Sunset Park (Brooklyn park)

Public park in Brooklyn, New York

For the neighborhood for which the park is named, see Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Sunset Park

Exterior of the Sunset Play Center

Location| Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York
Nearest city| New York City
Coordinates| 40°38′53″N 74°00′13″W﻿ / ﻿40.6481°N 74.0036°W﻿ / 40.6481; -74.0036
Area| 24.5 acres (9.9 ha)
Created| 1891
Operated by| New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Open| 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Status| open

New York City Landmark

Designated| July 24, 2007[1]
Reference no.| 2242[1]
Designated entity| Bathhouse facade and pool

New York City Landmark

Designated| July 24, 2007[2]
Reference no.| 2243[2]
Designated entity| Bathhouse interior

Sunset Park is a 24.5-acre (9.9 ha) public park in the neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York City, between 41st and 44th Streets and 5th and 7th Avenues. The modern-day park contains a playground, recreation center, and pool. The recreation center and pool comprise the Sunset Play Center, which was designated as both an exterior and interior landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as NYC Parks.

The land for the park was acquired from 1891 to 1905. The park initially contained a pond, golf course, rustic shelter, and carousel. These features were removed in 1935–1936 when the current neoclassical/Art Deco style pool was built by Aymar Embury II during a Works Progress Administration project. The swimming pool and play center were renovated from 1983 to 1984.

## Description

[edit]

Sunset Park is between Fifth Avenue to the west, Seventh Avenue to the east, 41st Street to the north, and 44th Street to the south,[3] atop a 164-foot-tall (50 m) hill that is part of the Harbor Hill Moraine, a terminal moraine formed during the Last Glacial Period.[4] The park's elevated location offers views of New York Harbor, Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and more distantly the hills of Staten Island and the U.S. state of New Jersey.[3][5] Initially, Sunset Park contained a pond within its borders. According to Sergey Kadinsky, author of the book Hidden Waters of New York City, the pond was likely artificial since it did not appear on any maps prior to the park's creation. The pond was destroyed in 1935 with the construction of the current swimming pool.[6] The Sunset Park Memorial Grove was planted in 2002 to commemorate victims of the September 11 attacks.[7]

### Recreation fields

[edit]

Sunset Park contains numerous sporting fields. Within the namesake recreation center, there is an indoor basketball court, seven table tennis tables, a gymnasium and a billiard table.[8] Outdoors, there are four basketball courts, two handball courts, two soccer fields, and a baseball field overlapping with one of the soccer fields.[9] There is also a playground at Sixth Avenue.[10] The outdoor fields are free for use by the general public,[11] but some indoor activities require a membership.[8]

### Sunset Play Center

[edit]

#### Bathhouse

[edit]

Interior of the Sunset Play Center's bathhouse

The Sunset Play Center's bathhouse is on the eastern side of Sunset Park. The building contains a facade of brick in Flemish bond, and consists of a 1+1⁄2-story rotunda with one-story wings to the north and south, giving it a rough I-shape.[12][13] The main entrance to the bath house, the eastern facade at Seventh Avenue, is approached by a short granite stairway, though there is also a handicap-accessible ramp to the south of the steps. It leads directly to the rotunda. A back entrance, from the west, leads directly to the swimming pool. The top of the building facade is wrapped with a motif composed of cast stone and brick chevrons, set in a pattern of diamonds and triangles.[13] The interior of the rotunda contains a similar motif along the top of the wall.[14]

The rotunda is a cylindrical brick structure. Seen from its eastern facade, the rotunda is between and set behind two piers made of Flemish bond brick, each of which contain a flagpole and tile panel. The words sunset play center are inscribed in a granite tablet above the main (eastern) entrance; the entrance itself consists of a set of metal doors. The western entrance, facing the pool, is nearly identical but does not contain flagpoles, and a large NYC Parks logo is hung above that entrance's metal doors.[13] Inside the building, the wall is mostly made of Flemish bond brick with a granite base. The lobby is inside the rotunda and is composed of three parts: the foyer leading east to the entrance, the central cylinder, and the foyer leading west to the pool. The foyers are one story high while the center cylinder is one and a half stories. The curved outer wall is topped by a lintel made of concrete. Light fixtures hang from the white-plaster ceiling. At the clerestory level, near the top of the lobby, there are 16 small windows. The floor is made of dark blue and terracotta tiling and contains several drains.[14]

