Brook Park

What was here before?
Mott Haven is named for inventor and entrepreneur Jordan L. Mott (1798-1866), who purchased 200 acres of lower Morrisania in the 1840s. Mott opened J.L. Mott Iron Works in Lower Manhattan in 1828, which was relocated to Mott Haven along the Harlem River in the 1840s before moving to Trenton, NJ in 1902. An industrial district and pockets of residential enclaves developed here in the mid-19th century, spurred by access to waterways and the construction of several bridges and rail lines connecting the South Bronx with Manhattan.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries multiple rowhouses, tenements, and large apartment buildings were built on this site, including several that were constructed by real estate developers William O'Gorman and Hermann Stursberg. O’Gorman and Stursburg were responsible for many of the buildings that are now part of the Mott Haven East Historic District, located just west and south of Brook Park on East 140th and East 139th Streets. The historic district includes some of the Bronx’s first rowhouses. Around the corner, the Piccirilli Brothers, noted stone carvers, housed their studio (opened in 1893) at 467 East 142nd Street. However, by the 1970s, the buildings on this site had been demolished, victims of urban disinvestment and arson exacerbated by failed public policies.

How did this site become a park?
NYC Parks acquired Brook Park in 1979 through the South Bronx Neighborhood Open Space Development Project. The project was initiated in 1978 by the South Bronx Open Space Task Force, Inc., an umbrella organization formed by a coalition of neighborhood groups committed to greening the environment and expanding community recreational facilities. The project was funded by a grant from the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, which initiated the development and revitalization of fifteen vacant lots in the South Bronx with an emphasis on community participation in design and maintenance.

In 1993 the park was expanded with the acquisition of a vacant lot at the corner of Brook Avenue and East 141st Street. The lot was considered for the construction of a new police precinct but was ultimately assigned to Parks.

For several decades, the northwest corner of the park featured an asphalt multipurpose play area. By 2010, the park had largely been converted for use as a community garden. Known as Friends of Brook Park Community Garden, the greenspace has an active corps of volunteer gardeners who cultivate a variety of plants, care for the park’s chickens, and host student group visits year-round.

In 2024, the perimeter fencing, water supply, and portions of the street sidewalk were reconstructed.

What is this park named for?
Brook Park and the adjacent avenue are named for Mill Brook, a stream which once ran through this neighborhood before the area was developed. Also known as Acrahung by the Lenape, the stream flowed from Gates Place in the north Bronx, along what is now Webster and Brook Avenues, and into the Bronx Kill. It served as an important boundary in the 19th century, dividing the lands of various Bronx estates, including those of the Bathgate and Morris families.