 Friends of The Woods received $500,000 from the city of New York and has set about to restore the infrastructure of University Woods.They have partnered with the Parks Department, The Harlem River Ecology Center, the New York State Horticultural Center, and many other ecologically conscious groups to make further improvements to this once abandoned woodland.DJ Kool Herc, who grew up near the park in the 1970s, attended a block party held in 2008 in celebration of the park.