Abe Lebewohl Park, undated.

This triangular space in front of the St. Mark’s-in-the-Bowery Church dates to 1799 when it was acquired by the city for street-pattern purposes. It was developed into a seating area in 1938 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration. By the 1970s, the so-called St. Mark’s Park was a mess and known as a spot used by drug users. In the 1980s, a neighborhood group, the 10th and Stuyvesant Streets Block Association, realized the land was under the authority of the Parks Department. With the support of the local council member, the park was cleaned up and began hosting programming from a weekly farmers market to summer concert series.

The park was directly catty-corner from the 2nd Avenue Deli, an East Village institution, owned and run since 1954 by Ukrainian immigrant Abe Lebewohl. A beloved member of the community, he was instrumental in the creation of the Walkway of Yiddish Actors outside the deli and an early supporter of the renewed park across the street. In 1996, sadly, Mr. Lebewohl was shot and killed while making a deposit at a local bank. A renovation of the park was undertaken that same year and the Parks Department agreed to rename the park in memory of Mr. Lebewohl.