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Fort Greene Park

Coordinates: 40°41′31″N 73°58′32″W / 40.691897°N 73.975474°W / 40.691897; -73.975474
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40°41′31″N 73°58′32″W / 40.691897°N 73.975474°W / 40.691897; -73.975474

The park c. 1904
The Prison Ship Martyr's Monument
The park's information center

Fort Greene Park is a city-owned and -operated park in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The 30.2-acre (12.2 ha) park was originally named after the fort formerly located there, Fort Putnam, itself was named for Rufus Putnam, George Washington's chief of engineers in the Revolutionary War.[1]

Renamed in 1812 for Nathanael Greene, an American Revolutionary War hero,[2] it was redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, architects of Central Park and Prospect Park, in 1867. Fort Greene Park contains the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument, which includes a crypt designed by Olmsted and Vaux, holding the remains of Patriot prisoners of war who died while being held on British prison ships in Wallabout Bay during the American Revolutionary War.

Across the street from its DeKalb Avenue entrance at Fort Greene Place is Brooklyn Technical High School. To its west is the oldest hospital in Brooklyn, now called the Brooklyn Hospital Center. North are the Walt Whitman Houses, one of the largest housing projects in New York City.

History

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Fort Greene Park includes part of the high ground where the Continental Army built fortifications prior to the Battle of Long Island, during the early days of the Revolutionary War. The site was chosen and construction supervised by General Nathanael Greene, and it was named Fort Putnam, after Rufus Putnam, George Washington's chief engineer. During the War of 1812, when the possibility of a British invasion of New York led to the re-use of the site for defense, the newly-rebuilt fortification was named Fort Greene in General Greene's honor.

After the fort's military use had waned, poet Walt Whitman, then the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, strongly advocated for reclaiming the space for use as a public park.[3] The City of Brooklyn had, by 1842, bought property around the fort from the Cowenhoven family, and in 1847 established what was then called Washington Park, Brooklyn's second park,[2] after City Park (today's Commodore Barry Park).

In 1867, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, designers of Central Park and Prospect Park, prepared a plan for the redesign of the park, the name of which was changed to Fort Greene Park.[2][4]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many parts of New York City were destroyed, including several trees in the park and the surrounding Fort Greene area. [5]

Fort Greene Park from above

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1
2
3
5
6
7
1
Basketball Court
2
Playground
3
Crypt
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument
5
Visitor Center
6
Tennis Courts
7
Playground

Renovation plans, 2017–present

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In February 2017, Parks Without Borders (PWB), the design unit of NYC Parks proposed renovating the park.[6] Public opposition gave rise to the advocacy group, Friends of Fort Greene Park.[7][8] The Landmarks Preservation Commission took no vote, with one commissioner observing that the plan was "against every historic moment in the design of the park".[9][10][11] The LPC later approved the plan after NYC Parks eliminated a proposed work by the late landscape architect Arthur Edwin Bye.[12]

Controversy again arose in early 2018 when NYC Parks announced plans to cut down some park trees,[13] and a group of residents successfully sued to force the release of an internal report about the trees,[14] a decision upheld upon appeal.[15] As of August 2018 the renovation was in the procurement process.[16]

In January 2020, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the city to reassess the park renovation plans to raze more than 80 trees, including 58 mature trees in the northwest section nearest the Ingersoll and Walt Whitman houses.[17] The move was lauded by the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club and covered in Gothamist.[18] "This decision should awaken the Department to reality," legal advisor Michael Gruen told the Brooklyn Patch. "Environmental regulation is not enacted to be evaded as if it were merely an annoyance." Georgette Poe, a resident of nearby NYCHA housing, celebrated the ruling as a victory for her community. "The City came in, didn't ask us what we needed and then didn't listen to the neighborhood," said Poe. "[They] wanted to take our park away, telling us we're not welcome anymore." "It just doesn't make sense," said FFGP member Arija Flowers. "Parks are supposed to be about trees and green spaces, birds and bees. We don't need another paved plaza."[17]

The city filed a notice of appeal in February 2020.[19] State Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley contacted the city's law department and asked for a redesign.[20]

Monuments

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Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument

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Main article: Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument

One of Fort Greene Park's distinctive features is the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument. During the Revolutionary War, the British kept American prisoners on ships in Wallabout Bay under terrible conditions. Around 11,500 prisoners died from disease and malnutrition. Olmsted and Vaux envisioned a crypt to hold their remains, with an appropriate monument. It was built, and the remains of the prisoners were re-interred there in 1873. A small monument was also built.[21]

