Gerson Ticked Off at Parks

In this week's Villager (article not posted online till tomorrow), Lincoln Anderson reports that that City Council member Alan Gerson is threatening to withhold $6 million from the Parks Department for the long-delayed and -debated renovation of Washington Square Park. It seems that Parks reneged on a promise it made to Mr. Gerson and Council Speaker Christine Quinn last fall to not reduce the size of the park's central plaza by more than 10 percent; the park's revised redesign would reduce it by 23 percent.

Debates have been waged for over a year about the future of Washington Square Park, with Community Board 2 the epicenter of the battle. Two lawsuits are currently being pursued to stop the renovation, which is budgeted at $16 million.