In my Summer Solstice post for 2001 I used the fence around the Reservoir as a jumping off point (so to speak) for discussing boundaries of other sorts: between seasons or between actuality and possibility. One possibility I mentioned as a joke has now come to pass, thanks to another I had not foreseen.



The Reservoir has not been put to any new use yet, but there has been a big change, in the form of a brand new fence, which was installed late last year. Actually the new fence is an old fence, or at least a replication of the original cast-iron fence that had been replaced by the higher chain-link barrier back in 1926. The project was an initiative of the Central Park Conservancy, and if I’ve occasionally criticized some of their management policies I must give them credit here. The new, lower (4’8”) fence provides much improved views of the skyline, as well as making birdwatching a good deal easier.




An esthetic improvement no doubt, but less of an impediment to would-be bathers. You might think common sense would keep people out of the Reservoir, but trusting common sense as a behavioral prophylactic only proves you have none yourself, and just as I’d hypothesized, someone did indeed jump in once the bar was lowered. Some two, actually: a couple of young women visiting from Canada. Police helicopters came swooping down, and scuba divers were deployed, but terror-driven paranoia soon gave way to bumpkin jokes and light-hearted news coverage. (Note to Cnews: the Reservoir no longer contains drinking water, nor is a chest-high fence “huge”.)




The ladies’ stunt was driven by an early heat wave, but Summer has a way of making us all silly. As for the future of the Reservoir, nothing more has been decided. In preparation for the new fence they went out with machetes and cut down most of the vegetation around the rim, but it’s growing back swiftly, and I suppose they’ll have to repeat the act regularly, or else we’ll have a fence of another sort overtopping this fine new piece of nostalgia.




So the sun sets on our changing scene, and on our Spring. The Solstice arrives this evening at 8:27, minutes after astronomical sunset. But fear not for the Summer Sun, it will be here tomorrow, and for weeks to come.