We pledge our support to protect and preserve the St. Vartan Park Garden

We support the need for green space in the Murray Hill/Kips Bay/midtown East areas. We are, however, very concerned about the NYC Parks' trial opening of the St. Vartan Park Garden enclosure and the impact of the opening will have on this small and fragile Garden.  We seek to ensure that the trial opening of the Garden enclosure be managed in a way that does not cause permanent damage to the horticulture or be detrimental to the greater community. 

In light of Parks' budgetary and staff constraints we propose the following solutions to make the Garden enclosure more accessible in a sustainable manner:
 
1. Custodial supervision via Parks during specific access hours with continued and greater involvement of groups like Friends of St. Vartan Park and by relation the St. Vartan Preschool

2. Allow continuation of horticultural work and upkeep by the Friends of St. Vartan and St. Vartan Preschool Staff and students

3. Continuation of use of the Garden enclosure by the St. Vartan Preschool, as well as enhanced use by other Parks programs for children and seniors

4. Enhanced Public programming to complement existing programming offered within the Park by the St. Vartan Preschool, Friends of St. Vartan Park and other groups, as well as work to celebrate the history of the Park to build community pride

The award winning St Vartan Park Garden enclosure on 1st Avenue between 35th and 36th Street, lovingly referred to as a "secret garden" by Parks, is a jewel of green in what many have described as a soulless stretch of 1st Avenue.  We are proud of the history of the Garden enclosure, stretching back to its inception in 1904 as part of St. Gabriel's Park, when it was originally designed as a passive enclosure to welcome those entering the Park.  This approximately 1/10th of an acre space has been lovingly tended and maintained to grow into the beautiful garden it is today by devoted Parks employee and director of the St. Vartan Preschool with the support of the Friends of St. Vartan Park and school families.  Magnolia trees, roses, Dutch tulips, irises and so many other beautiful flowering plants have been added to create this visually stimulating small paradise for the pleasure of all who live and work in the community. 
 
Numerous other small NYC Parks' friends groups have echoed our concerns that opening such a small space will have a detrimental impact on the plantings and the seeded lawn.  In contrast to this Garden, many other Parks gardens have paths or seating areas to prevent erosion of the grass. Others have a strict no sitting on the lawn policies and no eating rules.  Furthermore, St. Vartan cannot rotate lawns to allow for rest and reseeding as done at larger parks with multiple lawns to avoid the lawn turning into a dusty dirt field. 

We are also troubled by the potential safety impacts of leaving the outward facing garden enclosure opened near a playground and elementary school with no regular custodial supervision which could invite additional antisocial and illegal activity to the detriment of the overall community and its children.  We are concerned about hygiene issues if food remnants are left in the garden due to a serious rat problem in the area. 

We ask you to sign our petition to show your support of the efforts to protect, promote and preserve this space dear to so many.   The community, not only of playground families but also of the surrounding area including neighborhood residents and the NYU Langone and hospital community, would lose so much if this oasis was to be ruined.