an "illegal encroachment". Ultimately, the Board of Water Supply applied for a permanent pumping station, though in July 1916 the Board of Aldermen voted instead to build an underground pump structure. Improvements to Morningside Park were also conducted from the 1920s through the 1960s. In its annual report of 1929, NYC Parks reported that much of the vegetation had to be replanted because of neglect or vandalism. By the mid-20th century, Morningside Park was perceived as dangerous. Because of its proximity to Harlem, a largely Black neighborhood, crime in the park was perceived as signs of a racial conflict. In 1935 The New York Times reported that the Teachers College of Columbia University had posted a sign in a dormitory informing students "it is not safe to enter Morningside Park at any time of the day or night." The Times also reported residents were concerned that "unemployed destitute" individuals posed a danger to the park's safety. A playground and comfort station was added between 113th and 114th Streets on the east side of Morningside Park in November 1935; the 113th–114th Streets comfort station was replaced by 1945. A polygonal comfort station was proposed for the southeastern corner of the park in 1936 but was not built. A playground at the northeastern corner of Morningside Park was also constructed in 1935; it was expanded with extra equipment in 1941, including athletic courts, a wading pool, exercise structure, swings, slides, and a children's play area. Also, by 1941, rock outcroppings on the south lawn were removed to make way for softball fields. During this era, a proposal to rename Morningside Park to "Franz Boas Park" was rejected by parks commissioner Robert Moses. The 1904 restroom structure was demolished in 1952, except for its western wall, at which point jagged-topped stone barriers were erected next to paths in the park. Two years later, the bronze railings on the western and southern borders were replaced with iron picket fences. A playground on Morningside Avenue between 116th and 119th Streets was finished in 1956, while sandboxes were installed on the Morningside Drive overlook balconies the next year. The wrought-iron fence on the eastern border was replaced, and the park's hillside restored, in 1962. 1950s and 1960s controversies Columbia athletic complex In a 1955 piece in the Times, one observer noted, "the park was virtually off-bounds to [Columbia University] students and faculty as "too dangerous". At