James J Walker Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, July 2, 2008

“New” Park And Recreation Center Open In Greenwich Village

Photo by Daniel Avila

On June 21, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and New York Junior League (NYJL) Acting President Mari Dubois unveiled the newly renovated James J. Walker Park and the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center in Manhattan. In addition to the ribbon cutting, Parks and the Junior League planted a tree in partnership with Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC initiative, and unveiled a mural on the roof of the recreation center.

Throughout April and May, the NYJL’s Playground Improvement Committee teamed up with more than 1,000 volunteers to refurbish the Greenwich Village park and recreation center for the community. Thanks to NYJL’s funding for roof repairs, the recreation center’s indoor track no longer has to close its doors due to rain. In addition, the restoration included a fresh coat of paint on the center’s after-school tutoring room, new mulch and plantings around tree beds in the park, colorful murals and walkways, and a rejuvenated community garden.

“Thanks to extraordinary efforts of one thousand New York Junior League volunteers have revitalized J.J. Walker Park and Tony Dapolito Recreation Center,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “This year, the Junior League continued to raise the ceiling on their contributions to parks by repairing the roof of the indoor track so that it can remain open during inclement weather. Children and their families can now enjoy a great summer at the ‘new’ Tony Dapolito Recreation Center and J.J. Walker Park.”

For 17 years, the New York Junior League has worked in partnership with Parks & Recreation to revitalize neglected playgrounds and parks in many neighborhoods in Manhattan. The renovation of J.J Walker Park and Tony Dapolito Recreation Center is its largest and most ambitious project to date, requiring the efforts of more than one thousand corporate and community volunteers and nine full days of work.

The Tony Dapolito Community Center, which is adjacent to James J. Walker Park, houses the second largest Parks Department Summer Camp, after-school and weekend programs for children and senior citizens as well as affordable access to recreation programs. James J. Walker Park has a colorful history and a central commitment to the neighborhood. Over the course of the past century, the park has evolved to serve the needs of its community, which has made the 1.67 acre park a place of solace for neighborhood families.

The building housing the renovated recreation center, which is located in James J. Walker Park, is named in honor of Anthony V. Dapolito (1920–2003), a long-time chair of Community Board 2, whose roots in the community and tireless work on its behalf earned him the honorary title, “Mayor of Greenwich Village.”

In consideration of Dapolito’s great impact on this neighborhood, and especially its children and parks, the Department of Parks and Recreation named this recreation center for him in 2004.

In addition to providing fitness facilities, the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center hosts youth and adult athletic leagues, after-school programs, a summer day camp, fitness classes and many other activities. This center will continue to serve the people of Greenwich Village and New York City for many years to come, as did the extraordinary man it honors, and it will symbolize to future generations how one man’s work can have a lasting and positive effect on his community.

“The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.”

Henry S. Haskins

(1875-1957)