Sara D. Roosevelt Park

Sara D. Roosevelt Park stretches seven blocks through the Lower East Side, but its existence is a historical irony. The city originally acquired this land in 1929 intending to build low-cost housing for the neighborhood. That plan collapsed, and when the park finally opened in 1934, it was named after the mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Sara Roosevelt herself actually objected to the honor, preferring the space be named for social worker Lillian Wald, but the city proceeded with the dedication regardless.