Riverside Park

Linda Stone Davidoff (1941-2003) devoted herself tirelessly to the city and its people as a planner, advocate and public servant. In her lifetime, she headed several non-profit organizations, including The Parks Council, the New York League of Conservation Voters, Citizen Action of New York and Citizens Union and Citizens Union Foundation.

Linda was a key figure in the development of Riverside Park South. In 1991, leading a coalition of the city’s key civic and environmental groups, she helped to create a plan called Riverside South that significantly reduced the size of a proposed private housing development and made possible this dramatic sweep of waterfront parkland. This coalition, which became the Riverside South Planning Corporation, included The Parks Council, the Regional Plan Association, the Riverside Park Fund, Westpride, the Municipal Art Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and secured the City’s approval of the park. Thanks to Linda’s vision and perseverance, Riverside Park South will be a 27-acre waterfront oasis that will serve generations of New Yorkers to come. The park not only preserves the West Side’s historic waterfront but also completes the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway by connecting Hudson River Park and Riverside Park.

Linda resided on the West Side and raised her family in its parks, and was able to see her plans for Riverside Park South come to fruition. In 2004, Commissioner Benepe named this area between 65th and 68th Streets in Riverside Park South ‘Linda’s Lawn’ to honor Linda for these achievements and for her years of public service.