Hugh J. Grant Circle

NYC PARKS BREAKS GROUND ON $10 MILLION HUGH J. GRANT CIRCLE AND VIRGINIA PARK PROJECT

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined State Assembly Member Karines Reyes, Community Board 9 Assistant District Manager Shirley SanAndres-Alonzo, Founder and Director of Loving in the Bronx Nilka Martell, and members of the community to break ground on new amenities and upgrades to Hugh J. Grant Circle and Virginia Park through the Parks Without Borders (PWB) initiative, funded by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Improvements will make the area a more open, accessible, and seamless part of the community.

“The Parks Without Borders initiative is one of the keys to reimagining and improving our park system, creating vibrant public spaces for all New Yorkers,” said Commissioner Silver. “Thanks to the Mayor’s investment, our Parks Without Borders renovations are increasing accessibility and openness in our greenspaces, improving the neighborhoods around them for generations to come.”

Hugh J. Grant Circle is a major confluence of urban activity, located at the center of a busy commercial corridor. This Parks Without Borders project will redesign the park entrances, and provide new pavements, curbs, and fences to redefine this public space. Benches, drinking fountains, and plantings will also be added, enhancing the overall appearance of the site. Park security lighting will further activate the public area, providing a safer, more welcoming passage.

Parks Without Borders was announced in November 2015 with a call for community involvement. NYC Parks asked New Yorkers to nominate the sites that would benefit the most from a PWB improvement project. Utilizing an online survey and 37 conferences with citizens, Parks received more than 6,000 nominations for 691 parks—approximately 30 percent of our parks. The eight selected showcase projects, sharing $40 million in funding from Mayor de Blasio, were revealed in May 2016; and an additional $10 million has been applied to another 40 capital projects in progress.

The other PWB projects are: Fort Greene Park (Brooklyn); Prospect Park (Brooklyn); Jackie Robinson Park and Seward Park (Manhattan); Faber Park (Staten Island); and Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Queens).