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95-526: Thomas Jefferson Park is a 15.52-acre (6.28 ha) public park in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City . The park is on First Avenue between 111th and 114th Streets. It contains a playground as well as facilities for baseball, basketball, football, handball, running, skating, and soccer. The Thomas Jefferson Play Center within the park consists of a recreation center and

190-427: A site-specific artwork , consists of an oval disk adjacent to a shape resembling a crescent. The northern pathway contains a steel-and-bronze sculpture, El Arbol de Esperanza (Tree of Hope), by L. Brower Hatcher. The 18-foot-tall (5.5 m) work, dedicated in 1995, consists of a tree trunk topped by a globe with bronze figures created by local children. Despite being named for former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson ,

285-469: A Free Breakfast for Children and a Free Health Clinic to help Latino and poor families. The Young Lords came together with the Black Panthers and called for Puerto Rican independence and neighborhood empowerment. By the beginning of the 21st century, East Harlem was a racially diverse neighborhood, with about a third of the population being Puerto Rican. As it has been throughout its history, it

380-460: A ceremony attended by several thousand people. The park had cost $ 3 million to build, or about $ 4.46 per square foot ($ 48.0/m). The high cost mostly came from the $ 2.7 million cost of land acquisition and was attributed to the existing density of East Harlem. There were initially separate facilities for boys and girls; each had a gymnasium, running track, playground, and shower area. The New York Sun called Thomas Jefferson Park "the first playground in

475-577: A depth of 4 feet (1.2 m). The wading pool measures 100 feet (30 m) wide and 51 feet (16 m) long. The pool area contains fountains at its western and eastern ends. The main pool contains two water circulation fountains at its center. The diving pool had seven diving boards, of which one was a high board, but when it was converted to a wading pool in 1992, the diving boards were removed. The main and diving pools collectively held 1,080,000 U.S. gallons (4,100,000 L; 900,000 imp gal). An NYC Parks press release from 1936 indicates that, when

570-540: A distance of approximately 250 meters (270 yards) and provided protection from inclement weather. Only about 100 meters (110 yards) of this wall exists today, but brick debris and grooves on the rock face along the western side of the rock clearly show where the rest of this wall once stood. Parapets surrounding roofs are common in London . This dates from the Building Act 1707 which banned projecting wooden eaves in

665-513: A distance prescribed by building code. Parapets on bridges and other highway structures (such as retaining walls ) prevent users from falling off where there is a drop. They may also be meant to restrict views, to prevent rubbish passing below, and to act as noise barriers . Bridge parapets may be made from any material, but structural steel , aluminium , timber and reinforced concrete are common. They may be of solid or framed construction. In European standards , parapets are defined as

760-644: A federal agency created as part of the New Deal to combat the Depression's negative effects. Eleven of these pools were to be designed concurrently and open in 1936. Moses, along with architects Aymar Embury II and Gilmore David Clarke , created a common design for these proposed aquatic centers. Each location was to have distinct pools for diving, swimming, and wading; bleachers and viewing areas; and bathhouses with locker rooms that could be used as gymnasiums. The pools were to have several common features, such as

855-448: A gathering place for elderly men, was rundown by 1966, with faulty heaters and rotting roof beams. Part of the bathhouse was destroyed in an electrical fire in 1973, and the original classical style pavilion was destroyed in the 1970s due to vandalism. The park had been the site of several killings, including a gang beating in 1958 and a shooting in 1974. By the 1970s, Thomas Jefferson Park and other city parks were in poor condition following

950-795: A growing population of Mexican Americans and Salvadoran Americans and other Central American immigrants. It has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in all of New York City. As of 2010, the Puerto Rican population was 27.7% in zip code 10029, and 23.4% in 10035. 10035 also has a large Mexican population, at 10.7%. As noted before, the number of Asians in East Harlem more than doubled between 2000 and 2010, largely due to Chinese people moving to East Harlem. Increasing rents in Lower Manhattan's Chinatown have driven many into public and subsidized housing developments in

1045-582: A large and conspicuous community through the 1980s and 1990s, and even later, the Italian-American community in East Harlem remained strong in certain areas, particularly around Pleasant Avenue . Today, the few remaining Italian-American residents in Harlem are predominantly older, clustered around Pleasant Avenue and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church , mainly from 114th to 118th Streets and

