Municipal Park (demolished) – Brooklyn NY

Description

The New York Times reported in 1941 that, as part of WPA efforts, Brooklyn would receive six new playgrounds, located at: “Third Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, Second Avenue and Fifty-fifth Street, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Fifty-second Street, Albany and Foster Avenues, Park and Nostrand Avenues and Eastern Parkway Extension and Fulton Street.”

The history of this no-longer-extant park, the fifth of the six sites sited above, is detailed by New York City’s Parks Department in a page describing the development of nearby Marcy Playground:
“An unnamed park preceded this playground that honors Marcy. It was located a block further north, was one-third the size of Marcy Playground, and held a flagpole with a monumental base dedicated to Samuel V. Crews (1888-1929), a veteran of World War I. His brother John was a Republican leader in Brooklyn and another brother, Robert, was a member of the State Assembly.

In 1945, New York City purchased 28.5 acres of land for the Marcy Houses development. As part of the Marcy Houses design, the existing playground would be relocated. According to the final New York City Housing Authority plan, dated June 26, 1946, 3.2 acres were set aside for a park within the development; the base of the flagpole from the previous park was moved to the new location.”