The Friends of Duane Park are moving forward with their plan to restore the park to its original 1797 footprint, expanding to the south and west into the interior of the fork of Duane Street with more green space in what now just unprogrammed asphalt.

For three months last fall, the friends surveyed neighbors to get their opinion on three options, and out of about 500 votes, the majority went for this plan: to restore the park to its historical dimensions and add 260 square feet of sidewalk and 1636 square feet of gardens. So they are moving forward with the hope that it can come together with both city and private investment. The Friends’ consultants are projecting a hard cost of $1.4 million.

The idea has been in the works for three years, when they first brought it to the city. Then in fall 2021, Tribecan and landscape architect Signe Nielson drew up (on behalf of the Friends) a small scale plan to restore the historic footprint, which won the support of Community Board 1 and the tacit support of the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation.

The group has now met with the borough commissioner at the Parks Department and the DOT to review the latest plans and determine next steps. And they have created a focus group to help review design elements and increase project support. AND they commissioned a survey of the expansion area to see what lies beneath — and it turns out a there’s a gas line running along the south edge of the park, so that will be a new cost consideration.

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