Living Memorials use trees and natural systems to create public places for healing. The USDA Forest Service created this program to provide support to groups wishing to create memorials that look forward, beyond 9/11, to a future of healing and peace.

Open Road Park was selected as a Living Memorial site in March 2004. Our design teams have decided that our Living Memorial will express peace, community, and cultural diversity through the use of trees and other living systems. But we have not yet defined what our Living Memorial will look like; we are now engaged in a participatory design process that is open to our entire community. We welcome your input.

We have adapted the participatory design process that we used to design and create our park to create this Living Memorial, together with our local partners and the USDA Forest Service, and Cornell University. Our local partners are East Side Community High School, New Design High School, Medina Masjid Mosque and School, Mary Help of Christians Church and School, Chinatown Planning Council's First Avenue Daycare, Children's Liberation Day Care, Brotherhood/Sister Sol, & 11th Street Block Association.

Please look at all the design ideas created by Open Road and Cornell teams in March and April 2004. All of the design teams are currently revising their designs and are seeking input. This section of our website was created for this purpose.

If you would like to make comments on these design ideas, please check out our timeline, community survey responses, budget, maps of Open Road Park, and the proposal we wrote to get support for this project. Please visit the site during open hours (M-F 3-6pm, Sat 12-4pm), and see how people use it now.

Then, contact us with your comments. You can drop by the park during open hours and give us your comments in the form of writing, maps, or drawings. You can also send your comments by email, or mail: Open Road, 420 East 12th Street, NY, NY 10009.

You are also invited to bring your comments and design ideas to public sessions at Open Road Park on May 15th, 22nd, and 29th, from 12-2pm.

Please come to the public session on May 21st, 1-5pm Design Team review is from 1-3pm, public session from 3-5pm. Even if you have not been involved in the project you are welcome to come. Review the background information above, and make comments during the public session from 3-5pm.