Our History | Friends of Columbus Park

How It All Began

September 5, 2001: Led by City Councilman elect Alan J. Gerson and concerned community groups, a press conference was held in front of the Columbus Park Pavilion to raise public awareness of the horrible conditions of the pavilion. The pavilion, neglected by the City of New York and community leaders of NY Chinatown had been closed to the general public for several years and had become a nesting ground for hundreds of pigeons.
January 2002: FoCP received its 501(c)3 status, operating as an all-volunteer, not-for-profit, community-based organization in Chinatown, NY.

What Have We Done?

May 2002: Helped to organize support of the NY Chinatown community for the NYC Parks & Recreation Department's proposal of an Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) grant of $1M to restore the Columbus Park Pavilion.
October 30, 2002: Organized members of the community to inspect the overall conditions of the lower and upper levels of the Pavilion.
May 15, 2003: Organized the community to meet with Bill Castro, the Manhattan Parks Commissioner, and his staff to discuss changes and restoration plans for the Columbus Park Pavilion and landscaping ideas for the park.
June 29, 2003: Organized an event for kids in the community to help clean up Columbus Park.
July 20, 2003: Protested the proposed renaming of the Columbus Park Ball Field to "NYS Court House Memorial Field" at the Community Board 3 meeting with members of the community.
August 13, 2003: Organized a community meeting with City Council Member Alan J. Gerson to discuss the NYC Parks plan for the renovation of Columbus Park.
August 2003: Received a Mellon Grant to start a Friday Night Film Festival in the park. We screened films every Friday night in front of the Pavilion for the local community in August and September.
June 2004: NYC Parks invites FoCP and other community organizations to meet at the park to discuss their plans for renovation of the ball field. They shared plans to replace the asphalt with synthetic turf (fake grass), which was met with skepticism and unanswered questions. This led FoCP to begin a campaign against the installation of synthetic turf.
August 2004: FoCP campaigned for the installation of an all-purpose field that would serve more of the community, in place of the proposed synthetic grass. A petition drive secured 3,505 names and 405 businesses in favor of a multi-purpose turf.
October 2004: Reached a negotiated settlement with NYC Parks, which included dividing the field with approximately half being synthetic turf and half being all-purpose asphalt. The asphalt section would include the installation of 3 1/2 basketball courts and 3 volleyball courts.
June 2005: Sponsored the Jacquelynn Young Inspiration Scholarship for high school seniors.
May 2006: Began our Sports for Kids in NY Chinatown basketball clinics program at P.S. 124 Yung Wing School.
May 2008: Held our first Sports for Kids Basketball Tournament at P.S. 124 Yung Wing School.