New Brooklyn park honors groundbreaking pol
Gov. Cuomo cut the ribbon Tuesday on the city’s largest state park, a 407-acre piece of Brooklyn parkland named in honor of Rep. Shirley Chisholm — the first black woman elected to Congress.
The expansive waterfront site, built atop two shuttered landfills, rises along the shores of Jamaica Bay in East New York and features 10 miles of hiking and bike trails as well as water access and a pier for picnicking and fishing.
“Today we add another gem to our treasure trove of state parks, transforming what was once a blemish on the South Brooklyn community into exquisite open space,” Cuomo said. “Shirley Chisholm fought to improve the health and wellness of underserved communities, a legacy we are carrying on through the Vital Brooklyn Initiative, so we are proud to dedicate this park in memory of her leadership and accomplishments.”
A massive, multi-colored mural of Chisholm by Brooklyn artist Danielle Mastrion overlooks part of the park.
The Brooklyn native and educator was the second African-American woman to serve in the state Legislature and was elected to Congress in 1968. Four years later, Chisholm again made history as the first black woman to seek a major party’s nomination for president. In 2005, a decade after she died, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama.
“Shirley Chisholm once said, ‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,’ ” Rep Hakim Jeffries (D-N.Y.) recalled. “Well, today Shirley Chisholm has a state park and we’re thankful it’s a living, breathing recognition of all that she has done.”
The $20 million initial phase includes funding for environmental educators who will offer programs for children who visit the park. partnership with Bike ew York led to the creion of the Shirley Chisolm State Park Bike Lirary, which offers free ntal bikes to visitors. A second $20 million part f the park, which is still nder design and is exected to be completed by 021, will include additions uch as an entrance on ountain Ave., lawn patios nd performance spaces verlooking Hendrix Creek. “Shirley Chisholm was he daughter of a seamstress nd her father was a janitor nd had a number of jobs. he was an educator, she worked in daycare,” Cuomo said.
“As we open this beautiful park and open a whole new area of interest to generations of young people, right here in the back yard of Brooklyn, let us also remember the lesson and the moral of Shirley Chisholm and fight the good fight and you work even when it’s hard to bring real change to people who really need it.”