The Battery Conservancy was created in 1994 as a 501 (not-for-profit) educational corporation to rebuild and revitalize The Battery, a 25-acre public park at the southern tip of Manhattan, and its major landmark, Castle Clinton National Monument. The Conservancy spearheads this dramatic transformation in partnership with City, State, and Federal governments and with individuals, corporations, and foundations in the private sector. Today, The Battery is committed to reversing years of neglect by not only redesigning and rebuilding the park’s landscape and completing an innovative adaptive reuse of the castle, but officially redesigning the essence and returning back to its historic roots by metamorphosing back into The Battery – a flawless and simple title.
Mitchell J. Silver, the New York City parks commissioner, had approved a proposal in February to shorten the name of Battery Park to the more historically simple name, The Battery. In the beginning, it all began with Warrie Price, the president and founder of the private Battery Conservancy, which manages the park in partnership with the city.
While every New Yorker is probably talking about this significant news, Neal Marshad, President & CEO of the Marshad Technology Group gave his two cents on the official name change in downtown NYC yesterday afternoon. Marshad stated, “They should leave these names alone. Just like the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel… do you know anyone who refers to it as the Hugh Carey Tunnel? Now they have to rebrand and replace all the signage?”
Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of Manhattan Community Board One, and member of our advisory board said, “This re-naming recalls the earliest history of New York, when our great harbor needed protection — a battery of cannons — from marauding ships, looking to steal our commerce or our freedom. They worked so well they never fired a shot in anger. Like the South Street Seaport, The Battery reminds us that New York is built on global commerce and open communication, and always has been. What is oldest is the new, new.”
A spokesman for the parks agency, Sam Biederman, said the commissioner had the authority to name or rename parks unilaterally. “The renaming did not take the form of any kind of official proclamation,” he added. In fact, the commissioners decision was finalized through e-mail.
Downtown Magazine suspects that many people will not be completely on board for the official name change and others will be indifferent. Although, this decision does however strengthen the essence of The Battery creating a more empowered image for the entire New York City area.
by- Albany Reed
