In January 2021, a newly promoted Parks Department supervisor named Will Morrison introduced himself to Community Board 2's Parks Committee. He told them his only official job was with the city. The Village Sun reported that this broke with past practice. His two predecessors, George Vellonakis and Sarah Neilson, had each supervised the park and also run the Washington Square Park Conservancy. The paper added that locals worried about blurred lines would welcome the change.
Almost six years later, Morrison holds both jobs. His title on the Conservancy's own staff page is "Executive Director & NYC Parks Administrator." On October 13, New York University pledged $6 million over four years to the organization he leads. So for anyone who lives around the park, there is now one person to talk to about how it's run, and NYU's pledge has given that person more to work with.
How the two roles came back together
Between November 2020 and October 2026, the dual role came back in steps.
| When | What changed |
|---|---|
| November 2020 | Morrison becomes the park's deputy administrator, with no Conservancy role |
| September 2022 | Morrison becomes park administrator |
| April 2023 | Morrison also becomes the Conservancy's executive director |
| 2025 | The Conservancy signs a five-year license with NYC Parks and becomes the park's official nonprofit partner |
| October 13, 2026 | NYU pledges $6 million over four years to the Conservancy |
The 2025 license is the step that changed the Conservancy's standing. The group was founded in 2012. Under the license it joined the same category of partners as the Central Park Conservancy, the Prospect Park Alliance and the Madison Square Park Conservancy. When Morrison presented the agreement to Community Board 2 in June 2025, he said it made a recurring fundraising commitment for park staff and programming official. Citizen Portal's account of that meeting says residents praised the agreement and also asked questions about process and community oversight.
The Conservancy explains in budget terms why a park this well known depends on a nonprofit. In its April 2026 announcement, it noted that NYC Parks gets 0.6 percent of the city budget to manage 30,000 acres across five boroughs. It called the 9.75-acre square "reliant" on the Conservancy for staff and supplies.
What NYU's money pays for
NYU has supported the park for more than 20 years. Washington Square News puts the scale in context: in 2004, the university gave $200,000 a year, plus a separate $1 million toward the renovation then being planned. The new pledge works out to an average of $1.5 million a year through 2030. That is seven and a half times the 2004 annual amount. WSN also reports that NYU already supplies most of the Conservancy's funding. Other large gifts came from the Dalio Family Fund, $485,000; Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, $382,000; and Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust, $110,000.
Staffing is the Conservancy's largest standing commitment. It pays for 17 NYC Parks staff positions at the park, including gardeners, maintenance staff and Park Enforcement Patrol officers. According to WSN, that comes to $1.1 million a year. The Conservancy wants to raise that figure so it can hire a wider range of staff, including environmental specialists and crew members. amNY's coverage lists the same areas, maintenance and operations, horticulture and the enforcement team. It adds one item a park regular will notice, which is possibly restoring more lawns each season.
Programming is the other half of the plan. The Conservancy told WSN it plans to add free workshops and pop-up art studio space. These build on its Teaching Artist Residency in the northwest corner in summer 2025 and on Park Open Studio, where artists lead free weekly workshops from May through October. NYU helped expand Park Open Studio last year.
Morrison described the pledge's flexible allocation to amNY:
"One of the true virtues of this gift is that NYU is trusting the Conservancy and the Parks Department as our partner to assess what the needs are in a given year, and point the funds where they're needed most."
Arlene Peralta, NYU's assistant vice president of community engagement, also sits on the Conservancy's board. She told amNY that the gift reflects a decision the university made a few years ago "that would allow greater flexibility in the allocation of our funding."
Because of that flexibility, the Conservancy and the Parks Department assess the park's needs each year and direct the money together, and Morrison leads both sides of that partnership.
Why the changes show up as upkeep, not construction
NYC Parks' project page for Washington Square Park lists one finished job, the perimeter sidewalk reconstruction, and no active capital project. With no active capital project listed, the pledge's effects will show up in the day-to-day budget, in who is on the payroll, which lawns get restored and which programs run.
Some of that is already easy to see. The Conservancy's annual figures include more than 350 public events, more than 10,000 people at its cultural programs and more than 500 volunteers. It also points to dog run maintenance, repairs to the bathroom plumbing and thousands of native plants put in the ground. In April, the Conservancy launched a new identity designed by Paula Scher of Pentagram, who also designed the current NYC Parks brand. It said branded signs for programs and locations around the park would start going up.
The annual Dog Halloween Costume Contest took place on October 17. First place went to a costume called "Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show." Second went to "Spaghetti and Luce-balls," and third to "Picnic in Central Park," which came with picnic baskets. Jolie Dudley of Must Love Dogs and Comedy was the emcee, and Lifeway Kefir and N-Bone were the sponsors.
Where residents can weigh in this winter
Since one person now holds both roles, residents who want to say something about the park only need to find him. Morrison holds a regular open-air session for that, and the rest of the season's dates are ones Villagers already know.
- Friday, November 13, noon to 1 p.m. Conversations in the Corner at Scrabble Plaza, in the park's northwest corner. It's an informal chat with Morrison in both of his roles. You don't need to sign up. The event listing invites questions about the park and feedback on how to improve it.
- Friday, December 4, noon to 1 p.m. The next Conversations in the Corner, at the same corner and with the same drop-in format.
- Early December, 6 p.m. The Washington Square Association's holiday tree lighting at the Arch, usually held in the first or second week of the month. Last year's was Thursday, December 11, with music from the Rob Susman Brass Quartet and singer Linseigh Green, according to NYC Parks.
- Thursday, December 24, 5 p.m. The Association's Christmas Eve caroling.
The tree lighting and caroling come from the Washington Square Association, a neighborhood group that is separate from the Conservancy. For hands-on work, the Conservancy runs member volunteer sessions. The most recent was a leaf-raking morning on October 22 at the Park House and the public restrooms. People who want to join future sessions can get details through the Conservancy's membership page.
From now through 2030, NYU's $6 million will be spent one year at a time, and the people deciding are the Conservancy and the Parks Department, led by the same person. The midday sessions at Scrabble Plaza on November 13 and December 4 are the scheduled times for residents to tell him where they think the money should go.
If you're curious how Washington Square's day-to-day life shows up in what a Village apartment is worth, Kay Moon would be glad to talk it through with you, calmly and in English, Korean or Japanese. What's Your Home Worth?