NYC Parks is calling on New Yorkers to submit the names of Black community leaders as it renames spaces in parks to honor the Black experience in the city.
The department said in a release the renamings were a visible step in the fight to end systemic racism in the city, and were one of the ways NYC Parks was acknowledging the contributions and legacies of Black Americans, "while working to make the City's park system more diverse and reflective of the people it serves."
In June 2020, the department created Juneteenth Grove in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park and as part of Parks' Black History Month events this year, Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, named the six mile Central Park loop for Black Olympian Ted Corbitt. He also moderated a virtual panel discussion entitled Honoring Black History: The Parks Naming Project to discuss the agency's efforts to rethink how greenspaces are named.
New Yorkers are invited to submit their recommendations for Black leaders with cultural relevance or meaningful connections to their local neighborhoods. Online submissions will be accepted through Monday, March 8, and selected names will be announced on June 19, 2021 to commemorate the 156th anniversary of Juneteenth.
For more details on how to submit suggestions, visit the Parks' website.