The north and south wings of the bathhouse are nearly identical in design, except that the northern wing is on a downward slope and contains a basement garage. The eastern facades each contain seven steel windows with metal screens and stone sills. There are five windows of similar style at the end of each wing. Both the north and south wings are connected to brick retaining walls that enclose the pool area to the west.[13][15] The men's locker room is to the south of the rotunda while the women's locker room is to the north.[15]

#### Pool

[edit]

West of the bathhouse, Sunset Park contains an enclosed elliptical pool area that is aligned north-south.[16] The main swimming pool is rectangular and measures 256 by 165 feet (78 by 50 m),[17][a] with a depth of 3.5 feet (1.1 m).[18] There were also two semicircular 165-foot-diameter (50 m) pools for wading and diving, one on either end of the main pool, though these are no longer in use.[17] The deck surrounding all three pools is made of cement. The western part of the deck contains concrete bleachers with seven rows, underneath which is the filter house. A brick wall is behind the bleachers, and is adjacent to the handball courts to the west. A pump house is to the north of the bleachers.[16] A former "comfort station" or restroom (now used as storage space) is to the south, with separate entrances for boys and girls on the north facade, but these have been bricked up.[17]

The diving pool was to the south of the main rectangular pool, but has been filled in for use as a volleyball court. The wading pool, to the north of the main pool, still exists but has been drained, and spray fountains have been installed. Both pools are surrounded by a metal fence on their curved side, which contain Flemish-bond brick piers. A brick wall separates the wading pool from the main pool. Steps run along the curved side of the wading pool, and there is a concrete ramp leading to the wading pool area.[17]

## History

[edit]

### Early history

[edit]

Looking northwest from Sunset Park, with Manhattan in the background

Sunset Park originally consisted of four blocks of land, from Fifth to Seventh Avenues between 41st and 43rd Streets. The city of Brooklyn acquired the land on May 15, 1891, as part of its plan to build several parks citywide, including Winthrop, Bedford and Bushwick parks.[19][20][21] The previous landowner was Patrick H. Flynn, a contractor who, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, "sold the park department the site for the proposed Sunset Park in the Eighth Ward without consulting the owners. Then he went around and bought up the property at a low figure and is said to have made a good thing out of it."[22] The Eagle itself praised the site as having "one of the finest views in the city".[21] A New York Times reporter, writing in 1894, praised the "magnificent views of earth and sky and water" that could be experienced from the high point of Sunset Park, some 200 feet (61 m) above sea level.[23]

Sunset Park became a popular gathering place for residents of the area (then considered part of Bay Ridge and South Brooklyn),[23] and its initial users were mostly Polish and Scandinavian immigrants who had arrived within the last two decades.[20] However, development of the park was precluded by its irregular topography.[24] By 1893, the city of Brooklyn decided to expand Sunset Park southward.[25] A New York Times article that year observed that the park lacked amenities and was situated on high bluffs that could only be reached by 60-foot (18 m) ladders.[23] Furthermore, the article stated that it would cost at least $500,000 to improve the park.[23] In 1899, the city of New York constructed a six-hole golf course in Sunset Park, and started some other improvements such as installing retaining walls.[26][27] Even so, the Eagle observed that the park was still lacking basic amenities such as benches or drinking fountains.[28] The park was expanded southward to 44th Street in 1904.[25] Other features added in the first decade of the 20th century included a new landscaping, a pond, a Neoclassical rustic shelter, and a carousel.[27][29] Concerts started being held by 1906, and a grand staircase to Fifth Avenue was completed by 1910.[25]

The surrounding neighborhood, south of Green-Wood Cemetery and east of Fourth Avenue, was mostly undeveloped at the time.[20] After the Fifth Avenue elevated line was extended south from 36th Street to 65th Street on October 1, 1893,[30][31] development came rapidly.[20] Residential construction boomed in the late 19th and early 20th century amid real estate speculation initiated by the construction of the park and the Fifth Avenue elevated line[32] and, by 1909, there was significant development surrounding the park.[33] With the news that the New York City Subway's Fourth Avenue Line would constructed in the area, two-story houses were constructed on the south side of Sunset Park.[34] Two-story houses were the most common housing stock in this part of South Brooklyn at the time; the Eagle said that two-family houses were "particularly attractive to people who desire comparatively small apartments, but who object to living in flats, and they appeal to this class on account of their being more quiet, and possibly, more exclusive."[35] The Fourth Avenue subway opened to 59th Street in 1915,[36] further spurring the growth of the surrounding neighborhood as a low-rise middle-class area,[20] and in particular the Finnish enclave directly south of the park.[37]

