15. St. Vartan Park was closed to the public for 20 years
St. Vartan Park, known as a “secret garden” between East 35th and East 36th Streets on Second Avenue, officially reopened to the public after 20 years in October 2021. Named after St. Vartan Cathedral, itself named after an Armenian 5th-century martyr, the park opened as St. Gabriel’s Park in 1904 next to its namesake church. It received a renovation in 1936 which included the addition of a roller skating track, a pool, horseshoe pitches, and a playground. Because of construction on the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, parts of the park had to be relocated, while others like the playground were lost until 1951. Over 9,200 shrubs were planted as part of another 1984 renovation, which was entirely privately funded.
The park received a final renovation in 2000, after which it was opened exclusively to students at St. Vartan Preschool and their families. It wasn’t until last year that the park opened its gates to everyone in the community, a controversial decision that some believed would destroy the park’s beauty and encourage commercialization around the already cramped neighborhood. Others asserted that the park should service working-class families in addition to the primarily wealthy students who attend the school. The park maintains a garden with magnolia trees, irises, and rose bushes.