Capsouto

Laight St., Canal St. and Varick St., Manhattan, NY

Capsouto Park, named for neighborhood activist Albert Capsouto (1956-2010), is a vital public space located at the triangle between Canal, Varick, and Laight Streets in Lower Manhattan. Once a parking lot, this park opened in 2009 as one of the more than 30 parks and open spaces funded through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's revitalization project.The park features lush plantings and an award-winning design. The park’s new plantings include a double row of canopy and street trees and three large planting beds filled with low flowering shrubs and colorful perennials. Nestled into the edges of the planting beds are several continuous rows of contemporary benches and a small cluster of chess tables at the southwestern gate. At each of the three entrances to the triangle are etched stainless steel plaques with images from the New York Historical Society, New York Public Library and Library of Congress that tell of the area's urban evolutionL