Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park

NYC PARKS OFFICIALLY CUTS THE RIBBON ON BROOKLYN COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE SITE LT. JOSEPH PETROSINO PARK

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning Mikelle Adgate, State Senator Andrew Gounardes, State Assembly Member Peter Abbate, Jr., City Council Member Justin Brannan, students and administrators from P.S. 112, and members of Community Board 11 for an official ribbon cutting ceremony at Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park, a Community Parks Initiative (CPI) site in south Brooklyn. The renovation of this park was funded with $4.99 million from Mayor de Blasio, which includes $355,000 in funding from DEP for green infrastructure elements.

“This is the first major renovation of Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park in more than 25 years, and thanks to the Community Parks Initiative, it has finally gotten the upgrade it deserves,” said Commissioner Silver. “With new play areas for children, adult fitness equipment, and plenty of passive space, the new and improved Petrosino Park is a world class park that will serve this community for years to come.”

“Parks bring people together and build a sense of community. It’s been more than 25 years since the Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park—named for the City’s first Italian American police officer—was renovated, but thanks to Mayor de Blasio and the Community Parks Initiative, Bensonhurst now has a best-in-class space that children and adults can enjoy for years to come,” said Senator Gounardes.

“I am pleased to join my colleagues here today for the Ribbon Cutting of the newly renovated Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park,” said Assemblyman Abbate, Jr. “Living right up the block on 72nd Street and 14th Avenue, I remember many days and nights spent here in the park. I am pleased to have been here twenty-five years ago when it was last renovated and proud to be here today for the innovative renovation of the park.”

“Any time we can improve one of our local parks, count me in! I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for the nearly $5 million to make Lt Petrosino Park the gem of a park that Bensonhurst deserves,” said Council Member Brannan. “I know that local residents, especially kids, will get a lot of use out of this park. In the upcoming months, I look forward to hosting a special event here with Parks so stay tuned!”

“DEP is proud to be a partner in NYC Parks’ Community Parks Initiative which is transforming neighborhood parks across the city,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “The newly installed rain gardens and permeable pavement at this park will help to reduce stormwater runoff, improve the health of Gravesend Bay, and beautify the neighborhood.”

The park has been transformed with new play areas for children ages 2 to 5 and ages 6-12, planting beds, pathways, a spray shower, picnic tables, adult fitness equipment, basketball courts, fencing, retaining walls, ramps, drainage, water supply, lighting, and more welcoming entrances.

To manage stormwater runoff, green infrastructure has been added throughout Petrosino Park. DEP has committed approximately $50 million in funding for green infrastructure installations at CPI sites throughout the city, helping to reduce sewer overflows that sometimes occur during heavy rainfall, improve air quality and lower summertime temperatures.

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI strives to make NYC Parks a more equitable and accessible parks system by investing in smaller parks that are located in New York City’s densely-populated neighborhoods with higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. Through CPI, the City is investing $318 million in capital dollars to make renovations to 67 parks citywide that have not undergone significant improvements in decades.

This trapezoidal park is bounded by 16th and New Utrecht Avenues, 70th and 71st Streets. The City of New York purchased the land in 1929, and a playground opened on the site on May 24, 1935. The site had previously not seen a renovation since 1993. In 1999 the City Council passed a law to name the park for Lieutenant Giuseppe (Joseph) Petrosino, New York City's first Italian-American police detective. Petrosino was born in Salerno, Italy and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1873. Another park named for Lt. Petrosino (in 1987) is located in Little Italy, just north of the Renaissance Revival edifice at 240 Centre Street, which served as New York City Police Headquarters from 1910 to 1971.