Eventually, funds were raised for a larger monument. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White won a design competition, and the monument was unveiled in 1908 by President-elect William Howard Taft. It is a 149-foot (45 m) high granite Doric column over the crypt. At the top is an eight-ton bronze urn. At night the monument is illuminated by four electric lights set in four granite shafts. Bronze eagles grace each shaft, and two cannons guard the plaza and the Martyrs' crypt below.[21]

Bust of Edward Snowden

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Main article: Bust of Edward Snowden

In 2015, a bust of the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden was illicitly erected in the park and taken down by park officials the same day.[22] The next day, it was replaced by a projected hologram.[23]

Events

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The park is host to the annual Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival,[24] an event featuring young writers aged 7–18 reading alongside established writers, such as Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Gloria Naylor, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Jennifer Egan, the last two being residents of the neighborhood. The Fort Greene Park Conservancy also operates a summer concert series. The Greene Glass Project was started in 2010 to address the then-thousands of shards of broken glass in the park. The organization was hosting annual cleanups in the summer as of 2015.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Hubbard, Robert Ernest. General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio," pp. 53, 199, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4766-7862-7.
  2. ^ a b c Manbeck, John B. (2008), Brooklyn: Historically Speaking, Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, ISBN 978-1-59629-500-1, pp.29-32
  3. ^ Schuyler, D. 1986. The New Urban Landscape: The redefinition of city form in nineteenth-century America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 67.
  4. ^ "Fort Greene Park — Fort Greene Park Conservancy". Fortgreenepark.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  5. ^ Leonard, Paul (2012-10-30). "Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Weathers the Storm". Fort Greene-Clinton Hill, NY Patch. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  6. ^ Croft, Geoffrey (2017-05-22). "A Walk in the Park: Parks Commish "Spin" Class For Workers After Disastrous Ft.Greene Pk Redesign Community Meeting". A Walk in the Park. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  7. ^ Gill, Lauren (May 5, 2017). "Longtime residents: Don't gentrify Fort Greene Park". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  8. ^ "Friends of Fort Greene Park - Testimony". www.fortgreeneparkfriends.org. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  9. ^ "Friends of Fort Greene Park - Landmarks". www.fortgreeneparkfriends.org. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  10. ^ Gill, Lauren (September 25, 2017). "Protecting the Fort: Landmarks commission says Ft. Greene Park plans alter creator's vision, stalling makeover". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  11. ^ Wachs, Audrey (September 26, 2017). "Future uncertain for rare public landscape by A.E. Bye in Brooklyn". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
  12. ^ Wachs, Audrey (November 29, 2017). "Landmarks approves Fort Greene park design that eliminates rare A.E. Bye landscape". Archpaper.com. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Cuba, Julianne (May 11, 2018). "Taking Parks to the bench: Ft. Greeners file suit to stall their meadow's makeover after officials' tree untruths". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  14. ^ Cuba, Julianne (October 19, 2018). "Little guys win big: City must give locals complete report related to Ft. Greene Park's redesign, judge rules". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Croghan, Lore (April 1, 2019). "Fort Greene Park tree-removal fight moves forward". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  16. ^ "Fort Greene Park Plaza and Pavement Reconstruction : NYC Parks". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  17. ^ a b Culliton, Kathleen (January 13, 2020). "Fort Greene Park Trees Saved As Locals Beat City In Court". Patch. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  18. ^ Kim, Elizabeth (January 13, 2020). "Judge Halts City's Plan To Raze Dozens Of Trees In Fort Greene Park". Gothamist. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  19. ^ Duggan, Kevin (February 19, 2020). "City to appeal Fort Greene Park state judge's order". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  20. ^ Duggan, Kevin (May 20, 2020). "State pol calls on city to rethink embattled Fort Greene Park redesign". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Fort Greene Park Monuments". Prison Ship Martyrs Monument : NYC Parks. June 26, 1939. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  22. ^ Yuhas, Alan (April 6, 2015). "Edward Snowden statue prompts cover-up at Brooklyn park". The Guardian. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  23. ^ Fishbein, Rebecca (April 7, 2015). "Illicit Edward Snowden Statue Replaced By Illicit Edward Snowden Hologram". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2015-04-08.
  24. ^ "Fort Greene Park Summer Youth Program & Literary Festival" Archived 2020-03-18 at the Wayback Machine on the New York Writers Coalition website
  25. ^ Renzulli, Kerri Anne (November 26, 2012). "Reclaimed Glass Makes Benches and Jewelry". The Metropolitan Monitor. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10.
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