New York, NY—A coterie of elected officials, community groups and advocates gathered on Monday at Ruppert Park during a press conference led by Councilman Ben Kallos (D-5), who announced nearly $9 million to renovate Ruppert Park on the Upper East Side.

The location of Ruppert Park at East 91^st Street and 2^nd Avenue has a storied past. It used to be home to the Jacob Brewing Company, which started in 1866. It remained in operation for nearly a century, and then in 1969 the 35 buildings between 90^th and 94^th Streets and 2^nd and 3^rd Avenues were levelled to make way for the eventual construction of apartment buildings that housed 1,500 affordable housing units.