Residents hold candlelight vigil for Mullaly Park
to be renamed Reverend Wendell Foster Park
BY JASON COHEN
Reverend Dr. Wendell Foster
was the fi rst Black NYC Councilman
and beloved in the south
Bronx. Foster passed away in
2019 and residents are now hoping
his legacy lives on forever.
As NYC has pledged to rename
parks after Black Americans,
one of those is Mullaly
Park, which is named after John
Mullaly, a known racist who
was an agitator and instigator of
the NYC Draft Riots during the
Civil War.
After Bronxites rallied in
July 2020 denouncing Mullaly,
they gathered again on March 11
and held a candlelight vigil calling
for the park to be renamed
Reverend Wendell Foster Park
Foster served on the Council
from 1978 to 2001, was a civil
rights advocate, involved with
New York CORE (Congress
of Racial Equality), marched
alongside the late Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. and other
civil rights activists on the
Selma to Montgomery March
and was a founding pastor at
Christ Church on 860 Forest Avenue
for over 42 years.
“He defi nitely had an impact
on a lot of people,” said his
daughter Helen Diane Foster,
who followed her dad’s footsteps
and served on council from 2002
to 2013. “He represented love
and unconditional love. I think
what’s so important is that everybody
has their own story and
he made everyone feel special.”
She told the Bronx Times
that even when the fi res ravaged
the south Bronx her family
never left the area.
This park is also quite personal
to her as she went there
as a kid and brings her daughter
there as well.
“It (renaming) would just be
one of many ways that people remember
who he is and what he
stood for.”
Among the people in attendance
at the vigil was Councilwoman
Vanessa Gibson. Gibson
stressed that names like Mullaly
do not belong on any parks
in the city. It’s time to make this
area known for someone who
did good for the community, she
said.
“His lifetime of dedicated
public service to our community
makes him worthy of this
distinguished honor and recognition,”
Gibson said. “I am
proud to support the renaming
of Mullaly Park in honor of the
late Rev. Wendell T. Foster.
“We’re going to change that
Helen Diane Foster speaks about her dad and why the park should be named after him. Photos by Jason Cohen
history with some new history.
May his life and his legacy live
on for generations to come.”
Mohammed Mardah, chairman,
African Advisory Council,
was quite emotional when
speaking about his late friend.
Mardah recalled that when he
fi rst arrived in the Bronx in
1998 he was looking for a place
to play soccer. Everywhere he
went he was told no.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 24 ARCH 26-APR. 1, 2021 BTR
But, with the Reverend’s help
soccer was soon played at Mullaly
Park. The two met at a Parent
Teacher Association meeting
and became close friends.
More importantly, he gave
the African and immigrant community
a voice in the Bronx, he
stressed.
“It is well earned and deserved
and future generations
of young black men will come
to know the story of this great
man who championed the cause
of the downtrodden and gave a
voice to the voiceless,” Mardah
said.
The Parks Department will
announce the new name for the
park in June.
A resident speaks at the vigil
Mohammed Mardah, chairman, African Advisory Council,
speaks about his friend Reverend Dr. Wendell Foster.