### Works Progress Administration renovation

[edit]

Looking north toward Manhattan

In 1934, mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia nominated Robert Moses to become commissioner of a unified New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. At the time, the United States was experiencing the Great Depression; immediately after La Guardia won the 1933 election, Moses began to write "a plan for putting 80,000 men to work on 1,700 relief projects".[38][39] By the time he was in office, several hundred such projects were underway across the city.[40]

Moses was especially interested in creating new pools and other bathing facilities, such as those in Jacob Riis Park, Jones Beach, and Orchard Beach.[41][42] He devised a list of 23 pools around the city, including one at Sunset Park.[43][44] The pools would be built using funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal agency created as part of the New Deal to combat the Depression's negative effects.[41][45] Eleven of these pools were to be designed concurrently and open in 1936. Moses, along with architects Aymar Embury II and Gilmore David Clarke, created a common design for each of the 11 proposed aquatic centers. Each location was to have distinct pools for diving, swimming, and wading; bleachers and viewing areas; and bathhouses with locker rooms that could be used as gymnasiums. The pools were to have several common features, such as a minimum 55-yard (50 m) length, underwater lighting, heating, filtration, and low-cost construction materials. To fit the requirement for cheap materials, each building would be built using elements of the Streamline Moderne and Classical architectural styles. The buildings would also be near "comfort stations", additional playgrounds, and spruced-up landscapes.[46][47][48]

Construction for some of the 11 pools began in October 1934.[47][49] The pond, golf course, rustic shelter, and carousel were removed to make way for the new pool at Sunset Park, which would be on the park's eastern side.[50] The blueprints for the Sunset Park pool were submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings in August 1935, by which point WPA workers were already working at the site.[47] During construction, several Native American artifacts were found at the site of the old pond.[51] By mid-1936, ten of the eleven WPA-funded pools were completed and were being opened at a pace of one per week.[41] The Sunset Pool was the sixth of these pools to open.[52][53][b] The pool was dedicated on July 20, 1936, with a crowd of 3,500 spectators.[54] The center, the first of four planned WPA pools in Brooklyn,[45] was composed of a one-story bathhouse with a capacity of 4,850; a 256-by-165-foot (78 by 50 m) pool; and two semicircular 165-foot-diameter (50 m) pools for wading and diving.[55]

In 1938, the city announced that it would rebuild the western section of Sunset Park as well.[56] By the next year, a WPA project was underway for the western part of the park. A steep 65-foot (20 m) slope was reduced to 40 feet (12 m) to lessen erosion, and a soldiers' monument was relocated. In addition, new concrete-block paths and drainage had been laid and an old comfort station had been destroyed.[51] Plans for minor modifications to the Sunset Play Center were filed in September 1940. By the early 1940s, WPA workers had finished the landscaping of the site, including new plantings, lawn restoration, and other rehabilitation.[52]

### Later years

[edit]

By the 1970s, Sunset Park and other city parks were in poor condition following the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis. NYC Parks commenced a project to restore the pools in several parks in 1977, including at Sunset Park, for whose restoration the agency set aside an estimated $5.8 million (equivalent to $22,766,000 in 2023).[57] These projects were not carried out due to a lack of money. By March 1981, NYC Parks had only 2,900 employees in its total staff, less than 10 percent of the 30,000 present when Moses was parks commissioner.[52][58] Despite the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood, partially due to efforts by Asian and Latin American immigrants who moved to the area,[59] the park was still perceived as rundown, and graffiti and vandalism were common.[60]

In 1982, the NYC Parks budget increased greatly, enabling the agency to carry out $76 million worth of restoration projects by year's end; among these projects was the restoration of the Sunset Park pool.[61] Work had begun by early 1983, and the complex was closed for two summer seasons while work was ongoing.[57] The play center reopened on August 8, 1984.[62] In addition to the renovated play center, the diving pool was infilled for the construction of a volleyball court; spray fountains at the wading pool's former site were installed in 1988; and murals were installed in the locker rooms.[57]

