Baruch Playground

This large, unadorned park pays tribute to two generations of New Yorkers whose work helped bring health and recreation amenities to the masses. In the late nineteenth century, the city's rapidly growing population was forced into congested tenement districts. Lacking basic sanitation facilities like toilets and baths, these downtown neighborhoods suffered cholera and typhoid epidemics in the 1880s and 1890s. The park honors those whose efforts directly and indirectly helped improve these conditions.