Downtown Patron Saint of Play is Recognized with Park House Naming
One day a few summers ago, a young boy cavorting in Rockefeller Park somehow wedged his head between the metal bars of the playground fence. A clamor ensued, and bystanders debated whether to summon police, fire fighters, or EMTs. Then someone said, “Get Gladys!”
Minutes later, Gladys Pearlman, a Battery Park City Parks staff member at Rockefeller Park for almost as long as there has been a Rockefeller Park, appeared on the scene. She took one look at the situation, called for olive oil, and soon slipped the boy free.
Always ready with an encouraging word, a reminder about good manners, or orange juice for episodes of low blood sugar, Gladys has been the smiling face of Rockefeller Park since the parents of some toddlers who now play there were themselves taking turns on the swings. And on June 27, during the annual Community Field Day, the Battery Park City Authority honored her 30 years of full-time service (preceded by 10 years of part-time work) by dedicating the structure in the middle of Rockefeller Park as the Gladys R. Pearlman Park House.
This distinguished tenure had its roots in the mid-1970s, when Gladys moved to Independence Plaza and watched as children soon began to populate the new neighborhood developing on landfill south of Tribeca. Always an organizer, she got involved in youth programs, first for the Port Authority in the 1970s. As of 1984, she was working part time in Battery Park City. By 1994, Gladys was full time.
Over the last four decades, she has given out toys, while also teaching children how to play tennis, pool, ping pong, and all manner of board games. She has counseled kids (and sometimes their parents) to speak nicely and be resourceful. She has solved problems and performed rescues.
But the signature insight for which she has become legendary to generations of children is advice that was inscribed in frosting on a cake at the June 27 dedication ceremony and shouted by the crowd as she cut the red ribbon around the park house: “Use your imagination!”
“More than anything else, what Gladys has done is build community,” said Raju Mann, president and CEO of the BPCA, at the event. “I feel at home when Gladys is here.”
On August 15, this proud grandmother of two will be 80 years old, but swears she is not retiring. In fact, former BPCA president BJ Jones, who spoke of his gratitude for Gladys at the dedication ceremony, said to cheers, “30 more years, Gladys! If anyone can do it, you can!”