11 BRONX WEEKLY July 12, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
BY JASON COHEN
Up the block from Yankee Stadium
lies Mullaly Park, a place
that is named after a man known
as the father of Bronx parks, but
was also known to be a racist.
John Mullaly was an agitator
and instigator of the NYC Draft
Riots during the Civil War. This
was one of the darkest incidents
in NYC history, where at least
11 Black residents were lynched,
Black-owned houses and churches
were burned, an orphanage for
Black children was burned and
in the aftermath of the riots over
5,000 Black Manhattan residents
fl ed the borough to settle in Brooklyn.
On July 2, Parent Action Committee,
the Bronx Council for Environmental
Quality (BCEQ) and
residents held a rally to demand
the changing of the name of the
park. About 30 people stood outside
in the sweltering heat with
signs saying “Rename Mullaly
Park” and chanted “Mullaly is a
racist.”
“BCEQ calls upon DPR to recognize
the impact of this 19th century
history on our government
and our city and to support the renaming,”
said the BCEQ in a letter
sent on June 29 to Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver. “Like all
parks throughout NYC, this park
is beloved, and actively maintained
by communities of color
who work together with DPR to
keep their neighborhoods healthy
and green. We can no longer allow
Mullaly’s racist history to
stain this parkland and confront
our Bronx communities with the
daily reminder of his contribution
to racial violence.”
The research into the history
of the name of the park began four
years ago, when Alan Singer, a
former resident, published a piece
about Mullaly on the Huffi ngton
Post.
Chauncy Young, a board member
of the BCEQ, said after bringing
this to the attention of the
Parks Department a year ago,
they are glad Parks is fi nally listening.
On June 19, Parks announced
plans to rename parks for Black
Americans with local, national or
historical relevance.
New names will be revealed
on Black Solidarity Day on Nov. 2,
2020. In concert with the November
renamings, Parks will temporarily
change out its offi cial park
signs with specially designed
signs in the colors of the Pan-African
fl ag.
Young hopes Parks heeds their
request and realizes Mullaly’s
name does not belong on the park.
“There’s a history with the
name Mullaly and we’re here today
to say that knowing this history
is important,” Young said.
“Someone who thought that black
people were inferior should not be
the name of a park in a community
that is mainly Black and Latino.”
Several residents spoke out
On Thursday morning, Parent Action Committee, the Bronx Council for Environmental
Quality (BCEQ) and residents held a rally to demand the changing of the
name of the park Photos by Jason Cohen
against Mullaly and in favor of
a name change. One attendee
wanted the name changed to Elston
Howard Park, after the fi rst
Black man to be hired by the Yankees.
Resident Yees Filizs said he
recognizes that Mullaly helped
create many parks, but that
should not overshadow the racist
things he did.
“John Mullaly has caused
great harm and great pain for the
Bronxites of today,” he said. “We
are asking to evolve and remove
the name Mullaly.”
He suggested renaming the
park after a person of color who
impacted the community.
Sandra Mitchell has lived in
the Bronx for 50 years and was
ashamed the park was named after
Mullaly. She urged people to
do research and fi nd out who is
behind the names of parks and
streets.
“How can you name a park after
someone who burned an orange,”
she said. “Why would you
put that name on this park?”
Rally to rename Mullaly Park
Bronx residents demand park, named for
known racist, be renamed
Three die, one injured in shootings
Bronx shootings part of an uptick of violence across the fi ve boroughs
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Four shootings, three of them fatal,
happened in the Bronx this past
weekend, which were part of a citywide
trend of violence across the
fi ve boroughs.
On Sunday, July 5 around 5:50
p.m., police responded to a call about
a male who was shot on East 170th
Street in the 44th Precinct. When
they arrived, they found 29-year-old
Brooklyn resident Anthony Robinson,
with one gunshot would to his
chest.
Emergency personnel transported
Robinson to BronxCare
Health System, where he was pronounced
dead.
Police have made no arrests and
the investigation is ongoing.
That same day just past 8 p.m., police
in the 44th Precinct responded
to another call about three people
who were shot on East 171st Street.
When cops arrived on the scene,
they found three male victims who
had allegedly suffered multiple gunshot
wounds. The fi rst victim was
a 22-year-old man, who was shot
multiple times and transported to
BronxCare Health System, where
he was later pronounced dead.
The second victim was a 27-yearold
man who was shot in the neck
and also transported to BronxCare
Health System, where he too was
pronounced dead.
A third victim, a 29-year-old
man was shot in the arm and transported
to Lincoln Hospital. According
to police, the victim remains in
stable condition.
There have been no arrests made
and the investigation into the case
is ongoing. The identity of the three
victims is being withheld pending
family notifi cations.
Anyone with information in regard
to these incidents is asked to
call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers
Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or
for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their
tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers
website or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls and messages are
strictly confi dential.
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