A concrete jungle gym war has broken out on the Upper West Side.
Tensions have reached a boiling point at the playground on West 90th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, as apartment complex residents fight to keep private school families, including students from the upscale, $64,000-a-year tuition-paying Trinity School, out of the newly renovated playground.
“Once the playground was renovated, everyone and their mothers started coming,” said Cheryl Russell, 62, who has lived in the sprawling Stephen Wise Towers for 13 years.
“They look at us as if we were visitors,” she told the Post.
The vicious tug-of-war intensified last week when signs were put up prohibiting non-residents from entering Cassone Playground, also known as “Llama Park” because its concrete horse statues are often mistaken for llamas.
“Can’t you read?” outraged residents yelled at park-goers, referring to the new, often-ignored signs. One nanny said a resident yelled at her to “tell the other nannies not to come here either.”
Residents argue they have the right to restrict access.
They say wealthy young people are showing disrespect for the residents and the space, which was only renovated earlier this year after a private management company took over the New York City Housing Authority property in 2021.
“I’ve heard kids say, ‘You can’t play because you’re black,’ or ‘Why are you in my park?'” Russell said.
She said some people have become so used to letting their kids run around and pee in their yards because of the lack of public restrooms that neighbors temporarily put up signs reading “Keep your kids off.”
“They made this place beautiful, so why can’t we just leave it alone?” Russell said.
Some residents say there are days when the park attracts more outside visitors than locals. “If people want to come, that’s fine, but don’t monopolise it,” Ms Russell added.
“We love all the kids, but we treat everyone the same,” Beverly, another longtime resident, told The Post.
She once witnessed a resident tell a man that it was against the rules to bring his dog to the park.
“The guy turned around and said, ‘Shut up, you little bitch,'” Beverly said.
Police were called to the scene twice for the altercation, but no arrests were made, sources said. The NYPD did not provide further details about the incident.
On May 24, before the official sign went up, someone taped off the gate and posted fliers saying, “This park is for Wise Tower residents only” and “This is not a public park.”
There has been confusion about whether the park is a public park, but residents appear to have the right to restrict access — the playground falls outside the jurisdiction of the city’s parks department, officials said.
“NYCHA campuses are privately owned,” an authority spokesperson told The Post, adding that Wise Towers residents have expressed concerns about access to the playground and the treatment of new playground equipment.
“We support the residents of Wise Towers and their request to restrict use of the space to residents of the development only, and the property manager’s signage informing non-residents that the courtyard is not a public space,” he said.
Trinity School previously had a contract to use the space for kindergarten classes and recess. The West Side Rag reported.
But in a May 28 email obtained by the outlet, the school announced it would no longer use the site.
“We are canceling recess play there until further notice,” Principal Christine Crawford wrote. “We also encourage families to cancel after-school and weekend play.”
B’nai Jeshulan, a Hebrew school on the Upper West Side, also had to stop using it, parents said.
Distressed children wrote letters to the board begging to come play at the park.
“Everybody’s just shocked and devastated,” said Mila G., a mother who lives on the Upper West Side.
“There were kids from everywhere,” she said. “This is Manhattan. We blend in and we play together. It doesn’t matter what school you go to, where you live, what your religion or race is.”
“I understand both sides of the argument, but I don’t want to see this place closed off to the community,” said David Owens, a father of two who lives nearby and has been attending the park for more than 50 years. “I want to bring the community together, and a playground does that.”
Additional reporting by John Levin