NYC Parks continued to face financial shortfalls in the coming years, and the pools retained a reputation for high crime.[57] For the summer of 1991, mayor David Dinkins had planned to close all 32 outdoor pools in the city, a decision that was only reversed after a $2 million donation from a trust created upon the death of real estate developer Sol Goldman[63] and $1.8 million from other sources.[57] Additionally, in the 1990s, a practice called "whirlpooling" became common in New York City pools such as Sunset Park, wherein women would be inappropriately fondled by teenage boys.[64][65] By the turn of the century, crimes such as sexual assaults had decreased in parks citywide due to increased security.[57]

In 2007, the Sunset Play Center's interior and exterior were both designated as official city landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.[66] The commission had previously considered the pool for landmark status in 1990, along with the other ten WPA pools in the city.[1][67] A reconstruction of the playground was completed in 2017.[68][69] The same year, a $4 million renovation of the Sunset Park Play Center was approved.[70] Following an influx of asylum seekers to New York City, in August 2023, city officials converted portions of the recreation centers at McCarren Park and Sunset Park into temporary shelters,[71][72] prompting protests from local residents.[73][74] The shelter had closed by the next month.[75]

## See also

[edit]

* Art Deco architecture of New York City
* List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Dimensions of the main pool are alternatively given as 259 by 162 feet (79 by 49 m).[18]
2. ^ The pools opened in the following chronological order: Hamilton Fish Park, Thomas Jefferson Park, Astoria Park, Tompkinsville Pool, Highbridge Park, Sunset Park, Crotona Park, McCarren Park, Betsy Head Park, Colonial Park, and Red Hook Park.[46][53]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 1.
2. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 2007, p. 1.
3. ^ a b "Sunset Park : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
4. ^ "Sunset Park: A View From The Ridge". NYC Department of Records & Information Services. Archived from the original on August 17, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
5. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1939). New York City Guide. New York: Random House. p. 468\. ISBN 978-1-60354-055-1. (Reprinted by Scholarly Press, 1976; often referred to as WPA Guide to New York City.)
6. ^ Kadinsky, Sergey (2016). Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs. New York, NY: Countryman Press. p. 240\. ISBN 978-1-58157-566-8.
7. ^ "Brooklyn Celebrates Life With the Planting of the City's First Memorial Grove". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. December 4, 2002. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
8. ^ a b "Sunset Park Recreation Center : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
9. ^ "Field and Court Usage Report for Sunset Park : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
10. ^ "Sunset Park Playgrounds : NYC Parks". www.nycgovparks.org. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
11. ^ Wolfe, Jonathan (June 18, 2015). "How to Find Hassle-Free Playing Fields With Priceless Views". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
12. ^ Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Barbaralee (2011). The Landmarks of New York (5th ed.). Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. p. 619\. ISBN 978-1-4384-3769-9.
13. ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 12.
14. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 2007, p. 11.
15. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior 2007, p. 12.
16. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 13.
17. ^ a b c d Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 14.
18. ^ a b Rein, Lisa (June 30, 1999). "Taking the plunge". New York Daily News. p. 164\. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2021 - via newspapers.com .
19. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2019, p. 12.
20. ^ a b c d e Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 3.
21. ^ a b "Brooklyn's New Parks". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 7, 1892. p. 5. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
22. ^ "A Finger in Many Pies". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 21, 1892. p. 2. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
23. ^ a b c d "Brooklyn's Sunset Park; Where Magnificent Views of Earth and Sea May Be Had". The New York Times. August 5, 1894. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
24. ^ "Just One of the Scandals; Outrageous Price Paid for Alderman Coffey's Park". The New York Times. October 22, 1893. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
25. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2019, p. 13.
26. ^ "1899 New York City Department of Public Parks Annual Report" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. 1899. p. 76 (PDF p. 77). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
27. ^ a b "Sunset Park Highlights". Sunset Park and Pool : NYC Parks. June 26, 1939. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
28. ^ "Brooklyn's New Parks". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 17, 1899. p. 14\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
29. ^ "Small Parks Get Attention". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 19, 1902. p. 9\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
30. ^ "Trial Trip on the Sea Side". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 30, 1893. p. 10\. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
31. ^ "Through Trains To-day". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. October 1, 1893. p. 1\. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
32. ^ Jackson, Kenneth T.; Manbeck, John B., eds. (2004). The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn (2nd ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Citizens for NYC and Yale University Press. pp. 200–205. ISBN 0-300-10310-7.
33. ^ "On Sunset Park Slope". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 4, 1909. p. 48\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
34. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2019, p. 15.
35. ^ "Realty Market in a More Hopeful Condition". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 21, 1901. p. 15. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
36. ^ "Queensboro Tunnel Officially Opened; Subway, Started Twenty-three Years Ago, Links Grand Central and Long Island City" (PDF). The New York Times. June 23, 1915. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
37. ^ "Ever Hear of Little Finland in America? It's Right Here in Brooklyn, Called 'Finntown'". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 29, 1932. p. 7\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
38. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, pp. 4–5.
39. ^ Rodgers 1952, p. 82.
40. ^ Rodgers 1952, p. 84.
41. ^ a b c Caro, Robert (1974). The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. New York: Knopf. p. 456\. ISBN 978-0-394-48076-3. OCLC 834874.
42. ^ Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Patrick; Mellins, Thomas (1987). New York 1930: Architecture and Urbanism Between the Two World Wars. New York: Rizzoli. p. 717\. ISBN 978-0-8478-3096-1. OCLC 13860977.
43. ^ "23 Bathing Pools Planned by Moses; Nine to Be Begun in a Month to Meet Shortage of Facilities Caused by Pollution". The New York Times. July 23, 1934. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
44. ^ "Public Swimming Facilities in New York City" (PDF) (Press release). New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. July 23, 1934. p. 3 (PDF p. 30). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
45. ^ a b "City to Construct 9 Pools To Provide Safe Swimming". New York Daily News. July 23, 1934. p. 8\. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2019 - via newspapers.com .
46. ^ a b "History of Parks' Swimming Pools". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
47. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 7.
48. ^ Shattuck, Kathryn (August 14, 2006). "Big Chill of '36: Show Celebrates Giant Depression-Era Pools That Cool New York". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
49. ^ "Park Work Is Begun on 2 Bathing Pools; Construction Under Way at High Bridge and Hamilton Fish -- 7 Others to Be Started Soon" (PDF). The New York Times. October 4, 1934. p. 48\. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
50. ^ "Sunset Park Recreation Center" (PDF). nycgovparks.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
51. ^ a b "WPA Gives Sunset Park Face-Lifting". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 3, 1939. p. 4\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
52. ^ a b c Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 10.
53. ^ a b Gutman, Marta (November 1, 2008). "Race, Place, and Play: Robert Moses and the WPA Swimming Pools in New York City". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. Vol. 67, no. 4\. University of California Press. p. 555\. doi:10.1525/jsah.2008.67.4.532. ISSN 0037-9808.
54. ^ "Mayor Opens Pool in Brooklyn Park; Turns on Under-water Lights in Sunset Swimming Center as 3,500 Look on". The New York Times. July 21, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
55. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 8.
56. ^ "Whole Western Section of Sunset Park on WPA List for Reconstruction". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 28, 1938. p. 29\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2019 - via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com .
57. ^ a b c d e f Landmarks Preservation Commission 2007, p. 11.
58. ^ Carmody, Deirdre (March 15, 1981). "Parks Department to Start Hiring for First Time Since Fiscal Crisis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
59. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2019, pp. 20–21.
60. ^ Davila, Albert (March 1, 1981). "Awaiting waterfront rebirth". New York Daily News. p. 282\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2019 - via newspapers.com .
61. ^ Carmody, Deirdre (June 25, 1982). "City to Start Repairing Three of Its Swimming Pools". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 121985503.
62. ^ "Sunset Park in the swim". New York Daily News. August 9, 1984. p. 110\. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2019 - via newspapers.com .
63. ^ "Donation Will Keep 32 Public Pools Open". The New York Times. May 16, 1991. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
64. ^ Marriott, Michel (July 7, 1993). "A Menacing Ritual Is Called Common in New York Pools". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
65. ^ Terrazzano, Lauren (July 11, 1994). "Deep at City Pool; Sex harass is pervasive". New York Daily News. pp. 7, 20 - via newspapers.com .
66. ^ Dunlap, David W. (July 25, 2007). "McCarren Pool in Brooklyn Is Now a Landmark". City Room. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
67. ^ Brozan, Nadine (July 30, 1990). "A Crumbling Pool Divides a Neighborhood". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
68. ^ "Sunset Park Playground Reconstruction". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
69. ^ Zagare, Liena (August 11, 2017). "Sunset Park Playground Is Open". Bklyner. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
70. ^ Wong, Pamela (May 10, 2017). "Sunset Park Recreation Center Gets Approval For Much-Needed Renovations". Bklyner. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
71. ^ Rosoff, Henry (August 5, 2023). "NYC using Brooklyn parks as migrant housing". PIX11. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
72. ^ "Asylum seekers coming to McCarren Park's recreation center". Brooklyn Eagle. August 4, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
73. ^ Rozner, Lisa (August 6, 2023). "Residents protest asylum seeker shelter at Sunset Park Recreation Center". CBS New York. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
74. ^ Ostadan, Bahar (August 6, 2023). "New migrant respite center in Sunset Park draws opposition from first-generation immigrants". Gothamist. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
75. ^ Heisler, Todd; Newman, Andy; Vilchis, Raúl; Bensimon, Olivia (September 28, 2023). "Where the Migrants Who Came to New York Are Living Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 28, 2023.

