Dan Shaw reports in The New York Times about single mom Denise Spatafora, who wanted to live in the big apple but doesn’t really like… concrete.
Welcome, friends, to outdoorsy Battery Park City.
With its 32 acres of parks and gardens, Battery Park City has turned out to be a very child-friendly place. The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, a private, nonprofit group that offers a variety of programs for children, made the transition to city life easy. “The people who run the parks are amazing,” she said. “My kids played soccer and did art projects last summer. I think they have more access to nature here than they had on our land in Vermont, which was mostly woods and you had to worry about deer ticks. Here they can walk out the door and roll around on the grass or go to one of the playgrounds.”
Spatafora, who lived in TriBeCa until she moved to Vermont in August 2001, says that the revitalized neighborhood has changed in other ways too.
“It’s much more vibrant and lively than it was before 9/11,” she said. “People used to rush more. It feels easier and slower now. You go to Bouley Bakery, and strangers say hello. It feels like a European community.”
