Activity 8

Activity 8( Riverbank State Park)

Rosedelle Chery

For activity 8, my group and group 7 decided to go to Riverbank State Park Yankee Stadium. The first place we went to was Riverbank State park and I must admit that it one of the best places I have been too while living here in the city. I never even knew this park existed before that day and I couldn’t believe that New York had such a great place that wasn’t advertised as much. The ride there, like most of these activities, was very long. Since I live in Rockaway, which is basically on the opposite side of side of the Park, the ride took about 2hrs and 15mins. I think that the distance from my home is one of the main reasons why I have never been to Riverbank, which is Harlem. Not to say that I have never been to Harlem, because I frequented 125^th street a couple of times when I was younger, but that was just to do my hair. Other than that, I never really explored Harlem the way it deserved and now I see that I have been missing out on a lot.

The park really did surprise because it had a lot of activities available and it wasn’t just trees and open field, which I initially thought. Central Park, Washington Square Park and Bryant Park are all common NY parks and they are all great in their own way, however they don’t really offer much. Besides being nice, relaxing and “naturey”, there’s really nothing else there, and that’s what I expected from Riverbank. However Riverbank had a seemly gigantic swimming pool and football/soccer field, a baseball field and basket ball court. Walking around that park was a workout in its self. The fact that park provided all those recreational activity while still retaining the nature aspect really impressed me. Riverbank had a good balance that, to me, made it very welcoming to everyone. While walking around I saw these two men with their kids and at first I didn’t want to just assume that they were gay, but as the kids ran off to play on the park’s carousel, they sat on a bench and started holding each other and being very affectionate. I mention this because it’s a great example of what people, gay people especially, making a very public space private. In the article by George Chauncey, Gay Use of the Street”, he mentions that parks were used as cruising places for gay men and also they were as safe havens from discrimination in closed spaces like bars. He writes “this provided a useful cover for men wandering in search of others. Few gay men stood out among the other couples, families, and groups of friends, and neighbors who thronged the parks, socializing, playing sports, and eating their picnic suppers.(p226)” Chauncey also even mentioned Riverbank State park in this article. He writes “Riverside Park,

stretching along the western shore of Manhattan, where ships of all sorts were

moored, was also a major cruising area and social center, especially for seamen

and their admirers. (227)” After seeing the kids have so much fun on the carousel, I couldn’t resist and decided to try it out. Needless to say, I was very dizzy when I got off, but it was still fun. I didn’t really engage in a lot that the park that to offer because I didn’t except it to offer so many things. I did walk by the Hudson River, which I never really saw that close. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a great view and scenery and Riverside had a great view the water and New Jersey.

I was really shocked to find out that the park was built on top of a sewage plant. I guess building on top of a sewage plant has its benefits, in that, it’s better to have a beautiful park taking up place, providing great scenery, rather than a great bog sewage plant, that would not increase tourism to Harlem or better the community. I was disgusted to learn that the park is being threatened to be closed down. I think that closing down the park would be a horrible idea and would not benefit the city in anyway. One of the reasons New York is so great is because it’s supposed to diverse in the things that it offers its citizens and tourist. Rather than trying to close it, city officials need to focus on preserving it for future generations. The city needs to advertise it more so that more people can go there and provide revenue for Harlem, which benefits everyone. Jane Jacobs said it best in her book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” when she said “consider state parks deprived places that need the boon of life and appreciation conferred on them”(p90). Granted River bank isn’t neglected but it needs to be sustained and not closed. But of course, like hospitals, schools and even fire stations, whoever is running the city and making these decisions to close down these vital places, is clueless about how to many the city better and make current places more efficient , however, I digress.

Like most of New York great little treasures, Riverbank provides an oasis from the hectic city life and offers another view for the both visitors and citizens. It allows people to see another side of the city, instead of just the hectic and busy big apple. With the many recreational areas, picnic places, grassland, trees and relaxing areas, Riverbank State park provides a place for nature lovers and sports jocks or people that just want a great place to hang out.