GREENSTREET

Leonard Triangle

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

What was here before?

This was once the property of Sir Roderick Cameron (1825-1900), a businessman who co-founded the R.W. Cameron and Company shipping line. The nearby Cameron Lake is named after his family.

How did this site become a triangle?

Corporal Michael J. Leonard Triangle is part of the Greenstreets program, which is a joint project of NYC Parks and the NYC Department of Transportation. Beginning in 1986, this initiative converted paved street properties, such as triangles and malls, into green spaces.

Who is this triangle named for?

Corporal Michael J. Leonard (1877-1918) was a native Staten Islander who sacrificed his life for his country in World War I. Leonard served with Company K of the 42nd Regiment during the Spanish-American War before working as a yard master for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He re-enlisted after the United States declared war against Germany in 1917.

Leaving behind a fifteen-year-old son, he sailed with Company F of the 165th Infantry to Europe in 1917 and fought in three battles with the “Fighting 69th” Regiment. He was killed in the Second Battle of the Marne, in France, on July 16, 1918, four months before the armistice on November 11 ended the war. Fifty years later, Grasmere Post #1191 of the American Legion erected a granite monument on this site in memory of Corporal Leonard.