Central Park

Central Park North (110^th Street) Between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue

Central Park’s original entrances were named in the nineteenth century in honor of professions and populations that had played a prominent role in New York City’s history. The naming of the Gate of the Exonerated in 2022 pays homage to all those who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes and was directly inspired by “The Exonerated Five.”

In 1989, five Black and Latino boys from Harlem—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—were wrongfully arrested, convicted, and incarcerated for the beating and rape of a White female jogger in this area of Central Park.

Before charging the boys, the NYPD extensively interrogated them for several days, often excluding their parents and never with legal representation present. Written and video statements made by four of them under these conditions were subsequently retracted as coerced. They and their families sustained racially-charged media attacks, harassment, and calls for the death penalty.

They pleaded not guilty and insisted on their innocence at trial. Despite inaccurate testimony, no forensic evidence, and no eyewitness accounts, the five were found guilty at trial, sentenced to between five and fifteen years in prison, and became registered sex offenders until they were exonerated – four, after having served their full sentences.

With widespread pressure to hold someone accountable, the police and prosecutors failed to pursue leads that would have pointed to the real attacker. The actual assailant confessed to the crime, and DNA testing corroborated his confession. On December 19, 2002, the Supreme Court of the State of New York vacated the now-adult men’s convictions.

The experience of The Exonerated Five and their families illustrates the historic pattern of unjust arrests and wrongful convictions of Black and Latino young people in America. It stands as a grievous example of systemic racism and a miscarriage of justice that forever altered the lives of five young boys and their families for whom the north end of Central Park had been their playground. The handling of the case and media coverage at the time stigmatized Harlem youth and, for many in the community, impaired their relationship to the park. The Gate of the Exonerated was conceived as a threshold toward healing the wounds of this painful history, and it recognizes the ongoing struggle and fight to ensure justice for all.

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center