GREENSTREET

Shell Road from Ave X to Shore Pkwy

Brooklyn

Directions via Google Maps

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

Originally known as Gravesend Avenue, the avenue through which these malls run is named for John R. McDonald (1871-1932), chief clerk at the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court.

In 1893, John McDonald began his career as an attendant in the Surrogate’s Court. He rose steadily through the ranks, serving as deputy chief in 1930 and later as chief clerk. In early March, McDonald swallowed a small piece of chicken bone, which punctured one of his intestines. He underwent surgery and seemed to be recovering, but took a turn for the worst and died two days later. Soon after McDonald’s death, the West Flatbush Civic League motivated local Alderman Gustav Hartung, a member of the thoroughfares committee, to propose the re-naming of Gravesend Avenue in McDonald’s honor. On March 14, 1933, the Board of Aldermen (predecessor of the City Council) passed a resolution renaming the street McDonald Avenue.

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