Some Scenes From Roosevelt Island Dedication Of FDR Four Freedoms Park This Morning - A Speech From President Bill Clinton And A Visit From Google Chairman Eric Schmidt Too

Will have more later, but here are some scenes from the FDR Four Freedoms Park Dedication earlier this afternoon morning.

 Ribbon Cutting Image From John Lee

President Bill Clinton's speech at the Dedication



a visit from Google Chairman Eric Schmidt

and Press Release From NY Governor Andrew Cuomo:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the opening of Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, a new State Park located on Roosevelt Island in the East River.

Four Freedoms Park is an enduring tribute to the life and work of President Roosevelt, a former governor of New York State who led the nation through a tumultuous period in American and world history. The Park will open to the public on October 24.

"With the opening of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park this fall, New Yorkers and visitors from around the world will have a memorial to recognize a great leader and native New Yorker who led our nation out of the Great Depression and steered America to victory in World War II," Governor Cuomo said. "New York's state parks are a true treasure, and the addition of Four Freedoms Park will give the park system yet another location for visitors to enjoy the outdoors, while also paying tribute to President Roosevelt. I encourage New Yorkers to visit Four Freedoms Park and learn about the remarkable life, work, and vision of President Roosevelt, from his time as governor leading the Empire State to his steady hand guiding our nation as president."

The last design of the iconic American architect Louis I. Kahn, and the only design by Kahn in New York City, the four-acre Park is a major new addition to New York’s cultural and public life. The park features a granite plaza at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, tree-lined paths and a bronze bust of Roosevelt by acclaimed portrait sculptor Jo Davidson.

Rose Harvey, Commissioner of New York State Parks, said, "New York State Parks are celebrated for connecting people to the most important and inspiring natural, cultural and historic treasures in the state. Four Freedoms State Park builds on this legacy, highlighting President Roosevelt’s remarkable vision of freedom at a critical moment in history and the artistic design of legendary architect Louis I. Kahn."

Darryl C. Towns, Commissioner/CEO of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), who also chairs the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, said, "Roosevelt Island has long deserved a park worthy of FDR, the island's namesake. Four Freedoms Park will serve as a powerful reminder of President Roosevelt's legacy, as well as that of the Greatest Generation who served under him in order to preserve our freedoms."

Sally Minard, President of Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, said, "The Four Freedoms are as important and relevant today as they were when President Roosevelt first articulated them in 1941. The Park expresses these fundamental elements of modern democracy in a setting that is truly unique."

The Park has been decades in the making. Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Mayor Lindsay announced the project in 1973, appointing Kahn as its architect; Kahn died unexpectedly shortly after completing the Park’s plans and the City of New York’s financial troubles dampened momentum for the project. More than 30 years later, former Ambassador to the United Nations William vanden Heuvel and the Four Freedoms Park Conservancy spearheaded a philanthropic effort to revive the park, enabling construction to begin in 2010.

The park derives its name from a January 6, 1941 speech delivered by President Roosevelt, in which he described his vision for a world founded on four essential human freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

The Park will offer a free interactive digital educational resource that visitors will be able to access on any mobile device. It will provide a multi-media narrative critical to understanding President Roosevelt’s significance, and was designed with the encouragement of the National Endowment for the Humanities with the help of historians and FDR scholars. For more information visit: http://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org/

With the addition of Four Freedoms, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation operates 179 state parks and 35 historic sites. Four Freedoms will be the first new State Park in New York City since East River State Park opened in Brooklyn in 2007 and the first new State Park in the state since the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park opened outside of Poughkeepsie in 2009. Park maintenance, programming and security will be provided cooperatively by State Parks, Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.

You can take a walk around the park too.

You Tube Video of Walk Around FDR Four Freedoms Park

Will have video of the entire ceremony later.

UPDATE 5:45 PM - Roosevelt Island Photo Blogger Olya Turcihin (Olya's Urban Journal) shares these great photos she took at today's FDR Memorial Dedication.



UPDATE 4/19- More here including video of entire dedication ceremony and video interview with President Clinton talking about Roosevelt Island.