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1140-469: A minimum 55-yard (50 m) length, underwater lighting, heating, filtration, and low-cost construction materials. To fit the requirement for cheap materials, each building would be built using elements of the Streamline Moderne and Classical architectural styles. The buildings would also be near "comfort stations", additional playgrounds, and spruced-up landscapes. Construction for some of

1235-595: A playground next to the adjacent Benjamin Franklin High School opened in 1942. The pool was extensively refurbished in 1992, followed by the park in 1994. The Thomas Jefferson Play Center was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2007. Thomas Jefferson Park is in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City . It is bounded by 111th Street to

1330-518: A pool. The park and play center, named for former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson , are maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). The land for the park was acquired starting in 1897. Though the park opened in 1902, the first recreational facilities did not open until 1905. The pool and bathhouse was designed by Stanley C. Brogren during a Works Progress Administration project in 1935–1936, while

1425-436: A sub-category of "vehicle restraint systems" or "pedestrian restraint systems". A parapet fortification (known as a breastwork when temporary) is a wall of stone, wood or earth on the outer edge of a defensive wall or trench , which shelters the defenders. In medieval castles , they were often crenellated . In later artillery forts , parapets tend to be higher and thicker. They could be provided with embrasures for

1520-570: A temple. The hāra can be decorated with various miniature pavilions, according to the Kāmikāgama. In the Bible the Hebrews are obligated to build a parapet on the roof of their houses to prevent people falling (Deuteronomy 22:8). Many firewalls are required to have a parapet, a portion of the wall extending above the roof. The parapet is required to be as fire resistant as the lower wall, and extend

1615-513: A tribute to the park's namesake. The recreation center was also praised for using "simple materials simply disposed". The New York City Board of Aldermen first devised plans in 1894 for Thomas Jefferson Park, to be built in Italian Harlem . The city acquired the land for the park starting in 1897. Samuel Parsons was involved with the initial design. An early plan for the park called for an artificial lake and marble cottage to be built in

1710-506: A web site on the history and culture of Puerto Ricans, founded a media gallery and digital film studio called MediaNoche in 2003. It presents technology-based art on Park Avenue and 102nd Street, providing exhibition space and residencies for artists and filmmakers, and webcasting events. East Harlem is served by two precincts of the NYPD . The area north of 116th Street is served by the 25th Precinct, located at 120 East 119th Street, while

1805-475: Is 3.9 years lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most residents are children and middle-aged adults: 21% are between the ages of 0–17, while 33% are between 25 and 44, and 23% are between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 10% and 13% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 11

1900-713: Is centered around Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel . Italian retail establishments still exist in Italian Harlem, such as Rao's restaurant, which started in 1896, and the original Patsy's Pizzeria , which opened in 1933. Another major Italian retail businesses in the neighborhood, a barbershop opened by Claudio Caponigro on 116th Street in the mid-1950s, was threatened with closure by a rent increase in May 2011 but ultimately closed only in 2019 when Mr. Caponigro retired. Puerto Rican and Latin American migration after

1995-540: Is considered to be gentrifying : according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and has seen above-median rent growth up to 2010. In the 2020 census report, East Harlem's demographics were separated into north and south parts. North East Harlem had between 30,000 and 39,999 Hispanic residents, 20,000 to 29,999 Black residents, 5,000 to 9,999 White residents, and less than 5000 Asian residents. Meanwhile, South East Harlem

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2090-490: Is dominated by public housing complexes of various types, with a high concentration of older tenement buildings between these developments. The neighborhood contains the second-highest concentration of public housing in the United States, behind Brownsville, Brooklyn . The total land area is 1.54 sq mi (4.0 km ). After a wave of arson ravaged the low income communities of New York City throughout

2185-448: Is flanked by two L-shaped wings, which extend east around the pool area. The northern wing was designed with locker and restroom facilities for women, while the southern wing was designed with facilities for men. The recreation center also contains a fitness room, afterschool room, media lab, and multipurpose room. The outer facades of both wings are grouped into vertical bays . Each bay contains square hopper windows , which only illuminate

2280-401: Is one of the neighborhood's largest social service agencies, reaching more than 13,000 people annually at 17 locations throughout East Harlem, through a range of programs, including early childhood education, youth development, senior services, job training, the arts, adult education , nutrition, counseling, a farmers' market, community development, and neighborhood cultural events. East Harlem

