33 East 1st Street | Block : 442 | Lot #1

Description & Building Alterations

This lot forms what is known as First Park, a playground named for its location on East First Street and First Avenue. It first opened in 1935, and was a product of the Works Progress Administration’s initiative to create recreational areas in New York City.

The appearance of this large bocce court announced the beginning of the East Village’s Little Italy at the base of First Avenue between Houston Street and First Street. Right next to the busy Second Avenue F stop, it was one of the most popular bocce courts in the city. It was also, along with a bocce court at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem (then also an Italian-American neighborhood), one of the first municipal bocce courts in the city.  Built by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, these courts were eventually found in parks and playgrounds in or near predominantly Italian-American neighborhoods across the city.

Like much of the East Village’s Little Italy, however, the bocce courts eventually disappeared along with the changing demographics of the neighborhood.  The courts remained until sometime in the mid-1970s, and after a period of neglect, the park was reclaimed by neighborhood organizations who worked with City officials to again provide a welcome respite from the surrounding traffic. The court has since been replaced with a children’s playground, handball courts, and a café.