Could cost $200k to replace grass trampled by protesters A spokeswoman from the National Park Service says the federal agency hasn’t assessed damages at McPherson Square since the Occupy DC protesters have killed much of the new turf that was laid there, but calculations show it could cost in the neighborhood of $200,000 to replace the grass.
This winter and spring, federal stimulus dollars paid for about $437,000 worth of new grass, concrete curbs, refurbished benches, new light poles, water fountains, new paint, new chain fencing, 12 new trash cans and new light meters, according to spokeswoman Carol Johnson.
But after three weeks of protesters camping out on the grass, the greenery is showing major signs of wear and tear.
Johnson said she didn’t know how much of the stimulus money went toward the new sod, but the industry standard price is $5 per square foot and the park received 53,610 square feet of sod. That works out to about $268,000, but it is likely NPS got a deal and the cost of sod was closer to half the total project, or about $212,000.
When asked how much it would cost the NPS to replace the grass, Johnson said this week that the park service hasn’t assessed the situation but “clearly it would not be anywhere near the $437,000, though.”
Protesters said last week that they’re not happy about what their camp has done to the grass and are trying to mitigate that by laying down cardboard and getting more donations of wooden crates to prop up tents and tables. They have also moved tents from a portion of the north side of the square that had become muddy after the rains, sprinkled some grass seed and posted a sign that says “Don’t walk here.”
“This is our home too,” said Joe Gray, 23, a Gaithersburg resident.
Still, the movement has grown and tents now occupy about three-quarters of the green space in the square, up from about one-quarter at the beginning of the protest that started Oct. 1.