2375-415: Is predominantly a working-class neighborhood. Until 2006, property values in East Harlem climbed along with those in the rest of New York City, leading to gentrification and changes to area demographics . On March 12, 2014, at 9:00 EDT , a large explosion and fire at 1644–1646 Park Avenue killed eight people and injured more than 70. The New York Post listed one part of the neighborhood –

2470-462: Is terrace seating slightly raised above the main deck. The recreation center, originally the bathhouse, is a U-shaped brick structure, with a main entrance facing west on First Avenue between 112th and 113th Streets. The main entrance is through a central pavilion that is curved slightly outward. The entrance pavilion consists of a small stoop with ramps on either side. The entrance is 45 feet (14 m) wide and contains four concrete columns supporting

2565-455: Is unclear whether Moses did this on purpose. In any case, black and Hispanic residents often faced violence if they tried to swim at Thomas Jefferson Pool or visit the park in general. In subsequent years, the Italian population of the area decreased, while the black and Hispanic population increased. During the late 20th century, the park grew decrepit. The bathhouse, used during the winter as

2660-406: The 1975 New York City fiscal crisis . NYC Parks commenced a project to restore the pools in several parks in 1977, including at Thomas Jefferson Park, for whose restoration the agency set aside an estimated $ 2.9 million. These projects were not carried out due to a lack of money. By March 1981, NYC Parks had only 2,900 employees in its total staff, less than 10 percent of the 30,000 present when Moses

2755-648: The East and Harlem Rivers to the east and north. Despite its name, it is generally not considered to be a part of Harlem proper , but it is one of the neighborhoods included in Greater Harlem. The neighborhood has one of the largest Hispanic communities in New York City, mostly Puerto Ricans , as well as Dominicans , Cubans , and Mexicans. The community is notable for its contributions to Latin freestyle and salsa music . East Harlem also includes

2850-555: The First World War established an enclave at the western portion of East Harlem – around 110th Street and Lexington Avenue  – which became known as "Spanish Harlem". The area slowly grew to encompass all of East Harlem, including Italian Harlem, as Italians moved out – to the Bronx , Brooklyn , Long Island , upstate New York and New Jersey  – and Nuyoricans moved in during another wave of immigration in

2945-490: The Union Settlement Association , one of the oldest settlement houses in New York City, began providing services in the area, offering the immigrant and low-income residents a range of community-based programs, including boys and girls clubs, a sewing school and adult education classes. Southern Italians and Sicilians , with a moderate number of Northern Italians , soon predominated, especially in

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3040-691: The "East Harlem Neighborhood Plan", which was offered to the city in February 2017, but in August 2017 residents and the Manhattan Borough President , Gale Brewer , complained that the city had ignored their plan almost entirely. In 2019, the oldest portion of the neighborhood, the blocks of East 111th through 120th Streets between Park and Pleasant Avenues, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as

3135-537: The 11 pools began in October 1934. Embury filed plans for a bathhouse and swimming pool at Thomas Jefferson Park in August 1935, but the actual design of the pool and bathhouse has been attributed to Stanley C. Brogren. The next month, La Guardia presided over the opening of the northern playground, which contained athletic fields, a wading pool, and children's play equipment. The southern playground opened that November, with shuffleboard, bocce, and horseshoe courts. Many of

3230-460: The 1930s to describe the Latino enclave – along with "Italian Harlem" and "Negro Harlem" – the name began to be used to describe the entire East Harlem neighborhood by the 1950s. Later, the name "El Barrio" ("The Neighborhood") began to be used, especially by residents of the area. In the 1950s and 1960s, large sections of East Harlem were leveled for urban renewal projects, and the neighborhood

3325-582: The 1940s and 1950s. The newly dominant Puerto Rican population, which reached 63,000 in 1950, continued to define the neighborhood according to its needs, establishing bodegas and botánicas as it expanded; by the 1930s there was already an enclosed street market underneath the Park Avenue railroad viaduct between 111th and 116th Streets, called "La Marqueta" ("The Market"). Catholic and evangelistic Protestant churches appeared in storefronts. Although "Spanish Harlem" had been in use since at least

3420-403: The 1970s, many of the residential structures in East Harlem were left seriously damaged or destroyed. By the late 1970s, the city began to rehabilitate many abandoned tenement style buildings and designate them as low income housing. Despite recent gentrification of the neighborhood, large numbers of apartment buildings have been deliberately kept vacant by their owners. Although the businesses on

