Bandshell in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park to receive $5 million overhaul

According to mayor Michael Bloomberg and parks commissioner Adrian Benepe, the Marcus Garvey Park bandshell will be fully renovated and feature improved acoustics, new seats and wheelchair accessible sections. The project will be funded with a $4 million allocation of city funds and a $1 million contribution by The Rodgers Family Foundation, provided to the City Parks Foundation to advance the project. "The late Richard Rodgers grew up just across the street from what we now call Marcus Garvey Park," said mayor Bloomberg. "In 1970, he and his wife Dorothy donated funds for the construction of this bandshell. Today, we're unveiling 'Something Wonderful,' that The Rodgers Family Foundation is donating $1 million to help fund major renovations. The revitalization of Marcus Garvey Park has played a big part in the community's renewal, another example of how improving public spaces raises the quality of life for the neighboring communities, and the entire city." "Marcus Garvey Park is alive with the sound of music, but its 38 year old bandshell is hardly younger than springtime," said commissioner Benepe. "Thanks to a generous $1 million contribution from the Rodgers Family Foundation, the bandshell will be completely refurbished with a new amphitheater. With this enduring partnership between the city of New York, the city Parks Foundation, the Rodgers Family Foundation and the local community to revitalize this historic Harlem park, as the song goes, you'll never walk alone." Richard Rodgers, whose contributions to musical theater are universally recognized as extraordinary, lived at 3 West 120th Street in his youth. In 1970 he provided $150,000 for building a bandshell at what was then Mt. Morris Park and renamed Marcus Garvey Park in 1973.  The new gift of $1 million by The Rodgers Family Foundation to renovate the facility will be acknowledged by renaming it The Richard Rodgers Bandshell upon the project's completion. The bandshell currently hosts City Parks Foundation's Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, CityParks Concerts and CityParks Theater festivals, as well as dozens of other performances and community events every year, like the Dance Harlem Festival.  The architectural firm, Cooper, Robertson and Partners, has been retained by City Parks Foundation to design the bandshell's renovation and has already begun meetings with stakeholders to gather community input for the design. Since 1998, the Parks Department has devoted over $2 million for renovations and improvements to Marcus Garvey Park, including renovation of the park's recreation center roof, restoration of the park's paths and stairways, new landscaping, and rehabilitation of the park's baseball diamond. The City Parks Foundation has produced dozens of free performing arts programs in the park over the last ten years and has also helped to support the growth of community groups around the park, including the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance. The Rodgers Family Foundation, formerly known as the Richard and Dorothy Rodgers Family Foundation, was established in 1952 by Richard Rodgers and his wife Dorothy Feiner Rodgers to support worthy charitable, scientific, artistic and educational causes.