Passannante Ball Field on the northeast corner of Houston Street and
6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas): "This site was acquired by the City of
New York for the construction of the Independent Subway. In May 1934 the
Board of Transportation granted NYC Parks permission to develop four parcels
on West Houston Street for playground purposes. The northeastern parcel was
one of thirty-eight new playgrounds added to the NYC Parks system during the
first four months of Robert Moses's twenty-six year tenure as Parks
Commissioner. It opened on September 14, 1934."[1] Originally this site was
ferred to simply as the West Houston Street playground. Its lack of
landscaping allowed the whole area to be used for play[3].
References
- William
F. Passannante Ballfield, NYC Parks Department website (accessed 23
April 2018).
- NYC
Parks Department Press Release, August 22, 1934.
- 2 Play Areas Opened on Houston
Street, New York Times, September 29, 1934, p.17. Article does
not mention federal funding; see next reference to find out how we know it
it was built with federal assistance.
- New
Deal Assistance in NYC Parks Department Projects, 1934-43, which
explains how we know this park was a New Deal project.