City Landscape Architect David Moser Dies

The city’s longtime landscape architect, David Moser, has died at the age of 65 after a long fight with cancer.

His death came on the same day as the formal opening of one of his most notable achievements, the redesign and expansion of the Edgewood Skate Park.

In his more than 20 years with the city, Moser worked on countless projects, large and small, leaving ​“his mark on every public space in the city,” said Director of Parks, Recreation and Trees Rebecca Bombero. 

They ranged from modest projects such as the plantings on the medians on Woodward Avenue and those on ​“Harvey’s Walk” in Wooster Square to large projects such as the erosion control infrastructure improvements at Long Wharf Park..

And every time you see a splash pad in the city, like the one at Dover Beach in Fair Haven or at Galvin Park at the corner of First Street and Greenwich Avenue in the Hill it’s likely that David Moser not only helped design it but spent endless hours attending community meetings, and genuinely listening to peoples requirements and concerns.

“Dave was at his best working with the community and interpreting their ideas into his designs. He was extremely soft spoken, incredibly meticulous and dedicated. Even as he was struggling with cancer, ” Bombero added, ​“he wanted to see his projects through.”

Nowhere was that more evident than his work on the skate facility in Edgewood Park. SeeClickFix’s Ben Berkowitz, a devotee of the sport and the park, said Moser ” was really instrumental in facilitating a community-built skate park. It was a real pleasure to work with him. He expressed a ton of enthusiasm…in learning nuances of skate boarding.”

Berkowitz said that as a result of Moser’s close listening and close work, the reopened skate park is now not only a local gem but a regional attraction. ​“He told me multiple times this project is most enjoyable he’d worked on in his time with the city,” Berkowitz said, and that was because there was so much involvement from the park’s users, and Moser enthusiasm thrived on theirs.

David Moser grew up in Malverne, N.Y., on Long Island, and received his training at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, from which he graduated cum laude in 1976. He is survived by his wife Marie and his children Max Greger-Moser, Lucy Greger-Moser, and Paige Greger-Moser.

“Of the many things people loved about him is that he was honest, hard working, humble,” Marie said. ​“And he always made sure that those who did the job,” the hard work of construction, bringing to life what was designed, got paid and recognized.

Moser this year received the City Spirit Award as part of local government’s birthday celebration. The Historic Wooster Square Association honored him in 2017. Peter Webster, who worked with him on beautifying Wooster Square, recalled him as ​“quiet, shy, unassuming, and relentless in his pursuit of beauty and the design of the ephemeral. Everywhere one goes in ye olde NHV, one sees a touch of his gentle hand: a swipe of color here, a perfect vista there, a median’s worth of bloom metronoming the breeze, a city space, a city park that is practical, efficient, affordable, welcoming, beautiful. “

Click here and scroll to page 12 to read an article Moser recently published about the creation of Cherry Ann Street Park in Newhallville.

During the final phases of the Edgewood Park skate park’s construction, Moser would call from the hospital to make sure things were being done right. ​“There has been talk, among skateboarders, of naming the park after him. I would really hope that is considered, because he was instrumental and the park is his design,” Berkowitz said

A memorial service is being planned, the date to be determined.