{"id":2482,"date":"2017-06-04T06:33:34","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T10:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2017-06-04T06:40:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T10:40:28","slug":"hundreds-gather-to-enrich-harlem-residents-lives-by-restoring-historic-polo-grounds-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/?p=2482","title":{"rendered":"HUNDREDS GATHER TO ENRICH HARLEM RESIDENTS\u2019 LIVES BY RESTORING HISTORIC POLO GROUNDS AREA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now a housing complex, the stadium that once stood on 155th Street was home to the New York Giants baseball team \u2014 and an MLB legend.
\nBy Nikki M. Mascali
\nPublished : June 02, 2017 | Updated : June 02, 2017
\nhttp:\/\/www.metro.us\/\u2026\/revitalizing-harlems-historic-polo-gr\u2026 <\/a>
\nThe history of Harlem is so vast, it could be the city\u2019s sixth borough, but sadly over time, many of its once-notable areas have disappeared, replaced by endless skyscrapers or long forgotten altogether.
\nSuch is the case of the former Polo Grounds, a stadium that was on 155th Street in Harlem and was home to MLB\u2019s New York Giants from 1883 to 1957, before the team moved to San Francisco in 1958.
\nIn what was known as \u201cThe Bathtub\u201d for its unique shape, Bobby Thomson made his game-winning \u201cshot heard \u2019round the world\u201d against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951, and Willie Mays made \u201cthe catch\u201d in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
\nIn an effort to remind New Yorkers of that storied MLB lore while also revitalizing portions of the landscape that was demolished in 1964 to make way for the Polo Grounds Towers and Rangel Houses complexes, hundreds gathered Thursday under the 155th Street Viaduct to take part in Pernod Ricard\u2019s annual Responsib\u2019all Day.
\nFor the second year in a row, the global beverage company partnered with environmental nonprofit EarthShare and the New York Restoration Project to revitalize several acres of land for the more than 7,000 residents living in nearby public housing.
\n\u201cI live about 10 blocks from here, and it\u2019s kind of isolated from the rest of Harlem,\u201d state Sen. Marisol Alcantara said. \u201cOne in seven kids has asthma in this area, and there is not a lot of green space. What you\u2019re doing today is going to make a difference in many kids\u2019 lives.\u201d
\nAmong the work included in the daylong project was clearing vegetation on the complex property, planting wildflowers, assisting with a neighborhood garden and working in nearby Highbridge Park, where Responsib’all Day took place last year.
\n\u201cThis has been a dumping ground for 30 years. I hope this is the beginning of a destination,\u201d Barbara Williams, president of the resident association at the Polo Grounds Towers, added.
\nFor many diehard Giants fans, like those in the New York Giants Preservation Society, the site has always been a destination.
\n\u201cI\u2019m a San Francisco Giants baseball fan, but I live in New York. Willie Mays was my idol, and Willie\u2019s origins are here,\u201d member Paul Ellis-Graham said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a storied history, a storied franchise, and we want people to not forget that there was a team here,\u201d added Gary Mintz, the society\u2019s president, who began the organization in 2011 to honor his father, a longtime Giants fan.
\nThough the main portion of The Bathtub is long gone, little reminders do exist, like the John T. Brush Stairway. Built in 1913 and named after the man who owned the Giants from 1890 until his death in 1912, the stairway still leads down into the Polo Grounds Towers property from Coogan\u2019s Bluff. It was restored in 2014 using donations from the NFL\u2019s New York Giants and Jets and the MLB, Yankees, Mets and San Francisco Giants.
\nOn one of the Polo Ground Towers buildings is a faded sign that reads, \u201cThis development was built on the location that Willie Mays and the Giants made famous.\u201d A little further into the complex on another building is a weathered bronze plaque that commemorates where home plate used to be \u2014 and serves as a reminder that the Giants shared the field with the Mets and Yankees for several years as well.
\n\u201cNew York doesn\u2019t really celebrate the history of this city enough, but this needs to be preserved,\u201d Mintz said. \u201cBut today is not about baseball, it\u2019s about restoring neighborhood pride.\u201d
\nTo watch a video about the Pernod Ricard\u2019s and NYRP’s work at the Polo Grounds site as part of its Responsib’all Day, click here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now a housing complex, the stadium that once stood on 155th Street was home to the New York Giants baseball team \u2014 and an MLB legend. By Nikki M. Mascali Published : June 02, 2017 | Updated : June 02, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2486,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions\/2486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorkgiantspreservationsociety.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}