Photo: Karlin Chan
Plunged in darkness for the better part of a decade, Columbus Park in Chinatown is finally seeing the light.
You’ll recall back in early 2017, the lights dotting Columbus Park began to fade, eventually shrouding the whole park in darkness. The issue was finally resolved almost a year later due to media pressure, when the city acted to replace burned-out lamps days after Bowery Boogie coverage. However, within a few short months, in April 2019, the lamps started flickering out again.
And stayed that way until last week.
Three years later, workers were recently spotted swapping sockets to accept the new LED light bulbs.
Photo: Karlin Chan
“Sad it’s taken over five years but I’m glad some progress has been made,” local activist Karlin Chan tells us. “It’s a matter of public safety for our parks to be properly lit to deter crime, especially in Chinatown.”
By latest count, roughly eight lampposts are now lit in the southern section of the park. The northern perimeter remains dark, though, with some two-dozen lights still requiring re-outfitting for LED.
