The City Leader Who Revived Central Park Dies at 85

Gordon J. Davis, who helped revive New York City’s Central Park and later led major cultural institutions, died Sunday in Manhattan at 85. The first Black parks commissioner for the city, Davis died at a hospital from complications of emphysema, according to his daughter, Elizabeth Cooper Davis. His legacy included establishing the Central Park Conservancy, a public-private partnership to restore and protect Central Park’s 843 acres, and founding Jazz at Lincoln Center, cementing jazz as a permanent fixture at the world’s leading performing arts venues. As parks commissioner from 1978 to 1983, he oversaw large-scale restoration such as Sheep Meadow and brought major concerts by James Taylor, Elton John and Paul Simon with Art Garfunkel.