The maintenance of an iconic open space like Washington Square Park is a behemoth task. You could say it takes a Village…and luckily our much beloved Park has one! It requires all of us一the Conservancy, NYC Parks, and you一to keep things running smoothly.

So what does it actually take to maintain the Park? Probably a lot more than you would expect. The Park’s 58 trash cans一purchased thanks to a State grant awarded to the Conservancy in 2019一require emptying upwards of six times per day, more on busy days. The hardscapes and plazas need regular sweeping to remove debris. The bathrooms are routinely deep-cleaned, spot-cleaned and restocked. Stickers, signage, and graffiti need removing from the Park’s fixtures, fencing, and monuments. The playgrounds are cleaned daily and inspected for minor repair work. Not to mention the never-ending job of tending the Park’s beautiful green spaces: planting, weeding, mulching, mowing, trimming, and raking. 

And that’s just the day-to-day work! There’s plenty of less regular, but still essential projects that the team is responsible for. They clean and make minor repairs to the Fountain. Maintenance staff pressure wash the benches and stone surfaces to wash away the grime left by thousands of visitors. They service the Park’s vehicles and a wide variety of tools. When there’s a big event, the maintenance crew puts the Park back together after the crowds have left. If you can think of it, they do it. 

In a normal year, WSP is home to three gardeners, eighteen full-time maintenance workers, one Playground Associate, six Park Enforcement Patrol officers, and five seasonal maintenance workers who support the increased activity in the warmer months. Of that impressive roster, your donations fund two-full time gardeners, two full-time maintenance workers, and Miss Debbie, the Youth Activities Coordinator, as well as two members of the seasonal maintenance crew. 

2020 wasn’t a normal year, however. Due to a hiring freeze that prevented onboarding seasonal workers, the additional help never came. As people trapped inside by the pandemic flooded out into the warming weather, the team was stretched thin. All hands were needed to keep up with even basic maintenance tasks, which meant staff were taking on work that wasn’t always part of their normal day-to-day. With coordinated programs for kids off the table, Youth Activities Coordinator Miss Debbie dedicated more of her hours to broader Park maintenance outside of her usual playground tasks. Even the gardeners turned some of their focus from landscapes to hardscapes. 

“It was hard,” says WSP Head Gardener Gui. “I’m a gardener, but cleaning and maintaining this Park is part of all our jobs. I’m used to coming in and helping with a little bit of cleaning in the morning, but during the pandemic it became an hour or even two every morning. It adds up. That’s time I don’t spend weeding or raking, planning for the next season or even pest control. Because the most important thing is to pick up all the trash, that has to come first so people can use the Park.” 

It wasn’t just the increased work taking its toll, but the mental impact of the pandemic bearing down; something no one was immune to. Designated as essential employees right from the start, staff have been out in the Park throughout the pandemic. It was taxing, especially in those early days when little was known about how the virus spread and PPE was difficult to come by. It’s particularly during trying times like these that a Village comes in handy. Your contributions helped contribute additional PPE, a support crew for the gardening team, and even some treats for the staff who were at the Park day in and day out through the worst of the pandemic.

Time and time again, when Washington Square Park needed you, you stepped up. In September 2020, nineteen New Yorkers signed up to assist the staff with litter pick up. Dubbed “the Clean Team,” this group of volunteers come to the Park individually or in pairs on their own schedule and spend time walking around with a trash can, broom and grabber, tidying things up. “They’re a huge help,” says DeAndre, a Conservancy-supported maintenance worker. “When I know there’s a volunteer walking the pathways I can focus on emptying the cans and cleaning the bathrooms. The more of us there are, the more that can get done.”

You even helped raise $50,000 in new funds for WSP during our first ever Match Campaign. Along with a generous gift from the WSPC Board, 132 of you made gifts that were matched dollar for dollar. That new funding is essential for Washington Square Park, a place that is so essential for all of us. 

While the worst of the pandemic may have passed, the future is still uncertain. But one thing that never changes is the work it takes to keep Washington Square Park in conditions we can all be proud of. Because it’s a group effort. Like they say, it takes a Village.