GREENSTREET

What was here before?
This park falls within the Tribeca West Historic district, designated in 1991 and distinguished by its many late 19th-century loft and warehouse buildings built for the purposes of light manufacturing, storage and food processing. In 1919, the widening and extension of Varick Street created this triangular space at Varick’s intersection with West Broadway and Franklin Street. At that time the neighborhood of the West Ward, as it was known, was mainly a working-class Irish community. By the late 20th century, it had transformed into a fashionable, upscale locale, renamed Tribeca (TRIangle BElow CAnal Street) by developers.

How did this site become a park?
For almost 70 years, the property was a barren slab of concrete. Thornless honey locust trees provide a green canopy, and a garden of shrubs and flowers now beautifies the triangle. The transformation, which took place in April 1998, is the product of Greenstreets, a joint program started in 1986 and revived in 1994 by Parks and the Department of Transportation, to turn drab traffic islands into attractive green spaces. Parks planted trees, and Tribeca residents planted floral beds and continue to maintain the garden. In collaboration with local artists, galleries, and cultural institutions, rotating exhibits of public art have been installed at the square’s paved southern point.

Who is this park named for?
The Board of Aldermen (predecessor of the City Council) named this space for Philip Schuyler Finn (1886-1918), who died fighting in World War I with New York’s 69th Regiment, the famous “Fighting Irish.” For most inhabitants of Lower Manhattan in the early 1900s, Finn Square conjured up memories of Philip Schuyler’s father, Daniel E. Finn (1845-1910).

“Battery Dan,” as the elder Finn was known, was a Tammany Hall politician and Democratic leader of Lower Manhattan. He won his nickname and support from his constituents when he successfully opposed the construction of commercial piers along Battery Park, citing the necessity for open space in the crowded neighborhood. He became a city magistrate and police judge in 1904, dispensing advice rather than harsh sentences. Admonitions such as “Don’t try to compel a girl to love you if she prefers someone else. Get another to take her place,” to two youths fighting over a girl, or “Don’t wreck or sell your body and soul for diamonds and automobiles,” to a prostitute endeared him to New Yorkers across the city. Finn’s encounter with three bulldogs on his way to a court session in the Bronx, which prompted him to climb a lamppost and yell for help, was a media sensation and endeared him to New Yorkers.

A New York Times editorial at the time of his death in 1910 praised him as “an idealist,” “a friend of the people,” and added, “He was fairly adored by thousands as leader, friend, and protector.” Crowds of mourners lined the streets as Finn’s funeral procession led to St. Peter’s Church.