3515-695: The Black population's decrease was evenly split. The Hispanic/Latino population also decreased by 4% (2,485), a decrease almost entirely concentrated in East Harlem South, where it fell from being the majority group to the plurality group. The small population of other races experienced a slight increase of 5% (132). The entirety of Manhattan Community District 11 , which consists of East Harlem, Randall's Island , and Ward's Island , had 124,323 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 77.3 years. This

3610-485: The East Harlem Historic District. The New York City Department of City Planning classifies East Harlem into two neighborhood tabulation areas: East Harlem North and East Harlem South, divided along 115th Street. The two areas had a combined population of 115,921, an increase of 1,874 (1.4%) from the combined 114,047 in the 2000 Census . Based on data from the 2010 United States Census ,

3705-544: The East River at 106th Street was the beginning of an Italian neighborhood, with 4,000 having arrived by the mid-1880s. As more immigrants arrived, it expanded north to East 115th Street and west to Third Avenue . East Harlem consisted of pockets of ethnically sorted settlements – Italian, German, Irish, and Jewish – which were beginning to press up against each other, with the spaces still between them occupied by "gasworks, stockyards and tar and garbage dumps". In 1895,

3800-619: The Genovese family. During the 1970s, Italian East Harlem was also home to the Italian-American drug gang and murder-for-hire crew known as the East Harlem Purple Gang . In the 1920s and early 1930s, Italian Harlem was represented in Congress by future Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia . After becoming mayor, La Guardia helped plan a large expansion of Thomas Jefferson Park at First Avenue, between 111th and 114th Streets, in

3895-517: The Thomas Jefferson Pool by making the water too cold. However, no other source backs the claim that the Thomas Jefferson Pool had different heating equipment from any other pool. As with all of the city's other WPA pools, diesel motors were used to pump water into the pool, and excess heat from these motors was used to keep the water warm. Caro also wrote that predominantly white lifeguards were hired at Thomas Jefferson Park, although it

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3990-400: The area as well, is now closed. In addition, FDNY EMS Station 10 is located close to Metropolitan Hospital Center. A lack of access to healthy food causes serious hardships to citizens of East Harlem, a neighborhood which is considered to be a food desert . According to an April 2008 report prepared by the New York City Department of City Planning , East Harlem is an area of the city with

4085-501: The area east of Lexington Avenue between 96th and 116th Streets and east of Madison Avenue between 116th and 125th Streets, with each street featuring people from different regions of Italy. The neighborhood became known as "Italian Harlem", the Italian American hub of Manhattan; it was the first part of Manhattan to be referred to as " Little Italy ". The first Italians arrived in East Harlem in 1878, from Polla in

4180-400: The area south of 116th Street is served by the 23rd Precinct, located at 164 East 102nd Street. The 25th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 62.1% between 1990 and 2021. The precinct reported 16 murders, 12 rapes, 242 robberies, 382 felony assaults, 108 burglaries, 401 grand larcenies, and 66 grand larcenies auto in 2012. Of

4275-515: The area. Although crime rates have dropped from the historically high numbers of the crack epidemic , East Harlem suffers from a high violent crime rate, especially in the 25th Precinct above 115th Street. In 2021, the 25th Precinct had the second-highest rates of felony assault and robbery, the sixteenth-highest rate of rape, and the highest rate of murder out of the New York Police Department 's 77 precincts. East Harlem has

4370-589: The block of Lexington Avenue between East 123rd and 124th Streets – as one of "the most dangerous blocks in the city" because police crime statistics for 2015 showed that 19 assaults had taken place there, more than for any other city block. The Post also reported that there were, according to the Harlem Neighborhood Block Association, "22 drug-treatment programs, four homeless-services providers and four transitional-living facilities" in East Harlem. East Harlem has begun to feel

4465-415: The cities of Westminster and London as a fire risk. Instead an 18-inch brick parapet was required, with the roof set behind. This was continued in many Georgian houses, as it gave the appearance of a flat roof which accorded with the desire for classical proportions. In Shilpa Shastras , the ancient Indian science of sculpture, a parapet is known as hāra . It is optionally added while constructing

4560-431: The city average. In East Harlem, there were 108 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 10.8 teenage births per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide), though the teenage birth rate was based on a small sample size. East Harlem has a low population of residents who are uninsured . In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 3%, slightly less than

4655-607: The citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 23% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-four percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 76% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", less than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in East Harlem, there are 17 bodegas . Metropolitan Hospital Center and Mount Sinai Hospital are both located in southern East Harlem. North General Hospital , which formerly served

