Sing for Hope's Statement on Oval Piano

At the end of a week-long saga starting with an assumption that the piano in Williamsbridge Oval was stolen followed by a Parks Department admission that its sanitation crew discarded it, Sing for Hope, the nonprofit group that provided the piano, had this to say on Saturday:

"Sing for Hope was informed today by the NYC Parks Department that the missing piano at Wiliamsbridge Oval was mistakenly removed from the park by sanitation staff.  We remain grateful to the City of New York for their continued support of Sing for Hope and look forward to continuing a relationship with the Williamsbridge Oval in the future.  Until then, we congratulate the Friends of the Williamsbridge Oval on replacing the piano and enabling their community to continue making music.

(UPDATED) EXCLUSIVE: Oval Park Piano May Have Been Removed as Trash; Not Stolen

[Update: Following is confirmation from a Parks Department spokesperson that the piano was discarded, not stolen: “Parks workers unknowingly discarded the piano which appeared to have been vandalized and was lying on its side. We were just alerted to this today and we send our apology to the community and sing for hope if any trouble was caused by this.”]

According to Deputy Inspector Joseph Dowling, commander of the 52nd Precinct, witnesses interviewed by detectives said that a sanitation truck removed the now-famous, presumed-stolen Sing for Hope piano from near the tennis courts on Williamsbridge Oval, thinking it was a discarded instrument. (A new piano was donated to the community Wed. night, and painted by children yesterday, with the help of the Friends of Williamsbridge Oval, Mosholu Preservation Corp., and community residents.)

We're still waiting for comment from the Parks Department press office, and Dowling said the accounts still needed to be confirmed.

An unfortunate bureaucratic snafu if true (we'll let you know as we find out more), but think of the multiple bright sides this Independence Weekend people: no heartless neighborhood thief stealing music from the children; an indefinite period of public piano playing since Sing for Hope was supposed to retrieve the original piano this weekend; and what better illustration of how awesome the Norwood community is?

Have a great, safe Fourth everyone!

Following Piano Theft, Norwood Residents Say 'You Can't Take Away Our Hope' (VIDEO)

Norwood residents young and old helped paint the new community piano in Oval Park. (Photos by Rachel Sander)

Friends of the Williamsbridge Oval Park and a number of helpful local residents gathered today in the park to paint the recently-donated piano that will replace the Sing for Hope Pop-Up Piano that was stolen earlier this week.

It remains a mystery who took the piano and how they were able to remove the hulking instrument from the park, but the Norwood community is celebrating today and once again feeling hopeful. More than two dozen kids and adults chipped in to give the piano a bright new paint job. (See video at the bottom of this story.)

New Piano Secured For Oval Park

Here's an update in the saga of the purloined piano--BxNN reader Lis says a kind-hearted soul offered to donate an old piano of theirs to to replace it, free of charge (local group Friends of Williamsbridge Oval had been planning to chip in and buy a new one).

Now they just need folks to help pick it up in Midtown and load it into a truck. Here are the details from Lis:

So we are picking it up tonight and placing it in the park tonight; we need all hands on deck! Those who can help with moving and hoisting a piano, please assemble outside of PS 56 on Hull Ave. at 6 pm this evening (Tuesday night). I will be out there in a bright pink shirt with "I Am the Bronx" logo on it... we can then divide up cars and who can ride in the UHaul to pick up the piano.

For those of you with children, I would be happy to watch them at the park while you help get the piano from Mid-town. Tomorrow, at noon, we, along with many area children, will be meeting in the park to paint the piano. We welcome any paint donations.

There you go, folks; head over to PS 56 tonight, or show up to the Oval tomorrow with some paint, if you're looking to lend a hand.

Have You Seen This Piano? Oval Park Instrument of Hope Goes Missing

Just yesterday, this "pop-up" piano in Williamsbridge Oval Park was being used to make music as part of a citywide program initiated by the nonprofit Sing for Hope. Today, it's gone. Vanished. Apparently overnight. Caretakers locked it up last night near the tennis courts on the west side of the park at around 6:30 p.m.. Today, it is nowhere to be found.

If you have any information about it's whereabouts, please contact Michael Lambert of Mosholu Preservation Corporation at mlambert@mpcbronx.org or (718) 324-4461.

Piano for Public to Arrive in Oval Park on June 18

Last summer, as part of the Sing for Hope program, a piano arrived in Sachkerah Woods Playground in the Norwood section of Van Cortlandt Park (see photo above by David Greene). This year, the destination is Williambridge Oval. It was supposed to appear near the new playground on June 18, but some final punch-list construction items under way there (the Parks Department says the playground, spray showers, and basketball courts, will be open by the end of June) make that location unlikely. The Parks Department tells us though that the piano is definitely Oval bound, and though they won't know the location until the last minute, it may go in front of the benches at the Reservoir Oval West entrance.

Unfortunately, last year, the pianos suffered from vandalism in two Bronx Parks, including Sachkerah Woods. Let's hope the tune plays out more joyfully this year.

(Thanks to BxNN reader Lis for her comment on a previous post, which led to our calling the Parks Dept. for more info.)