### Sources

[edit]

* Davis, Amanda B. (July 24, 2007). "Sunset Play Center Exterior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
* Davis, Amanda B. (July 24, 2007). "Sunset Play Center Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
* Caratzas, Michael; Baldwin, Jessica (June 18, 2019). "Sunset Park North Historic District" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
* Rodgers, Cleveland (1952). Robert Moses, Builder for Democracy. New York: Holt. OCLC 528489. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sunset Park (Brooklyn park).

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State recreation lands|

* Mount Loretto Unique Area
* Udalls Cove

City parks and preserves

| Manhattan|

* 79th Street Boat Basin
* Abe Lebewohl Park
* Abingdon Square
* Albert Capsouto
* Asphalt Green
* Asser Levy
* Battery
* Bella Abzug (Hudson)
* Bellevue South
* Bennett
* British Garden at Hanover Square
* Bowling Green
* Bryant
* Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk
* Carl Schurz
* Central
* Diana Ross Playground
* Great Lawn Rec Center
* Heckscher Playground
* North Meadow Rec Center
* Tarr Family Playground
* Chelsea
* City Hall
* Coleman Playground
* Collect
* Columbus
* Corlears Hook
* Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
* Damrosch
* Dante
* DeSalvio Playground
* DeWitt Clinton
* Drumgoole Plaza
* Duane
* East River Greenway
* East River Esplanade
* East River
* Pier 42
* Stuyvesant Cove
* Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza
* Father Demo Square
* Finn Square
* Foley Square
* Fort Tryon
* Fort Washington
* Gorman
* Governors Island
* Gramercy
* Greenacre
* Hamilton Fish
* Hanover Square
* Harlem River
* Hell's Kitchen
* Herald Square
* High Line
* Highbridge
* Fort George Seating Area
* Holcombe Rucker
* Hudson River
* Ilka Tanya Payán
* Imagination Playground
* Inwood Hill
* Isham
* J. Hood Wright
* Jackie Robinson
* Jackson Square
* John Jay
* Liberty
* Little Island
* Louis Cuvillier
* Madison Square
* Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
* MacArthur
* Marcus Garvey
* McKenna Square
* Millennium
* Mill Rock
* Mitchell Square
* Montefiore Square
* Morningside
* Murphy's Brother's Playground
* Muscota Marsh
* Open Road
* Paley
* Peretz Square
* Peter Cooper
* Peter Detmold
* Plaza Lafayette
* Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden
* Ralph Bunche
* Randalls Island
* Richard Tucker Square
* Riverside
* Robert Moses Playground
* Roosevelt Triangle
* Rucker
* Sakura
* Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground
* Sara Delano Roosevelt
* Septuagesimo Uno
* Seward
* Sheridan Square
* Sherman Square
* Spring Street
* St. John's
* St. Nicholas
* St. Vartan
* Straus
* Stuyvesant Square
* Swindler Cove
* Teardrop
* Theodore Roosevelt
* Thomas Jefferson
* Thomas Paine
* Tompkins Square
* Tribeca
* Trygve Lie
* Union Square
* Verdi Square
* Vesuvio Playground
* Vietnam Veterans Plaza
* Vincent F. Albano Jr.
* Wagner
* Wards Island
* Washington Market
* Washington Square
* West Side Community Garden
* William A. Harris Garden
* Winston Churchill Square
* Zuccotti

