Lafayette Gardens Playground

Lafayette Gardens is named in honor of the prominent French statesman and military leader Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Montier Lafayette (1757-1834). Also known as Marquis de Lafayette, he is best remembered for his role in the Revolutionary War. Sympathetic to the American cause, he aided the colonists through the provision of experienced military leadership. The Frenchman quickly became a favorite of General George Washington, who appointed him Major General in the Continental Army during 1777. The next year, Lafayette returned to France following the formal agreement of the France/United States alliance against Great Britain. Once in France, he actively lobbied for the allotment of increased military and financial aid for the Colonies. In 1780, Marquis de Lafayette returned to America and served valorously in the Virginia campaign, which forced the surrender of Lord Charles Cornwallis in 1781.

As a true proponent of democracy, Lafayette assumed a leading role in the French Revolution of 1789. He became a member of the National Assembly, from which position he prepared a bill of rights based on the American Declaration of Independence. He commanded the French National Guard and joined the Feuillants, a moderate political party that advocated a constitutional monarchy. He gained leadership of a French division in 1792 in the war against Austria. Chastised by the Jacobins within his unit (who were far more radical than the Feuillants) Lafayette fled to Flanders where Austrian authorities imprisoned him for five years. Upon his return to France, he avoided the dictatorial politics of Napoleon Bonaparte. Following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, Lafayette resumed his political career as a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1815 and from 1818 to 1824. He toured the United States in 1824 during which time Congress voted him a gift of $200,000 and a large tract of land. Marquis de Lafayette, the statesman and general, maintained the convictions of democracy, social equality, and religious freedom throughout the remainder of his life.

This parkland is located on the corner of Franklin and Lafayette Avenues within the Lafayette Houses. On April 1, 1959, the City of New York acquired the property on which the houses and playground lie and immediately transferred jurisdiction to the Housing Authority. In 1962, the Housing Authority completed the 880-unit housing complex, which is bounded by Dekalb, Franklin, Lafayette, and Classon Avenues. At that time, Parks assumed jurisdiction over Lafayette Gardens and continues to maintain the facility. The playground boasts two handball courts, a basketball half-court, timber-form play equipment, swings, a semi-circle sitting area with cobblestone ground, a spray shower, and several game tables. In August 1998, the playground received a $1,150 renovation sponsored by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. The improvements included the repair of sidewalks and the re-paving of damaged areas.