Newark Advances Long-Awaited Redesign of Harriet Tubman Square
NEWARK - Harriet Tubman Square – one of the five parks in the city’s Arts & Education District – will be transformed into a “multifunctional park” with the addition of two playgrounds and an event plaza, city officials say.
The Newark Central Planning Board unanimously approved the Newark City Parks Foundation’s “courtesy review” of Harriet Tubman Square improvements on Monday night.
Because the proposal is funded by the city of Newark, it is exempt from site plan review and subject only to a “courtesy review,” according to state statute.
“The Harriet Tubman Square improvement project is a project that’s long overdue,” said Marcy DePina, executive director of the Newark City Parks Foundation. “This project has been ongoing for many years, and we are now finally in the final stages just before we can break ground on construction.”
Newark City Parks Foundation is a nonprofit organization that manages and maintains the five Downtown Newark parks, including Harriet Tubman Square, Military Park, Mulberry Commons, Lincoln Park and Riverfront Park.
Phase one of the improvement project at 501-551 Mayor Kenneth Gibson Blvd., comprising Harriet Tubman Square, was the installation of the Harriet Tubman monument “Shadow of A Face,” which was unveiled in 2023.
Phase two of the improvements include two playground areas – one for children ages 2–7 and another for children ages 5-12 – a multifunctional space to host different events, a restroom facility, and enhanced landscaping.
“We are keeping the historic character of the park, but we’re going to introduce new programming to the park, which was requested by the city,” said Jan Saltiel Rafel of Edgewater Design, the lead landscape architect on the redesign project.
A new entertainment plaza will be installed along Washington Street at the intersection of Jane Street. It will be built with decorative pavement, a comfort station, new landscaping and a wall of bench seating. Tables with seats will also be located throughout the plaza.
The comfort station – designed by Nina Cooke John, who worked on the Harriet Tubman monument – contains a utility room, storage and two public restrooms.
Two new playgrounds will be constructed on the Washington Place frontage. Between the two, some of the new playground equipment that will be provided includes slides, climbing sets, springers, a see-saw, a play tunnel and music-producing play equipment.
The landscaping around the George Washington and Harriet Tubman statues will be redesigned and replanted. The majority of the pre-existing trees are to remain, and 48 new trees will be planted.
To improve site drainage, three bio-retention basins will be constructed. The basin between the Harriet Tubman statue and the new entertainment plaza is crossed by a pedestrian footbridge.
The pre-existing concrete pathway network in Harriet Tubman Square will be repaved with new concrete.
Multiple park entrances will be demarcated with new brick paving and redesigned landscaping. A new brick monument sign with the name of the site will be installed at each of the three corner entrances.
New light posts and light fixtures are also proposed throughout the site.
“We had multiple meetings with the community and stakeholders, and basically the request was to make it a multifunctional park,” Rafel said.
Currently, Harriet Tubman Square is mostly grassy spaces with interconnected walking paths. There are no existing playgrounds.
To date, the Newark City Parks Foundation has gone before the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Newark Landmarks & Historic Preservation Commission to present the improvement project, and has received approval from both entities.
The city has entered into a $5.2 million contract with Zenith Construction Services, Inc. to provide the Harriet Tubman Square improvements, according to a City Council resolution adopted in November 2025. There is an additional $4.2 million in other sources, including city Open Space funds, Department of Community Affairs grant and a Community Development Block Grant, to fund the park improvement project, according to the resolution.
Board member Jermaine James asked who would be responsible for maintaining the enhanced Harriet Tubman Square.
“This is a great, ambitious project, but sometimes with parks, especially in urban areas, the lack of maintenance and the funding for it sometimes defeats the whole purpose,” James said.
The parks foundation contracts with Commercial District Services (CDS) to help maintain the five parks in Downtown Newark, according to DePina. It also contracts with a private company to do snow removal, which is partially funded by the city as well as additional grants and donations.
Board member Alana Miles noted the need for security, with the addition of bathrooms at Harriet Tubman Square and introduction of playgrounds for young children.
DePina said that the parks foundation works with the Newark Police Division and the city’s homeless services to address security concerns.
“The parks are patrolled generally, but there is not a full-time park security staff that's on site in any of our parks,” DePina said. “There is an attendant that will be there to make sure that they [the bathrooms] are not just secure, but also kept clean.”
The Newark City Parks Foundation did not detail a project timeline or when construction on Harriet Tubman Square will begin.
Published January 28, 2026 at 3:53 PM