|

The Bronx|

| East Bronx|

* Bicentennial Veterans
* Castle Hill
* City Island Wetlands
* Ferry Point
* Givans Creek Woods
* Haffen
* Harding
* Hart Island
* Magenta Playground
* Pelham Bay
* Hunter Island
* Orchard Beach
* Rodman's Neck
* Pelham Parkway
* Pugsley Creek
* Richman
* Seton Falls
* Seton
* Soundview
* Starlight

|

West Bronx|

* Aqueduct Walk
* Bridge
* Bronx
* Bronx Skate Park
* Devoe
* Ewen
* Harris
* Henry Hudson
* Jerome
* Mosholu Parkway
* Poe
* Raoul Wallenberg Forest
* Riverdale
* Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront
* St. James
* University Woods
* Van Cortlandt
* Vidalia
* Vinmont Veteran
* Washington's Walk
* Williamsbridge Oval

South Bronx|

* Baretto Point
* Bill Rainey
* Carlos J. Lozada Playground
* Claremont
* Concrete Plant
* Crotona
* Estella Diggs
* Grant
* Hunts Point Riverside
* Joseph Rodman Drake
* Joyce Kilmer
* Julius Richman
* Macombs Dam
* Mill Pond
* Mullaly
* North and South Brother Islands
* Playground 52
* Printer's
* Richman
* St. Mary's
* Taqwa Community Farm
* Tremont

Brooklyn|

* Alben Square
* American Veterans Memorial Pier
* Amersfort
* Anthony Catanzaro Square
* Asser Levy
* Ascenzi Square
* Bath Beach
* Betsy Head
* Bensonhurst
* Bocchino-Dente Memorial Plaza
* Breukelen Ballfields
* Brooklyn Bridge
* Brooklyn Heights Promenade
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway
* Brower
* Bushwick
* Byrne
* Cadman Plaza
* Canarsie
* Carroll
* Calvert Vaux
* Chief Charles A. Joshua Plaza
* City Line
* Coffey
* Columbus
* Commodore Barry
* Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk
* Coney Island Creek
* Coney Island Cyclone
* Continental Army Plaza
* Cooper
* Domino
* Dyker Beach
* Eastern Parkway
* Fort Greene
* Four Sparrow Marsh
* Frank M. Charles
* Fresh Creek Nature Preserve
* Friends Field
* Fulton
* Golconda Skate Park
* Gravesend
* Green Central Knoll
* Herbert Von King
* Highland
* Irving Square
* JJ Byrne
* Jamaica Bay
* John J. Carty
* John Paul Jones
* Kaiser
* Kelly
* Leif Ericson
* Leon S. Kaiser Playground
* Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino
* Lincoln Terrace
* Linden
* Lindower
* Linton
* Macri Triangle
* Manhattan Beach
* Maria Hernandez
* Marine
* McCarren
* McGolrick
* McKinley
* Mt. Prospect
* Nellie Bly
* Ocean Parkway
* Owl's Head
* Paerdegat Basin
* Paerdegat
* Prospect
* Red Hook
* Robert E. Venable
* Russell D. Ramsey Triangle
* Saratoga
* Scarangella
* Seaside
* Seth Low
* Shore
* Spring Creek
* Steeplechase
* Sternberg
* St. Johns
* Sunset
* Tompkins
* Trinity
* Van Voorhees
* Walt Whitman
* Wingate
* WNYC Transmitter
* Zion Triangle

