Dropping $2.5 Million, and Name, Into Fountain

By Timothy Williams

The usually bone-dry concrete heart of Washington Square Park is about to get a formal name after being known simply as "the Fountain" for 130 years.

But because the soon-to-be-called "Tisch Fountain" is the quirky center of a self-consciously unorthodox park in Greenwich Village, some neighbors have objected to the christening, particularly since the fountain is being named at the request of the Tisch Foundation. The organization, run by members of the family known for real estate, media and other holdings, has agreed to donate $2.5 million to restore the leaky fountain, which is rarely switched on, and the surrounding plaza.

Further, city officials say the plan took them by surprise. Alan J. Gerson, who represents the district on the City Council, and several representatives of Community Board 2, which approved the park's $16 million makeover this year, said they had no idea the fountain was to be given a name until a few days ago, even though Mr. Gerson said he had asked the Parks Department whether it had considered granting naming rights in the park in exchange for contributions for the redesign.

"This was done secretly by the Parks Department out of either total incompetence or total bad faith," Mr. Gerson said. "This raises a lot of questions beyond Washington Square Park about the public domain and privatization."

Mr. Gerson said that when he had asked a Parks Department official this week why only a handful of people had been informed about the January 2005 contract between the city and the Tisch Foundation - which was signed by the parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe - the official told him, "Well, no one asked us."

Mr. Gerson said he did not favor returning the donation to the Tisch Foundation, but he was not exactly sure what his next step would be.

The Parks Department declined to respond directly to Mr. Gerson's charges, but said it was common for fountains and other structures to be named for the people who underwrite their installation or restoration, including the Pulitzer Fountain, named for the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who contributed $50,000 for a fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel.

"It follows in a very long line of philanthropic gifts going back many decades where the structure that is given or restored is named in honor of the donor," a Parks Department spokesman, Warner Johnston, said in a statement. "The Tisch gift has been widely discussed, and in fact was announced at several public events." He said the department had planned to announce the naming of the fountain later this summer.

The agreement between the city and the Tisch Foundation, which was not made public but was obtained by a woman who lives near the park through a Freedom of Information Act request, calls for the foundation to make a $2.5 million gift dedicated to the fountain and plaza restoration.

"We understand there will be two naming plaques on opposite sides of the fountain," which will be inscribed Tisch Fountain, the agreement states.

The path toward Washington Square's redesign has been bumpy. Following a series of often rowdy public hearings this spring, the Parks Department backed down from a plan to place a fence and gate around the park. The redesign now calls for a short fence but no gate. The plan also calls for the fountain to be shifted about 20 feet to the east, to align with the Washington Arch.

The fountain has for years been used by amateur performers to entertain crowds that grow to as many as several hundred on weekends. During graduations at New York University, when the fountain does spout, it has become a tradition for graduates to kick off their shoes and hop in.