{"id":347260,"date":"2026-09-15T11:26:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/347260\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:26:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:26:37","slug":"a-beloved-washington-heights-park-is-finally-getting-an-8m-revival-after-a-7-year-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/347260\/","title":{"rendered":"A beloved Washington Heights park is finally getting an $8M revival after a 7-year closure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amelia-Gorman-Park-3-1024x683.png\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\" alt=\"Amelia Gorman Park\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After sitting largely off-limits to the public since a retaining wall collapsed in 2017, Washington Heights\u2019 historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/parks\/amelia-gorman-park\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"shortcode-outbound-link\" data-has-ga=\"true\" data-ga-type=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/parks\/amelia-gorman-park\" data-action=\"text_cta_0\" data-category=\"click_non_sales\">Amelia Gorman Park<\/a> just secured nearly $8 million to kickstart a massive structural revival. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Council Member Carmen De La Rosa spearheaded the funding, securing the crucial first third of a $20 million master plan to bring this vital neighborhood connector back to life.<\/p>\n<p>The Fast Facts<\/p>\n<p>The Investment: $7.89 million gathered from expense and capital funding over recent fiscal years<\/p>\n<p>The Location: Bounded by Broadway to the west and Wadsworth Terrace to the east, between 188th and 190th Streets<\/p>\n<p>The Goal: Full rehabilitation and restoration of the park\u2019s retaining walls, stairs, and public green spaces<\/p>\n<p>Total Project Cost: $20 million for the complete rebuild<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Before it closed almost a decade ago, Amelia Gorman Park served as a connection between the neighborhoods of Wadsworth Terrace and Broadway. <\/p>\n<p>The park was closed to the public in 2017, except for the upper plaza, after part of the retaining wall collapsed in March 2017. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mvE9s6PSm7\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">pic.twitter.com\/mvE9s6PSm7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Carmen De La Rosa (@CnDelarosa) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CnDelarosa\/status\/2097486761454702800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">September 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Why Was Amelia Gorman Park Closed? <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally gifted to the city in 1929 by the Webb family, the hillside green space served as a critical pedestrian shortcut and community hub for nearly a century. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March 2017, a major retaining wall collapse forced the Parks Department to shutter the entire grounds, leaving only the upper plaza accessible to locals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The highly anticipated capital repair project was originally slated to break ground in November 2019, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic halted progress entirely. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the total reconstruction requires a hefty $20 million price tag\u2014far exceeding the typical $5 million capital discretionary funds allotted to Council Members for district upgrades\u2014securing the cash required years of strategic budget allocations from De La Rosa.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amelia-Gorman-Park2.jpg\" alt=\"Amelia Gorman Park\" class=\"wp-image-399623\"  \/>Source \/ NYC Parks<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s Next for the Neighborhood? <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While this newly secured $8 million ensures heavy construction can finally begin, the community might not have to wait for the entire multi-year project to finish before enjoying the space again. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Council Member De La Rosa\u2019s office is actively exploring safety measures that would allow for a phased reopening, returning usable portions of the historic park to local neighbors as construction progresses.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After sitting largely off-limits to the public since a retaining wall collapsed in 2017, Washington Heights\u2019 historic Amelia&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-347260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}