With his whirlwind trip to NYC having just kicked off, Prince Harry is getting a lot of publicity for his visit to ground zero and polo match on Governors Island (press tour today!).
But HRH Prince Henry of Wales is also in town to dedicate the British Garden at Hanover Square in the Financial District, which leads us to an important question: What the heck is the British Garden? Luckily, just as the ceremony is set to begin, the Broadsheet Daily lands in our inbox with both a picture of the pocket park and an explanation of the recent turbulent history of this memorial to the British citizens killed in the 9/11 attacks:
At the May meeting of Community Board 1's Financial District Committee, some members expressed their extreme displeasure with how things have been handled. "Time frames were misrepresented," said Megan McHugh. "Contractors walked off the job; there were liability issues with the benches," said Joel Kopel. Committee member Michael Ketring wanted to know who would replace the benches in the park if they cracked "sometime down the road."
Financial District Committee Chair Ro Sheffe asked Camilla Hellman, President of the British Memorial Garden Trust, to give the committee a time line with her "best guess" as to when the next phases of the garden will be completed, which she agreed to do.
At Community Board 1's full board meeting on Tuesday night, Mr. Sheffe reported that, "After three years of foot dragging by the Parks Department, suddenly things are speeding up because Prince Harry is showing up!"
You don't say! Just imagine how quickly that thing would have been finished if it had been Prince William that was due for a visit. So dreamy!
