Jon Ernsberger

2020 ASLA-NY Honor Award Recipient

This project fulfills the the community’s vision for a “green oasis” in what had been a walk-to-park dead zone. The design also provides suitable locations to display temporary public art in consultation with Park’s department of Art and Antiquities.

Jon and Tom Adams put care into numerous consultations with the Friends of 20th Street Park and Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s office to insure that all parties were comfortable with the process and resulting design.

The existing sanitation building which occupied half of the site was demolished by DDC in 2018. Jon worked with DDC staff to coordinate the two projects.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer

Construction Team: Robbin Pincus, Caitlyn Mattice, AAH Construction

Location: 140 West 20th Street, Manhattan

Completed Summer 2019

2020 NYC Public Design Commission Award for Excellence in Design Recipient

Monsignor Kett (aka Dyckman Park) has been a crucial outdoor recreation and gathering space since its creation in 1949. A yearly bazaar began in 1951, employing local volunteers to raise proceeds to reinvest in the neighborhood. In 1990 the wildly popular annual Dyckman streetball tournament was founded, a touchstone community event that continues to flourish to this day. As Inwood continues to prosper and grow, this project marks the largest reinvestment the city has made in this vital open space.

In the spirit of NYC’s Parks Without Borders initiative, the new park design envelopes the playground in greenspace, lowers perimeter fencing and establishes a grand welcoming entrance at the corner of West 204th and 10th Avenues. The relocated comfort station will claim the high ground of the site to overlook beautifully modernized play areas and centerpiece spray shower area. In the southern portion of the site, courts will receive colorful cushioned surfacing and permanent high-rise steel bleachers, supporting the continuation of the vital Dyckman tournament into the future. New areas for fitness equipment and free calisthenics are established to expand the range of activities available for adults and teens. Critical infrastructure including drinking fountains and bottle fillers can now be found in every area of the park.

The design also plans for climate change resilience by located critical infrastructure above projected high-water levels and investing in flood resilient materials in the low-lying areas. These measures along with increased permeability will allow the site to recover quickly from storm events.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer, The LiRo Group

Construction Team: William A. Gross, Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: West 204th Street btw. 10th and Nagle Avenues

Scheduled Completion: 2022

2021 ASLA-NY Board Choice Award Recipient

This project will revitalize all areas of this 1.45 acre park. Jon and George worked closely with the Friends of Luther Gulick Park who had already been gathering community input and support for the project for years in advance. MKW was engaged to develop the construction documents after the addition of NYS Department of Transportation funding.

Design Team: George Bloomer, Jon Ernsberger, MKW & Associates

Construction: UA Construction, Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: Delancey Street between Columbia and Willett Streets

Completed Fall 2020

This project will revitalize this pocket playground and restore it’s distinctive elements including the large aluminum panel mural which commemorates the famous tap dancer and philanthropist, Bill Robinson who lived across the street in the historic Dunbar Apartments.

The design will add a custom dance step graphic pattern which allows visitors to learn one of Bill Robinsons’ signature tap dance sequences called the “cross-over step”.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer

Construction: Deborah Bradley Construction & Management Services Inc., Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: West 150th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Boulevards

Scheduled Completion: Fall 2020

This Community Parks Initiative project brought a much needed renovation to this 0.7 acre playground.

The finished project also includes storm water infiltration and retention measures such as permeable pavers, rain gardens and subsurface retention which take in additional water from Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. Developed in collaboration with NYC Department of Environmental Protection, these measures help protect the East River from contamination by reducing the burden on combined sewer systems during storm events.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer

Construction: Padilla Construction Services Inc., Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: 130th Street and Adam C. Powell Jr. Blvd., Manhattan

Completed: Summer 2018

This purpose of this project was to reconstruct the plaza and facilitate the installation of The Peace Clock, a brand new addition to the NYC’s public art collection which commemorates Trygve Halvan Lie’s contributions as the United Nation’s first Secretary General.

