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The other day, while walking my dog in Henry Hudson Park, I discovered a recently uncovered plaque underneath a Tulip Tree. I walk through this area just about every day, and I can guarantee that until coming across this plaque the other day, it was not visible.
Apparently this memorial was for Ana Cymerman, the wife of Paul Cymerman, for whom the playground (at the the corner of Kappock and Indepedence) is named,within the lower portion of Henry Hudson Park.
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The Cymermans were an elderly couple who lived in my building The Burton. They were holocaust survivors and like so many of us, became bonded with the beauty and grace of Henry Hudson Park. But from what I’m told, Spuyten Duyvil in the 90s was on the downslide, and there was crime occurring in the Park.
Mr. Cymerman and his wife took it upon themselves to clean up the playground for little kids daily, making sure the sandbox was clean and full and that ne’er do wells stayed away.
From the NYT:
“In Riverdale, Paul Cymerman, 73, a concentration-camp survivor who lost a niece and a nephew in the Holocaust, watches over the Henry Hudson Park sandbox with the intensity of a hawk defending its nest. His voluntary effort absorbs him seven days a week, from dawn, when he unlocks the playground, until way past dusk, when he closes it. It has brought him many community honors (“Honors, schmonors,” he says).
“You used to come out and see garbage and a million broken bottles,” he said one morning recently, his sharp blue eyes the same color as the sky. “Now, this park has a good name. You know the children aren’t going to get hurt.”
May 11, 1995, In City Parks, A Childhood Joy Is Now a Rarity
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/11/garden/in-city-parks-a-childhood-joy-is-now-a-rarity.html
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So when I came across this memorial, I wondered about it but discovered that it was part of a a larger memorial to both Cymermans, a tulip tree for Ana, and a second tree just a short distance away for Paul.
“Ana Cymerman was also a fixture in the park and always supported her husband’s love of the park, according to Mr. Cymerman. At the service, he recalled the story of Hercules, who was sent on a mission to find a blue rose. “I always had my blue rose,” he said, referring to his wife. “There are plenty of other roses-red roses, pink roses, white roses.” But he always had his blue rose, he said.
In memory of Mrs. Cymerman, Parks & Recreation planted a tulip tree (Oiriodendron Tulipifera). The tree will grow tall overlooking the park.”
The Daily Plant : Friday, September 19, 2003
THIS PARK’S FOR PAULhttps://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/bronx-park/dailyplant/18168
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The tree above with a pole missing its plaque is about 15 feet away from the Tulip Tree planted for Ana.
“The tree that they planted in Paul’s Park stands only a short distance from the tree planted last year in memory of Paul’s late wife. “As these trees grow and their branches join together overhead, they will stand by each other’s side, as the people they memorialize did in life,” said Commissioner Benepe.”
It was planted on September 15, 2004 on the day Pau’s Playground was memoralized to recognize the contributions of this local couple.
The Daily Plant : Wednesday, September 15, 2004
PAUL CYMERMAN MEMORIALIZED IN PARK THAT BEARS HIS NAMEhttps://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/henry-hudson-park/dailyplant/19187
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Paul Cymerman said of his wife Ana: “There are plenty of other roses-red roses, pink roses, white roses.” But he always had his blue rose, he said.
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/henry-hudson-park/dailyplant/18168
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But Paul’s plaque is missing. And until recently, when someone uncovered Ana’s, this carefully curated memorial seemed destined to be forgotten, like so many of our local landmarks and memorials.It sits just a few feet from the site of the former Berrian Farmstead, now a tool shed.
Perhaps it is time to advocate for the restoration of this Memorial within the Park, which although there was a “restoration” of the lower half of Henry Hudson Park five years ago (which cost almost 2 million dollars and took an entire year to complete), was not on the list.
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For more information about Paul’s Playground: <a href=”https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/playgrounds/870″
>https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/playgrounds/870
https://paulspark.wordpress.com/ -
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Paul was a very decent man who also worked as a butcher at the old C Town supermarket once inhabiting the Rite Aid space in Knoll”s Crescent. He was extremely funny and would hit up all the dad’s once a year for twenty bucks to replace the dirty sand in the sandbox. Then he would get you to show up on a Saturday morning to shovel out the old sand for the new. He and his wife, Ana, are very much missed by all who knew them. Their real legacy is all the happy souls that experienced a wholesome childhood in that special playground. Ana and Paul’s diligent leadership set a standard for playground mentorship all over the Bronx.
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