Albert J. Parham Playground

What was here before?
The Canarsie people lived on this land for thousands of years before the arrival of the Dutch settlers in the 1600s. This land was deeded to and farmed by John Ryerson and his heirs. The first Ryersons, Marten and Adriaen Reyersz, came to what is now Brooklyn, New York in 1646 from the Netherlands. The family farmed the surrounding area for generations.

How did this site become a playground?
The City of New York acquired this land in 1949 for a Jointly Operated Playground. Beginning in 1938, the Board of Education (now the Department of Education) agreed to provide land next to schools where NYC Parks could build and maintain playgrounds that could be used by the school during the day and the public on evenings and weekends. Formerly the site of multiple two-story dwellings and apartment buildings, the area was cleared for a playground, which opened in 1954. This coincided with the opening of the nearby Walt Whitman Houses and the need for more recreational space.

Previously known as Clinton Hill Playground, the park was renamed Albert Lysander Parham Playground in 1991. The park was renovated in 1985, 1990, and 1996. The Department of Education funded the most recent renovation which included the installation of new basketball and handball courts, benches, tot equipment, and fencing. With its mini-pool, extensive climbing equipment, sprinkler showers and picnic benches, Parham Playground provides a place for children to play and shade for their caretakers, beneath the towering oak trees.

Who is this playground named for?
This park is named for Albert Lysander Parham (1914-1990), philanthropist and Brooklyn native.

Parham generously left NYC Parks $263,700 to fund the extensive renovations made here in 1990. He provided additional funding that made possible a community garden in Manhattan known as Albert’s Garden. Albert Parham died on March 29, 1990, leaving a legacy of improved parkland for the benefit of all.