Save the Mercer Playground

dedicated to keeping the Mercer Street Playground, on Mercer Street between
Bleecker Street and West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village,
from being destroyed by development.
.....
Mercer Playground - its history, current use, and how to help save it.
Proposed development threatens a valued community resource. Scroll below the photos for notifications of upcoming meetings and hearings related to Mercer Playground as well as all of the city-owned parkland on the SuperBlocks, and proposed new NYU buildings in Greenwich Village and beyond.

The Mercer Playground was designed for teens and preteens, as no other parks in the area allow kids to use scooters, rollerskates and skateboards and there are no other safe places locally for these activities. The Lower Manhattan Neighbors' Organization (LMNO (P)) needed nine years to get this playground built due to opposition by the owner of the neighboring land (NYU). This park is the equivalent of two blocks long, since the area from Bleecker Street to West 3rd Street between LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street was combined into the North "Superblock" in the 1950's when Washington Square Village was created. Families and individuals enjoy this open area in a variety of ways as seen in the recent photos below....

A party in Mercer Park Bicycle lessons are a popular use for this unique open space.
Mercer Playground is a great place for a celebration. Kids and adults make their own fun in this open area with comfortable benches. A dad teaches the art of riding a bicycle - can't do that in Washington Square Park, or on NYC streets!
NYU Team Building exercise for incoming students - only place that would hold everybody? City-Owned Mercer Playground! A family comes out to bicycle.
NYU team-building for incoming students. Only place big enough and open enough? City-owned Mercer Playground! The kids take a rest from cycling as others also enjoy Mercer Playground. The park is used year-round.
Another family with kids enjoying bicycles and scooters. In Mercer Playground, even rainy days are fun!
Another party in the park - by the sprinkler. Rain? What rain? This is fun!

Please check back soon for more information and bookmark this site, as there will soon be information on how you can help preserve this endangered and rare Greenwich Village open space.

Useful Links:


Upcoming Events:

August 4, 6-8pm, AIA building on Thompson and LaGuardia
- Borough President Stringer, Community Board 2 and Councilmember Margaret Chin are co-sponsoring an educational event explaining Land Use Review and how residents can make their feelings known at each step of the ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) approval process that NYU needs to go through in order to get any of their plans approved.

August 9, 6:30, PS41, 116 West 11th St.
- Community Board 2 (CB2) public forum on NYU's plans (possibly one of a series).