BY BRONX TIMES
As Juneteenth was approved
as an official federal
holiday this week, NYC did its
best to honor Black culture as
it renamed 16 park spaces, including
four in the Bronx.
The newly named spaces
represent educators, civil
rights leaders, pioneers in the
LGBTQ+ community, novelists,
playwrights, abolitionists
and more.
On June 16, Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver was
joined by State Senator Jose
Serrano, Assembly Member
Amanda Septimo, Council
Member Vanessa Gibson and
former Council Member and
daughter of the late Reverend
T. Wendell Foster, Helen Diane
Foster, to officially celebrate
the renaming of 16 park
Honoring a commitment
made in November to rename
Mullaly Park and Recreation
Center, the event was held
at the park to showcase its
planned new name for Rev.
Wendell Foster. The site will
officially be renamed in September
2022 in accordance
with Parks policy of naming
three years posthumous.
“We are happy that the
tireless work and commitment
of our husband, father
and grandfather, Rev. T. Wendell
Foster, is being recognized
and celebrated with the
renaming of Mullaly Park after
him,”Foster said. “The
Bronx and Highbridge was
his home for over 55 years
when he passed away at age
95 and he fought for this community
up until his last days.
We are thankful to the Mayor,
NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver and of course,
our family friend, Councilmember
Vanessa Gibson, for
ensuring that this renaming
would happen. We look forward
to celebrating at the renaming
ceremony with his
Please join VISIONS Bronx-Westchester
Advisory Board for our Annual
Wednesday, July 21, 2021, 6:00PM – 9:30 PM
Frankie & Johnnie’s Pine Restaurant
1913 Bronxdale Ave, Bronx, NY 10462
Honorees:
Irene Amato
A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp.
Dr. A.J. Contento
Eye Care Unlimited
Gene DiNapoli
Entertainer/Restaurateur
Michael Knobbe
BronxNet
Emcee:
Gary Axelbank
BronxTalk, thisistheBronX
To RSVP, Scan the QR Code or Visit
www.visionsvcb.org/events
For more information, please call 212-625-1616, ext. 135
spaces.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 18 UNE 25-JULY 1, 2021 BTR
family, his church members,
his community and all that
loved him.”
Dr. Wendell Foster was
the first Black NYC Councilman
and beloved in the south
Bronx. In March a candlelight
vigil was held calling for
the park to be renamed Reverend
Wendell Foster Park and
now the prayers have been
answered.
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.
The other Bronx parks
that were renamed are:
St. Mary’s Amphitheater
now Gil Scott-Heron
Mullaly Park renamed in honor of Rev. Wendell Foster.
Courtesy of NYC Parks
Amphitheater
Gil Scott-Heron was a pioneering
soul and jazz poet,
musician and author. He attended
DeWitt Clinton High
School and the Fieldston
School. The renamed amphitheater
along with the plaza,
pathways and lighting in this
area of St. Mary’s Park is being
renovated through the
Anchor Parks Initiative and
the project is slated for completion
in the fall.
West Bronx Recreation
Center now Kwame Ture
(Stokely Carmichael) Recreation
Center
Born Stokeley Carmichael,
Kwame Ture, graduated
from the Bronx High
School of Science, was a
prominent activist and organizer
during the civil rights
era and leader in the Black
Power movement.
Morris Garden is now
Mabel Hampton Garden
Mabel Hampton was a
prominent lesbian activist
and dancer during the Harlem
Renaissance. She was
also a philanthropist and
lived with her long-time partner
Lillian Foster for decades
on 169th Street.
A great honor
Parks renames four Bronx parks in honor of
African Americans
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