4750-503: The citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size. The concentration of fine particulate matter , the deadliest type of air pollutant , in East Harlem is 0.0082 mg/m (8.2 × 10  oz/cu ft), more than the city average. Eighteen percent of East Harlem residents are smokers , which is more than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In East Harlem, 28% of residents are obese , 17% are diabetic , and 34% have high blood pressure —compared to

4845-490: The citywide rate of 59 per 100,000. Its incarceration rate is 1,291 per 100,000 people, compared to the boroughwide rate of 407 per 100,000 and the citywide rate of 425 per 100,000. In 2019, the highest concentration of felony assaults in East Harlem was around the intersection of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue , where there were 39 felony assaults. This location is well known as an open-air drug market and hotspot of other crimes. The highest concentration of robberies, on

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4940-538: The coming years, and the pools retained a reputation for high crime. For the summer of 1991, mayor David Dinkins had planned to close all 32 outdoor pools in the city, a decision that was only reversed after a $ 2 million donation from a trust created upon the death of real estate developer Sol Goldman and $ 1.8 million from other sources. Additionally, in the 1990s, a practice called "whirlpooling" became common in New York City pools such as Thomas Jefferson Park, wherein women would be inappropriately fondled by teenage boys. By

5035-554: The concentration of Italian Americans in the Lower East Side 's Little Italy with 88 percent; Italian Harlem's total population, however, was three times that of Little Italy. The fabric of the Italian-American community was torn when, after the Second World War, the unhealthy tenements started to be demolished and replaced with better housing, forcing families to relocate. Despite this, Italian Harlem endured as

5130-543: The effects of gentrification . In February 2016, an article in The New York Times about "New York's Next Hot Neighborhoods" featured East Harlem as one of four such areas. A real-estate broker described it as "one of the few remaining areas in New York City where you can secure a good deal". The article mentioned new luxury developments, access to transportation, the opening of new retail stores, bars and restaurants, and national-brand stores beginning to appear on

5225-441: The five major violent felonies (murder, rape, felony assault, robbery, and burglary), the 23rd Precinct had a rate of 819 crimes per 100,000 residents in 2019, compared to the boroughwide average of 632 crimes per 100,000 and the citywide average of 572 crimes per 100,000. As of 2018 , Community District 11 has a non-fatal assault hospitalization rate of 130 per 100,000 people, compared to the boroughwide rate of 49 per 100,000 and

5320-586: The five major violent felonies (murder, rape, felony assault, robbery, and burglary), the 25th Precinct had a rate of 1,340 crimes per 100,000 residents in 2019, compared to the boroughwide average of 632 crimes per 100,000 and the citywide average of 572 crimes per 100,000. The 23rd Precinct also has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 69.7% between 1990 and 2021. The precinct reported 8 murders, 16 rapes, 189 robberies, 366 felony assaults, 109 burglaries, 383 grand larcenies, and 60 grand larcenies auto in 2021. Of

5415-574: The ground floor are retained, landlords do not want to have the trouble involved in residential tenants. In some cases, landlords are waiting for a revived economy, warehousing the apartments so that they can rent them later at a higher rent. In 2007, a survey of Manhattan's buildings found that 1,723 were significantly vacant, three-quarters of them north of 96th Street . A 1998 survey found that one-quarter of low-rise residential buildings on avenues or major cross streets in East Harlem had sealed-up residential floors, despite having commercial businesses on

5510-584: The ground floor. There are 24 New York City Housing Authority developments located in East Harlem. As of 2013, 93.6% of all housing units were renter-occupied, and over 25% of the population resided in public housing units managed by the NYCHA. Other subsidized housing includes: The neighborhood is home to one of the few major television studios north of midtown, Metropolis at 106th Street and Park Avenue , where shows such as BET 's 106 & Park and Chappelle's Show have been produced. PRdream.com,

5605-507: The highest concentration of shelters and facilities in Manhattan, with eight homeless shelters, 36 drug and alcohol treatment facilities and 37 mental health treatment facilities. It also has the highest jobless rate in the entire city, as well as the city's second highest cumulative AIDS rate. The asthma rate is also five times higher than national levels. The neighborhood also suffers from a high poverty rate. Union Settlement Association

