Sunnyside Gardens property dedicated to fallen fi refi ghter
BY BILL PARRY
Considering it was a midweek
dedication of a small
park on the border between
Sunnyside and Woodside, the
crowd that gathered at the old
Phipps Playground Wednesday
was huge. That is what
happens when you name a
park after a local hero who
was born and raised in the
neighborhood.
The quarter-acre park
located at 39th Avenue and
50th Street in Sunnyside Gardens
was dedicated to FDNY
Lieutenant Michael Davidson,
a 15-year veteran who
died while on duty fighting
a fire in a Harlem building
on March 23, 2018. Davidson
grew up in the Phipps Houses
across the street with his
firefighter father and brother
Eric.
“I’m so deeply pleased that
this park will forever bear
the name of a fallen hero, one
of our bravest, Lt. Michael
Davidson,” City Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer said.
“This acquisition will also activate
a long dormant corner
of Sunnyside and Woodside.
There was a real and credible
proposal to create an out
of context development in the
heart of Sunnyside Gardens
at this location. I’m proud to
have allocated the funding
to acquire and renovate this
land and thrilled it will be
named after a local hero.”
The lot had been unused
since the early 90s when developer
DBH Associates purchased
the land from Phipps
in 2007 and, in 2013, proposed
the Aluminaire House project,
a controversial plan to
move an all-aluminum, “architecturally
significant”
house built in the 1930s to the
lot as part of a complex that
would include a two-story,
eight-unit apartment building.
The proposal met swift
opposition from neighborhood
preservationists, residents
and elected officials
and was defeated.
The developer sold the
land to the city after Van
Bramer allocated $5.5 million
— $2 million for the purchase
price with the remaining $3.5
million set aside for park development.
Soon afterward a
neighborhood group formed
A huge crowd showed up for the midweek dedication of park
space in honor of fallen FDNY hero Michael Davidson in Sunnyside
Gardens. Courtesy NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
to have the new park named
for their local hero.
“Nearly 4,000 people
signed our petition to name
this playground after our
neighborhood hero,” Friends
of the Michael Davidson
Playground President Eileen
Conelly said. “Future generations
of Sunnyside and
Woodside children will know
the name MichaelDavidson,
what he means to us and all
that he sacrificed for the city
he loved.”
Davidson worked his
whole career at Engine Company
69, Ladder 28 — the
same house where his father
spent his 26-year career.
“Children need strong role
models; people they can look
up to and aspire to be like when
they grow up. Lt. Michael Davidson
was always that kind of
role model,” Fire Commissioner
Daniel Nigro said. “Thank
you to Council Member Van
Bramer, the Parks Department,
and the residents of Sunnyside
and Woodside for their
efforts to create this lasting
tribute to Michael’s bravery.
He served our city with pride
and distinction, and we will
never forget him.”
Davidson was laid to rest at
St. Patrick’s Cathedral after
he became the 1,150th FDNY
member to have died on the
job. He left behind his wife
Eileen and four children.
“The newly renamed Michael
Davidson Playground
will serve as a place of remembrance
of his bravery
and contributions to this
community,” NYC Parks
Commissioner Mitchell Silver
said. “Michael Davidson’s
legacy will continue to
live on in the neighborhood
and city that he so selflessly
served.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4538.
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