Cherry Tree Park and Playground: A Space for the Artists and Children of the Community

 

Situated between several public housing projects, Cherry Tree Park and Playground is a practical and enjoyable space for the residents of East Harlem. Cherry Tree Playground is located at East 99^th Street and 3^rd Avenue in East Harlem. It has three basketball courts and a handball court. A giant mural looms over the courts. The colorful playground is surrounded by benches, a spray shower and bathroom facilities. Fenced off is the concrete Cherry Tree Park which has a few benches, one table and a couple of trees.

Right outside the basketball courts is a bus stop, so there were always some people waiting there. On the other side of 3^rd Avenue there are several businesses such as Edible Arrangements and a martial arts studio. The NYCHA Washington Houses Community Center of Youth Services and CenterLight Healthcare Center are found across East 99^th Street. A few blocks away on East 97^th Street and 3^rd Avenue are the NYCHA George Washington Houses. Directly behind the park is El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, which is an affordable housing project for artists.

I visited this park on Wednesday, March 22^nd at 11:20 am and on Thursday March 23^rd at 6:10 pm. When I arrived, I first took note of the surrounding areas. Each time I visited, I entered through the basketball court entrance then walked across to the playground because I assumed that the most people would be found in these areas. I observed each section of the park for a few minutes and made sure I always had a view of the places with the highest concentration of people.

The park appears to be well maintained. It was free of snow and ice from the recent snowstorm, and the facilities and different areas were clean. There are plenty of areas to sit by the playground and the basketball courts. During my first visit, there were only two kids and a parent at the playground. No one else came, and they left several minutes after I arrived, so the park was completely empty. This was probably due to the cold and windy weather. The next time I visited the park, there were more people, but no more than 10 people in the entire park at any time. There was one boy on the handball courts for my entire visit and another boy came to join him. The others in the park were kids and parents and they stayed either on the benches in the playground or on the swings. Both times I noticed that the swings seemed to be the most popular area. No one ever went to the basketball courts, bathrooms or the fenced off area. Although there weren’t many people in the park both occasions, it’s likely that because of the various amenities and their upkeep that this park receives a lot of traffic on warmer days.

The Cherry Tree Park and Playground has quite a few features. However, the playground equipment does not look appealing or inviting. The paint is peeling and the slides are metal instead of plastic so they probably get very hot during the summer and extremely cold in the winter. Both times that I visited, although there were children each time, no one ventured onto the play sets. The Cherry Tree Park is fenced off next to the handball courts and El Barrio’s Artspace PS109 and has only five benches and a table crowded together in one corner. The rest of the area is concrete and a few trees. There was also never anyone in this space each time that I visited. It looked bleak and boring.

The playground needs to be updated. The play sets could either be renovated or replaced with completely new ones that will attract more children to come to the park. Planting more trees or flowers in the fenced off park will beautify the space and make it more attractive. With so many artists living directly next to the park, collaboration with them can further improve the park with artwork or classes for kids. With a little work, this can be a vibrant space for the neighborhood during the summer.

– Omotayo Ikuomenisan