5700-424: The highest levels of diet-related diseases due to limited opportunities for citizens to purchase fresh foods. Parapet Parapets may be plain, embattled , perforated or panelled, which are not mutually exclusive terms. The Mirror Wall at Sigiriya , Sri Lanka built between 477 and 495 AD is one of the few surviving protective parapet walls from antiquity. Built onto the side of Sigiriya Rock it ran for

5795-737: The improvements being planned for the park was a classical pavilion. During construction, Thomas Jefferson Park hosted a ceremony in July 1904 where Archbishop John Murphy Farley , with permission from Pope Pius X , approved the Canonical coronation of an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the nearby Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church . Work on the improvements was completed by February 1905. The recreation facilities in Thomas Jefferson Park opened on October 7, 1905, with

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5890-453: The mid-1930s. The neighborhood was represented, in the 1940s, by Italian-American civil rights lawyer, activist, and socialist Vito Marcantonio . The Italian neighborhood approached its peak in the 1930s, with over 110,000 Italian-Americans living in its crowded, run-down apartment buildings. The 1930 census showed that 81 percent of the population of Italian Harlem consisted of first- or second-generation Italian Americans, somewhat less than

5985-696: The neighborhood. Advocates have been calling for Chinese language services to be available in the community centers to accommodate the growing number of Chinese residents in the area. In 2000, the Chinese population in the northern portion was less than one percent, but by 2010, it has gone up to three percent. In the southern part, it rose from 4.6% to 8.4%. Social problems, including concentrated poverty, homelessness, overcrowding, substandard housing, language barriers, food insecurity, teen pregnancy, obesity, crime, drug addiction, dropping out of school, and low rates of advanced educational attainment, have long plagued

6080-436: The northeastern and southeastern corners. The northeastern corner also contains two volleyball and eight handball courts, while the northwestern corner contains a soccer field. A dog run is at the southeast corner of the park. The Thomas Jefferson Pool is in the center third of the park and is oriented west–east, with two pools (formerly three). The main pool measures 100 feet (30 m) wide and 246 feet (75 m) long, with

6175-512: The original park features were replaced with New Deal-era designs, and upon La Guardia's request, bocce courts were added to the design. By mid-1936, ten of the eleven WPA-funded pools were completed and were being opened at a rate of one per week. The pool was the second pool to open, with a ceremony taking place on June 27, 1936. A playground in the northeast section of the park, near the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics (at

6270-537: The other hand, was around the intersection of 116th Street and Third Avenue , where there were 21 robberies. The Willis Avenue Bridge which connects East Harlem to the Mott Haven section of the Bronx has long been a hotspot for robbery. East Harlem is served by four New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations: As of 2018 , preterm births and births to teenage mothers in East Harlem are higher than

6365-415: The outskirts of the neighborhood. Primarily, though, it was the cost of housing in comparison to the rest of Manhattan, which the article noted as the major factor. Beginning in 2016, the New York City government was seeking to rezone East Harlem "to facilitate new residential, commercial, community facility, and manufacturing development". The residents of the neighborhood generated a suggested zoning plan,

6460-453: The park does not have a Jefferson sculpture. Thomas Jefferson Park contains two playgrounds. One is on First Avenue and 111th Street. at the southwestern corner, while the other is at Pleasant Avenue and 114th Street, at the northeastern corner. There are also three baseball fields: two in the southern third of the park, and the third at the eastern boundary of the park's center third. In addition, there are four basketball courts, two each at

6555-408: The park grounds was estimated to cost $ 2.6 million, but the winning contractor submitted a bid that was $ 1 million lower. The grounds renovation was completed in 1994 and the two artworks were installed the following year, In 1999, a reporter for The New York Times wrote that the pool had a "distinctly Latin flavor", with many of its visitors being Puerto Rican or Mexican. A synthetic turf soccer field

6650-486: The park. The recreational facilities also included a 200-by-60-foot (61 by 18 m) pier on the nearby Harlem River , which opened in 1899. The development of the park was intended to help Italian Harlem, which the Brooklyn Daily Eagle described as "for many years the black spot of Harlem"; the existing buildings on the park's site were demolished in mid-1899. By the end of that year, the last buildings on

6745-409: The pool was completed, there was another wading pool measuring 100 by 60 feet (30 by 18 m). According to contemporary sources, the pools had a capacity of 1,450 swimmers when built, though the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission cites a figure of 2,600 swimmers. The pools are separated by a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) deck with a wrought-iron fence. North and south of the pool area, there

