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!

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 Waiting For You in Williamsbridge Oval Park

This PS 54 student sat down to play the piano in Williamsbridge Oval Park on Tuesday -- exactly the kind of spontaneous music-making organizers of the pop-up piano project have in mind. In fact, shortly after this girl left to hang out with her classmates, a professional piano player named Vadim showed up to play. Part of the program is for pianists to demonstrate the pianos and attract curious people who will then want to tickle the ivories themselves. The piano is only in the park for a couple of more weeks, so get going! (Photo by Jordan Moss)