the city. There is also an annual event in early August commemorating the 1988 Police Riot that features neighborhood bands. The Food Not Bombs Manhattan chapter serves every Sunday in the park, rain or shine. Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation have a popular free outdoor French film festival which shows a critically acclaimed French films each Friday at sunset in city parks including Tompkins during June and July. Fauna and flora The park contains a number of elm trees. One of these, known as the Hare Krishna Tree, for its association with the 1966 founding of the Krishna movement in the United States. Some Uncommon flora found in the park include the palms Sabal Minor and Sabal Louisiana, and Yuccas. Recreational facilities Playgrounds The main playground, closest to Avenue A, features jungle gyms, rock climbing features, and a water fountain flush with the ground. There is a large sandbox, swing sets, and benches. There are two smaller playgrounds in the section of the park near 7th Street and Avenue B. The main playground reopened in August 2009 after a year-long renovation. Multi-purpose courts Skateboarding training facility Since the 1980s, the asphalt that covers the multi-purpose courts at Tompkins Square Park has served as a skatepark and training grounds for generations of skateboarders. In 1989, Shut Skateboards hosted a contest at the park featuring ramps and other skate obstacles. The multi-purpose courts' asphalt is known as T.F., as well as; Thompson’s, a misnomer. T.F. stands for “training facility”. Many acclaimed skateboarders, including Tyshawn Jones, Alex Olson, Yaje Popson, Jarrod Brandreth, Harold Hunter, Ted Barrow, Andy Kessler, Zered Bassett, Jake Johnson, and others, have skated Tompkins Square Park, using it as a training facility. Turfing controversy In 2019, the Parks Department announced plans to cover over the asphalt lot in the park's northwest corner with synthetic turf by 2020. Skateboarders have protested this plan, with TF local Adam Zhu starting an online petition that garnered over 30,000 signatures. Zhu and others in the TF community planned a rally to support saving the historic skating grounds. Zhu worked with Steve Rodriguez, Carlina Rivera, Mitchell Silver, Supreme, and others to bring awareness to the turfing controversy. On Friday September 6th 2019, one day before the rally was set to take place, the Parks Department announced that they intend to