SPNA

As we approach the end of 2024, we are excited and optimistic about what 2025 will bring to our beloved park and community. This past summer, there was much to enjoy in the park, from salsa, bossa nova, and jazz to gardening, yoga, first aid classes, craft making, historical tours, and more. These events—and much of the daily maintenance of the park—are only possible, in part, through generous donations from individuals like you.

To ensure that these services continue, we need your help! If you’ve given before, we thank you. If you haven’t, would you consider giving us your support to bridge the funding gap caused by a shortfall in donations?

To generate much-needed funds, the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association is launching the “Spirit of Giving” end-of-year campaign to raise $25,000 to fund essential projects in 2025, including:

• 75+ free community and family-friendly events

• Ongoing care and planting of the beautiful trees and gardens

• Pest and rodent control

• Art installations 

• Advocating on behalf of the park to NYC Parks and local officials

These initiatives keep the park healthy, enrich the neighborhood, and strengthen our connections, but we simply can’t continue without your support.

If everyone receiving this letter donates $25, we will meet our goal!

Please click here to join our “Spirit of Giving” campaign today to help us reach our goal. Your generosity will help ensure Stuyvesant Square Park, one of New York City’s oldest parks, remains a vibrant centerpiece of our community in 2025 and beyond.

Thank you for being an essential part of what makes our neighborhood so special. We deeply appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the many events and beautiful gardens you help make possible.

Warm regards,

Your friends and neighbors at the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association

P.S. SPNA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Many companies match donations, so please check with your employer to maximize your contribution. Every donation, no matter the amount, directly enhances our events and gardens. Your support will help us bring joy to our community and keep Stuyvesant Park blooming! Please donate now!

SPNA needs your help with volunteer coordination. One person has been doing all of the volunteer coordination, from planning events to making sure summer programs can run effectively. Call on your inner cheerleader and come help our program. We don’t just need gardeners; we need communicators who can email, text, call, design posters, flyers, and chat. 

Please email info@spnanyc.org if you can help.

 

 

On Thursday night five volunteers went to an NYBG class to learn how to prepare a garden for winter by a master instructor. We learned so many details that we had not known before. Think mulch, mulch, mulch. Much pruning happens once plants go dormant. So we will have things to do this winter. 

Nestled in the shade of two large London Plane trees in the northeast corner of the park is a statue of the great Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) who spent almost 3 years as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York and composed some of his most enduring works including “The New World’ symphony. The symphony, which had its premiere in Carnegie Hall in December 1893, incorporates not only Czech folk music but African American spirituals and Native American themes as well. 

During his short stay in America, Dvorak, his wife and six children lived at 327 East 17th Street, opposite where his statue now stands. In the early 1990s, the building was designated a city landmark but the decision was quickly rescinded and the building demolished in 1991. Artifacts and memorabilia from Dvorak’s years in the city, including a marble mantelpiece from his home, period furnishings and a commemorative plaque that was once affixed to the facade of his house, are now exhibited in the Dvorak Rcom at the Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side.

 

The statue, created by celebrated Croatian-American sculptor Ivan Mestrovic, was given to the New York Philharmonic in 1963 which commissioned the New World Symphony but it was not displayed until it was relocated to Stuyvesant Square Park in 1997 by the Dvorak American Heritage Association in cooperation with the NY Philharmonic and Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association. It’s fitting that this park is its permanent home.

Join us for our last jazz night out. Weather should still be fine with less bugs. Bring your picnic dinner, snacks and drinks. Sit on chairs on the lawn, blankets, or park bench. We are getting ready for you.