6840-555: The population of East Harlem North was 58,019, an increase of 871 (1.5%) from the 57,148 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 573.94 acres (232.27 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 101.1/acre (64,700/sq mi; 25,000/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 6.8% (3,936) White , 35.5% (20,625) African American , 0.2% (128) Native American , 3.0% (1,766) Asian , 0.0% (9) Pacific Islander , 0.3% (185) from other races , and 1.3% (769) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 52.7% (30,601) of

6935-598: The population. Based on data from the 2010 Census, the population of East Harlem South was 57,902, an increase of 1,003 (1.8%) from the 56,899 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 389.41 acres (157.59 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 148.7/acre (95,200/sq mi; 36,700/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 17.4% (10,072) White, 24.6% (14,227) African American, 0.2% (96) Native American, 8.3% (4,802) Asian, 0.1% (55) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (218) from other races, and 1.6% (933) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47.5% (27,499) of

7030-582: The population. The most significant changes in the racial composition of East Harlem between 2000 and 2010 were the Asian population's increase by 109% (3,427), the White population's increase by 68% (5,689), and the Black population's decrease by 12% (4,625). Although more of the influx of Asian and White residents was in East Harlem South, the greatest percentage growth was in East Harlem North, while

7125-621: The province of Salerno , and settled in the vicinity of 115th Street. There were many crime syndicates in Italian Harlem, from the early Black Hand to the bigger and more organized Italian gangs that formed the Italian-American Mafia . It was the founding location of the Genovese crime family , one of the Five Families that dominated organized crime in New York City. This includes the current 116th Street Crew of

7220-416: The remnants of a once predominant Italian community , or Italian Harlem . The Chinese population has increased dramatically in East Harlem since 2000. East Harlem has historically suffered from many social issues, such as a high crime rate, the highest jobless rate in New York City, teenage pregnancy , AIDS , drug abuse , homelessness , and an asthma rate five times the national average. It has

7315-527: The second-highest concentration of public housing in the United States , behind Brownsville, Brooklyn . East Harlem is undergoing some gentrification , and in 2016 the city considered rezoning the area. East Harlem is part of Manhattan Community District 11 , and its primary ZIP Codes are 10029 and 10035. It is patrolled by the 23rd and 25th Precincts of the New York City Police Department . The area that became East Harlem

7410-516: The site of a former empty field. Thomas Jefferson Playground was reconstructed starting in 2019 and reopened in March 2021. East Harlem East Harlem , also known as Spanish Harlem , Finnish Harlem or El Barrio , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City , north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and

7505-478: The site were being demolished. The last lots, acquired from the Consolidated Gas Company, had been delayed due to disputes over compensation. The park opened on July 12, 1902; at the time, the site was undeveloped, and only nine acres (3.6 ha) of the fifteen-acre (6.1 ha) site was accessible to the public. A $ 150,000 contract to construct the park was awarded early the next year. Among

7600-556: The south, First Avenue to the west, 114th Street to the north, and the FDR Drive to the east. Thomas Jefferson Park covers 15.52 acres (6.28 ha). Two paths cross the park from west to east at approximately 112th and 113th Streets, dividing the park roughly into thirds. These pathways contain benches, trees, and cast-iron lamps. The southern pathway contains a steel sculpture, Tomorrow's Wind, by sculptor Mel Edwards . The 13.5-foot-tall (4.1 m) sculpture, installed in 1995 as

7695-472: The street rather than at the park. In 1934, mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia nominated Robert Moses to become commissioner of a unified New York City Department of Parks and Recreation . At the time, the United States was experiencing the Great Depression ; immediately after La Guardia won the 1933 election , Moses began to write "a plan for putting 80,000 men to work on 1,700 relief projects". By

7790-529: The surrounding area. According to the 2000 Census , there were only 1,130 Italian-Americans still living in this area. However, vestiges of the old Italian neighborhood remain. The annual Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the "Dancing of the Giglio", the first Italian feast in New York City, is still celebrated there every year on the second weekend of August by the Giglio Society of East Harlem and

7885-564: The time he was in office, several hundred such projects were underway across the city. Moses was especially interested in creating new pools and other bathing facilities, such as those in Jacob Riis Park , Jones Beach , and Orchard Beach . He devised a list of 23 pools around the city, including one at Thomas Jefferson Park. The pools would be built using funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA),