Queens|

* Admiral
* Alley Pond
* Andrews Grove
* Astoria
* Baisley Pond
* Bayside Fields
* Bayswater
* Beach Channel
* Big Bush
* Bowne
* Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Breininger
* Broad Channel American
* Broad Channel
* Broad Channel Wetlands
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brookville
* Bulova
* Captain Tilly
* Catholic War Veterans Triangle
* Chris Postiglione Triangle
* College Point Fields
* Crocheron
* Cunningham
* Det. Keith L. Williams
* Det. William T. Gunn
* Dr. Charles R. Drew
* Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Doughboy
* Douglaston
* Elmhurst
* Evergreen
* Far Rockaway Skate Park
* Feehan Triangle
* Flushing Fields
* Flushing Meadows-Corona
* Foch Sitting Area
* Forest
* Fort Tilden
* Fort Totten
* Francis Lewis
* Frank Golden
* Frank Principe
* Haggerty
* Harvey
* Highland
* Hillcrest Veterans Square
* Hinton
* Hoffman
* Hook Creek
* Hunter's Point
* Idlewild
* Jamaica Bay
* Joe Sabba
* John Golden
* Judge Moses Weinstein Playground
* Juniper Valley
* Kissena
* Kohlreiter Square
* Kopytko Triangle
* Libra Triangle
* Linden
* Linnaeus
* Little Bay
* LoCicero Triangle
* Louis Pasteur
* Lynch Triangle
* Mafera
* Macneil
* Marconi
* Marie Curie
* Montbellier
* O'Donohue
* One Room Schoolhouse
* Overlook
* Park of the Americas
* Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto
* Playground Seventy Five
* Ofc. Edward Byrne
* Powell's Cove
* Proctor-Hopson Circle
* Queens County Farm Museum
* Queensbridge
* Rachel Carson
* Railroad
* Ralph Demarco
* Remsen Cemetery
* Rochdale
* Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
* Rockaway Community
* Roy Wilkins
* Rufus King
* Seagirt Avenue Wetlands
* Socrates Sculpture
* Spring Creek
* Springfield
* St. Albans
* Travers
* Travis Triangle
* Triangle 54
* Tribute
* Tudor
* Turtle Playground
* Underbridge Dog Run
* Vleigh Playground
* Walter J. Wetzel Triangle
* Wayanda

Staten Island|

| North Shore
(Community District 1)|

* Allison Pond
* Austen House
* Buono Beach
* Barrett
* Clove Lakes
* Clove's Tail
* Corporal Thompson
* Eibs Pond
* Faber
* Forest Grove
* Fort Hill
* Gaeta
* Graniteville Quarry
* Graniteville Swamp
* Hero
* Ingram Woods
* Jones Woods
* Joseph Manna
* Maple Woods
* Northerleigh
* Richmond Terrace Wetlands
* Sailors' Snug Harbor
* Shooters Island
* Silver Lake
* Sobel Court
* Tappen
* Tompkinsville
* Von Briesen
* Walker
* Westerleigh

|

Mid-Island
(Community District 2)|

* Blood Root Valley
* Bradys Pond
* Deere
* Father Macris
* FDR Boardwalk
* Gen. MacArthur
* High Rock
* Last Chance
* Midland Field
* Ocean Breeze
* Old Place Creek
* Prall's Island
* Saw Mill Creek Marsh
* Schmul
* South Beach Wetlands
* St. George
* Staten Island Industrial
* Westwood
* Willowbrook

Mid-Island & South Shore
(Community Districts 2 & 3)|

* Freshkills
* LaTourette
* Meredith Woods
* William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge

South Shore
(Community District 3)|

* Aesop
* Amundsen Circle
* Annadale
* Arbutus Woods
* Arden Woods
* Bayview Terrace
* Bloomingdale
* Blue Heron
* Blueberry
* Bunker Ponds
* Carlton
* Conference House
* Crescent Beach
* Fairview
* Great Kills
* Huguenot Ponds
* Hybrid Oak Woods
* Isle of Meadows
* King Fisher
* Kingdom Pond
* Lemon Creek
* Long Pond
* Olmstead-Beil House
* Reed's Basket Willow Swamp
* Seaside Wildlife Nature
* Siedenburg
* Tottenville Shore
* Wegener
* Wolfe's Pond

Other

| Nature centers|

* Alley Pond
* Belvedere Castle
* Blue Heron
* Crotona
* Dana Discovery Center
* Forest
* Fort Greene
* Fort Totten
* Greenbelt
* High Rock
* Inwood Hill
* Orchard Beach
* Prospect
* Salt Marsh
* Van Cortlandt

|

Zoos|

* Bronx
* Central Park
* Prospect Park
* Queens
* Staten Island

Botanical gardens|

* Brooklyn Botanic
* Conservatory
* New York Botanical
* Queens Botanical
* Staten Island Botanical
* New York Chinese Scholar's
* Wave Hill

Roosevelt Island|

* Lighthouse
* Southpoint

Other lists|

* World War I-related parks
* Vietnam War-related parks
* Hispanic and Latino-related parks

* Category
* Department of Parks and Recreation
* New York State
* Commons

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