If Jacob H. Schiff could see what happened to the fountain in Seward Park which he presented to the people of New York for the purpose of beautifying the East Side, he would have wandered off in disgust and amazement at New York city’s ingratitude.
The fountain bearing his name is certainly not a thing of beauty in its present state. The murmuring sounds of water gushing forth from the spigots in the mouths of the fountain’s sybillic characters have been stilled for many yellow years.
And the inscription on the fountain, telling of Jacob Schiff’s generosity in making this gift to the city, together with date and other pertinent facts, has been so batered by the atmosphere and so maligned by neglect that it has become an illegible eyesore.
Many people have noticed this and have commented on the indifference of the authorities in charge. But it was Stanley Bero, social worker for many years, who felt constrained to write to Park Commissioner Moses about the sad condition of the Schiff fountain.
The Park Department has just answered Mr. Bero through A.R. Jennings, New York’s land scape architect, saying: “I will have this investigated and the Schiff fountain cleaned, the inscriptions made readable, and the fountain made to function.”
At the Park Department yesterday it was stated that as soon as a complete report is received on what must be done to fix the Schiff fountain, men would be put to work to do it.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
