Septuagesimo Uno

I’ve lived less than a block away from this park for over a year but just discovered it for the first time. I almost didn’t believe it was a public park at first and did a double take when I saw the NYC Parks sign. It’s a cute little space on a beautiful tree lined UWS street. The whole thing is .04 acres (a brownstone lot) but there are several benches to sit and relax. Great place to bring your dog, book or snack. No grass areas but seems to be well maintained and clean (there are two or three garbage cans). Big gate on the front is locked at night.
Was very pleasantly surprised to find this little gem!

I really have a hard time believing this is NYC’s smallest park, but if you read it, it must be true*. Nice little refuge from the UWS with a couple benches.
*J/​K –

Dogs should be banned from this parklet because it is not much more than unventilated alleyway. Just when I thought I’d found a quiet respite in the UWS, I smelled shit. And whaddya know, there were nice cevapi-​sized turds engulfed by flies in the middle of the path at the end of the alley where there are benches along each of the 3 walls. I then realized the locals use it as a dog run as not long after, two people opened the wrought iron gate and proceeded to unleash their mutts. No wonder the space is inhospitable for humans. If the spoiled yuppies could be less lazy and walk a few more blocks to Central Park or Riverside Park to let their pets relieve themselves, then Septuagesimo Uno could be the hidden gem it’s said to be.

cute little parkette in the UWS. If it was a private garden or terrace it would be huge — but for a neighborhood park it is TINES. a nice place to bring lunch or a book though. It’s usually empty, so you an score the 1 – 2 benches without a problem.

This really is a very unique gem of a park nestled into the big city. For those that have been, you know I mean this quite literally. It is a little plot of land, a vacant lot, the relic of what once was something, turned into a small sanctuary of peacefulness.
I have walked past it many times, wanting to go in, but having to go to Trader Joe’s /​Urban Outfitters /​*insert other commercial visit here*, I’ve never walked inside. I’d say a day like today, an unseasonably warm January day, called for that visit at long last.
Much lusher-​looking in the blooming seasons, it was rather stark on a winter’s day. Though waxy green leaves and a few small green trees that have survived the mildness of this past autumn lined the rear, the front was rather desolate. Multiple benches in this small space were great to sit on and have a moment’s peace. However, being by myself, I could not help but get that, «Oh, someone is going to close the park’s gate behind them and attack me!» heeby-​jeeby feeling while I was inside. (Paranoid New Yorker? Perhaps…)
I did enjoy the tranquility and utter uniqueness of Septuagesimo Uno. You’ll be absolutely hard-​pressed to find another park in the city like it! However, I’d be more inclined to go back during the warmer months, when I’m sure the plants inside are a-​bloomin’ all perrrrrty-​like. And, quite frankly, I’d bring a friend or two for quiet, peaceful company.

You’re walking along quiet, tree-​lined 71^st street, brownstones all around, and then suddenly you notice light streaming through the buildings, the sun seemingly emanating through what looks to be a vacant lot. You walk closer, to the source, and as you close in you look upwards at where high black steel fence’s bear claw extensions loop over your head.
Then you look down through the fence, the open door. What is this open little nook nestled between the brownstones? With cute green plants poking up along the mossy stone-​covered path and wooden benches beckoning you to sit? It’s like a bigger park’s illegitimate lovechild was abandoned here, this castoff baby park that doesn’t belong here but has found acceptance among the brownstones, an unexpected delight.
Septuagesimo Uno (or the number «71» in Latin) is a little plot of a park — it may very well be the smallest park in Manhattan. While the Commissioners Plan of 1811 had instituted the grid system we have all come to know and love, it failed to take into account the need for parks to accommodate population growth. As a result, the Vest Pocket Parks (AWWW! Cute name!) initiative was born years later and Septuagesimo Uno was built on a small vacant lot to provide a little recreation spot for the local residents. And guess what? It does a bang-​up job!
For you flick lovers, you may recognize Septuagesimo Uno as the park where the bullies attack the two main characters in that adorable movie about fledgling Upper West Siders growing up, «Little Manhattan».
Having said that, I recommend it for quiet beverage drinking, reading, writing, life-​pondering, or iPod listening, rather than showdowns with grade school bullies. I don’t want ruffians messing up me favorite plot, as this is where I go to act like an old man — to relish in the solace only the quiet distant humdrum of the busy streets, the soft rays of the sun on your skin, the faint smell of moss that was covered in rain last night, can provide.