7980-519: The time known as the Benjamin Franklin High School), was completed in 1942. While there were many black and Hispanic residents near Thomas Jefferson Park, its pool was used mostly by white residents of Italian Harlem, while black and Hispanic residents mostly used Harlem's other pool at Colonial Park . According to Moses biographer Robert Caro , close associates of Moses had claimed they could keep African Americans from using

8075-414: The top of the pavilion, where bronze letters with the words thomas jefferson play center are mounted. The central pavilion is enclosed by a glass block wall behind the columns. but was originally open to the outdoors, with only a freestanding ticket booth. Similar glass block walls and columns face east toward the pool. The pavilion is topped by a concrete parapet and string courses . The main entrance

8170-444: The top portions of the facade, as well as raised brick swags above the windows. Each bay is separated by stone pilasters topped by stone medallions. The corners of each wing are hexagonal. The pool area has a similar design to the outer facades. Architectural critic Lewis Mumford called the recreation center's design an instance of "sound vernacular modern architecture", but criticized its classical features, which were meant to be

8265-514: The turn of the century, crimes such as sexual assaults had decreased in parks citywide due to increased security. Thomas Jefferson Park received an extensive renovation in the early 1990s, funded by a $ 10.5 million capital expenditure. Richard Dattner was hired to renovate the pool and bathhouse. As part of the project, the diving pool was converted into a wading pool. The pool project was completed in January 1992 for $ 8.5 million. The renovation of

8360-502: The world that has a running track for girls". There was also a classical-style pavilion. A "farm garden", with over a thousand plots for children, was added in May 1911. The farm gardens, taking up 2 acres (0.81 ha), were used to teach children horticultural skills. A grove of trees, dedicated to veterans killed in World War I, was placed at First Avenue and 113th Street in 1923. By the 1930s, neighborhood children preferred to play in

8455-515: Was $ 36,770. In 2018, an estimated 23% of Community District 11 residents lived in poverty , compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in nine residents (11%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 48% in Community District 11, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Community District 11

8550-456: Was installed in the park in 2003. In 2007, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Thomas Jefferson Pool and Play Center as a landmark. The commission had previously considered the pool for landmark status in 1990, along with the other ten WPA pools in the city. The soccer field was temporarily closed in 2008 and 2009 following the discovery of high lead concentrations. Thomas Jefferson Park's skatepark opened in 2017 on

8645-427: Was more racially diverse with 20,000 to 29,999 Hispanic residents, 10,000 to 19,999 Black residents, 10,000 to 19,999 white residents, and 5,000 to 9,999 Asian residents. Community District 11 is a mostly low to middle income area. It is made up of first and second generation Puerto Ricans , Dominican Americans , Cuban Americans , African-Americans , Italian-Americans , Asian-Americans , Caribbean Americans and

8740-547: Was one of the hardest hit areas in the 1960s and 1970s as New York City struggled with deficits, race riots , urban flight , gang warfare, drug abuse, crime and poverty. Tenements were crowded, poorly maintained, and frequent targets for arson. In 1969 and 1970, a regional chapter of the Young Lords which were reorganized from a neighborhood street gang in Chicago by Jose (Cha-Cha) Jimenez , ran several programs including

8835-452: Was parks commissioner. Starting in the early 1970s, a group of "junior lifeguards" was hired to keep the pools and bathhouse clean. During this era, Thomas Jefferson Pool employed the first female lifeguard at any NYC Parks facility. According to landscape designer Lynden B. Miller , the park received a large number of plantings in the mid-1980s, but they died off due to a lack of maintenance. NYC Parks continued to face financial shortfalls in

8930-508: Was rural for most of the 19th century, but residential settlements northeast of Third Avenue and East 110th Street had developed by the 1860s. The construction of the elevated transit line to Harlem in 1879 and 1880, and the building of the Lexington Avenue subway in 1919, urbanized the area, precipitating the construction of apartment buildings and brownstones . The extension of cable cars up Lexington Avenue into East Harlem

9025-525: Was stymied by the incline created by Duffy's Hill at 103rd Street , one of the steepest grades in Manhattan. East Harlem was first populated by poor German, Irish, Scandinavian, and Eastern European Jewish immigrants, with the Jewish population standing at 90,000 around 1917. In the 1870s, Italian immigrants joined the mix after a contractor building trolley tracks on First Avenue imported Italian laborers as strikebreakers . The workers' shantytown along

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