4
QUEENS WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 10, 2019
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 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.
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
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