the big playground, and we’ll be installing a new butterfly garden sign in September.
If you’d like to see more improvements, please consider:
- Submitting any park maintenance issues you see to 311 via the app, website or by calling … and please tell your neighbors to do the same!
- Donating to Friends: https://www.washingtonmarketpark.org/contribute/ . We fund smaller maintenance and beautification projects such as the gazebo refurbishment and adding trees and shrubs to the gardens.
- Contacting Councilmember Marte’s office
- Helping CB1 shape budget priorities for the coming year by completing this survey: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7333194/CD-Needs-Online-Survey
Enjoy the park!
August 22, 2025:
Today NYC Parks shared that the park will reopen next Wednesday, August 27!
Currently the Parks Masonry team is resetting dozens of granite pavers throughout the park that were removed by children last winter and spring. They will complete their work on Tuesday, August 26.
In the meantime, Gardener Stephanie is adding mulch and new plants to the entry garden beds.
We can’t wait to welcome you back next week!
Here’s our Instagram announcement.
August 15, 2025:
NYC Parks has a crew working at the park today to level the ground areas adjacent to the newly paved paths. The Parks Hort team is there today and Monday weeding and introducing clover seed to the lawn to add more “green” quickly.
Friends will push for Parks to resod the lawn at a later date — timing tbd.
The gazebo refurbishment is complete. It was scraped, primed and repainted, and it looks beautiful!
NYC Parks will assess the park’s status after more work is completed this Monday.
We are hopeful reopening will happen soon.
August 14, 2025:
NYC Parks staff is still weeding and cleaning the park. They shared today that playground sand was just delivered.
August 6, 2025:
Here is a recap published in the Tribeca Citizen written by Friends board member Pam Frederick.
July 29, 2025:
The paving is now complete and looks beautiful!
Given the project timing and our peak summer heat, NYC Parks has decided not to re-sod the lawn as originally planned.
In the coming days, the lawn’s perimeter will be regraded slightly to meet the newly paved surface-level in a few areas. This will need to happen before the park can reopen.
In the meantime, NYC Parks will be mowing the grass that grew on the lawn naturally over the last couple of months, adding the benches, fine-tuning the irrigation, tidying the grounds, and adding a water fountain.
The improvements continue!
July 10, 2025:
The drainage work has been completed, and the paving portion has begun! Here are a few photos.
June 17, 2025:
Drainage work has begun, and the underground pipes leading to the lawn and the water play area are being addressed.
June 3, 2025:
The renovation begins today! The drainage work will happen first, followed by lawn sodding, repaving and installation of new park benches. The NYC Parks Department estimates that work will be completed by mid-August, depending on weather and construction conditions.
May 29, 2025:
This afternoon the Parks Department confirmed that the renovation and park closure is expected to begin on Monday, June 2nd. The drainage work will happen first, followed by lawn sodding, repaving and installation of new park benches.
The NYC Parks Department estimates that work will be completed by mid-August, depending on weather and construction conditions.
While the main park will be closed, the tennis court and basketball courts will remain open. The court entrances are on Chambers Street between Greenwich Street and the West Side Highway. The sign-up sheet for the tennis court is expected to be posted at the court each morning from 7am.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as these upgrades are made!
May 8, 2025:
This afternoon the Parks Department shared that while the renovation will not begin on Monday, May 12, it will be starting very soon — within the next two or three weeks.
May 1, 2025:
NYC Parks shared that construction will not begin before Monday, May 12th.
April 28, 2025:
NYC Parks has shared that construction may begin as early as Monday, May 5th.
October 9, 2024:
A renovation project at Washington Market Park will begin in late April or early May.
Thanks to full funding from Councilmember Christopher Marte and management by the NYC Parks Department, the park’s 30-year-old pathways will undergo a much-needed paving renovation. This project — which will also include the installation of new benches, a new lawn and drainage improvements — is scheduled to begin as early as the week of April 28. It will take approximately six to eight weeks to complete.
During this time, the main park will be closed, but the tennis court and basketball courts will remain open. The court entrances are on Chambers Street between Greenwich Street and the West Side Highway.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as the park undergoes these exciting upgrades. We hope you’ll enjoy them when the park reopens and community events resume in the early summer.
FAQs
What improvements are being made?
The project includes full pathway repaving, new benches, a new lawn and drainage upgrades. These enhancements will improve safety, accessibility and comfort for all park users.
How long will the renovation take?
The Parks Department expects the work to take approximately six to eight weeks, depending on weather and construction conditions.
Why didn’t the renovation happen over winter months when fewer people are in the park?
The paving renovation could not happen during the winter because asphalt cannot set properly in colder temperatures.
Why didn’t the renovation happen in late summer 2024 or early fall 2024 as previously expected?
The Parks Department bundles projects like this one with several other similar projects. They then collect bids from contractors to handle all of the work together. This process has several steps and takes time. The window was missed last year.
Why does the spring 2025 date keep extending?
In late April 2025, the Parks Department and the paving contractor decided that drainage work needed to happen ahead of the paving. A drainage contractor now has been selected, and work is expected to begin June 2, 2025.
Why has the lawn not been sodded in the last 2.5 years?
The NYC Parks Department usually resods the Washington Market Park lawn every spring. Sodding has been the best way to ensure the lawn is green and gorgeous and closure is minimized. Seeding the lawn requires the lawn to be closed for 3-4 months at a time, while sodding requires a 5-7 week closure.
This paving project was possibly going to happen in fall 2024. Because we knew the entire park would be closed for paving, we asked the Parks Department not to sod that spring 2024 as they normally would have — so the community could enjoy a fully open park for longer. As it turned out, the paving project didn’t happen during fall of 2024.
The paving project was next supposed to begin in spring 2025. Lawn drainage work needed to happen before sodding, so the plan was to wait for the project to begin. Unfortunately the drainage work wasn’t completed while the weather conditions were still mild — it as too hot to sod. The grass would not have taken properly. NYC Parks decided in July 2025 to hold-off on the sodding.
Friends will advocate for the lawn to be sodded in spring 2026. In the meantime, in mid-August 2025 bluegrass and clover seed was spread on the lawn in an effort to “green” it for fall.
CONTRIBUTE HERE
The Friends of Washington Market Park is a nonprofit 501c3 neighborhood organization with an all-volunteer Board.
Our mission: to produce free community events and support park restorations and improvements. We’d love your help.
SUBSCRIBE HERE
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