Jon’s work included preparation of contract documents and coordination with the Artist, Public Design Commission, NYC Parks Art and Antiquities, Con Edison, and others.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, Alex Hart, George Bloomer, Lina Vista Grønli (Peace Clock artist), Jonathan Kuhn

Construction: Coppola Paving and Landscaping Corp., Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: 1st Avenue between 140th and 142nd Streets (across from the United Nations)

This second redesign of one of M. Paul Friedberg’s adventure-style playgrounds addressed the accessibility, programming, maintenance and safety concerns of the adjacent public school and community. At the same time it aimed to preserve the spirit of MPFP’s 1995 redesign and add additional play value with innovative features such as a decorative chalkboard and granite maze pods.

The community was divided over a number of key issues concerning the redesign. Jon, Leslie and Nancy worked closely with MPFP, Public School 166, The Friends of Playground 89, Manhattan Community Board 7, and the Public Design Commission to arrive at a design solution that all parties could support.

Location: 89th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, Manhattan

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, Leslie Peoples, Nancy Prince, Whitney Talcot, MPFP

Completed 2016

This project sought to provide an inclusive community gathering space that facilitates learning, nature play and community gardening. The design took special inspiration from the work of environmental psychologist Roger Hart who’s studies on childhood development highlight the importance of independent play and opportunities to interact with natural materials.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger and George Bloomer

Construction: MSM Empire Construction Corp., Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: 146th Street Between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Boulevards

Completed 2014

In addition to creating a vibrant and inclusive play space, this project aimed bring this small playground up to the aesthetic standards set by neighboring Father Demo Square and the other Minetta properties along 6th Avenue which had received recent capital improvements.

Extra care was taken to protect and improve conditions for the numerous mature trees on the site. Jon worked with Jeremy Barrick (then Parks’ Capital Arborist) to pilot several of the tree care and protection practices which have since become agency standards.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer, Jeremy Barrick

Construction: Professional Pavers Corp., Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: 6th Avenue between West 3rd Street and Minetta Lane, Manhattan

Completed 2012

The Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan and host to a near steady stream of visitors. This project was the first phase in an effort to make the mansion ADA accessible and it also reconstructed the sections of retaining wall that were most urgently in need of repair.

Jon took over the roll of project manager and designer from Gail during procurement. Many challenges arose during construction such as the discovery of bedrock just below the existing stairs. Standard methods of removal would likely have caused vibrations that could be hazardous to the historic mansion. The team was able to appropriately address this and other challenges swiftly and produce a successful project that allowed many new visitors to appreciate the site.

Jon also prepared the detail which reused the excess existing Manhattan Schist from the reconstructed walls to create terraced perennial planters which also serve to account for unexpected grading difficulties.

Location: 65 Jumel Terrace, Manhattan

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer, Gail Wittwer-Laird,

Construction: AAH Construction, Heidy Maschino, James Malin

Completed 2011

This project aimed to make a number of cost effective interventions throughout the 6.7 acre park to address urgent needs and elevate the overall quality of visitor experience.

One of the most noticeable interventions was the formalization of the dog run. Jon took a thorough inventory of lessons-learned from other dog runs throughout the city to insure the project went smoothly. The result was the establishment of a good example for other landscape architects to use going forward where they could see most of these practices in one place. Numerous users still report their satisfaction with this dog run.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer

Construction: William A. Gross Construction, Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: West 173rd Street between Haven and Fort Washington Avenues

Completed 2012

This project reconstructed the ballfield with new synthetic turf and greatly improving the accessibility, comfort, and safety. The design added an accessible ramp on the home-team side of the field and modified the existing concrete bleachers to include a wheelchair companion bay.

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, Gus Frindt

Construction: Turco Golf, Inc., Parks Manhattan Construction Team

Location: Hudson Street between Leroy and Clarkson Streets, Manhattan

Completed 2013

This project was the culmination of a years long quest for a new home for this monument to New York’s 20th mayor.

Jon’s initial roll was to compile feasibility studies on several promising sites. Factors included utility lines, MTA structures, proximity to the portion of NYC that existed during De Peyster’s life, site lines, lighting, access, maintainability, and many more. The number of sites the team would consider ballooned to over 20 before Thomas Paine Park was identified as the best site to satisfy this Venn-diagram of criteria. Jon then guided the proposal through the approval process before handing it off to other capable hands for construction.

The day that Abraham de Peyster was returned to prominent public display was cause for much celebration.

Location: Worth Street between Centre and Lafayette Streets

Design Team: Jon Ernsberger, George Bloomer, Jonathan Kuhn

Completed 2014